Posted on February 4, 2023 by Al Bergstein
Filmmaker John Gussman caught two views of the new levee project on the Dungeness River recently. This is what is also known as a floodplain. By allowing the river to “breathe” and overflow it’s banks, without endangering manmade structures like homes and farms, you save the river and the ecosystem that it exists in. As you can see, this is less than one month apart. Allowing home development in such a location is asking for problems, and problems were what the Dungeness valley had for many decades after white people attempted to tame the river. This is a compromise. The river is allowed to breathe, a few farms and homes are paid to relocate, and moving forward, the likelihood of more salmon coming back to a habitat that they can survive and reproduce in is given a much higher probability of success. In addition to fish, this promotes a wide array of flora and fauna, including ducks, geese, and many others. The Dungeness River Management Team (DRMT), which includes farmers, duck hunters, and with help from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe worked for decades to make this possible, with millions in help from the federal and state government and our State and Federal representatives. For a more detailed look at this issue, you can watch my 2010 film, “Working for the River” that covers the issues in recovering the Dungeness. https://vimeo.com/80651319
Thanks to John Gussman for use of the drone photos. John is available for video and still work. Check out Doubleclick Productions – Photography-Video Production-Stock Imagery-UAV Drone Services located on the Olympic Peninsula (dcproductions.com) for his other projects.
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Filed under: Clallam County, Environmental Protection | Tagged: Clallam County, dungeness river, Dungeness River Managment Team, jamestown s'klallam tribe, Salmon, sequim | Comments Off on How a River Breathes
Posted on October 16, 2021 by Al Bergstein
Good news of groups working together to protect habitat for birds.
A multi-agency, private-public effort to help trumpeter swans safely depart from their seasonal home on Kirner Pond is complete…Local bird advocates came together to start a GoFundMe fundraiser that kicked off on Jan. 25, and it quickly raised more than the goal of $65,000. Those funds, along with in-kind labor and efforts from Clallam PUD, helped fund the work to bury the power lines clearing the way for the trumpeter swans to take off from the small pond located about a mile west of the Woodcock/Sequim-Dungeness Way intersection. Michael Dashiell reports. (Peninsula Daily News) Subscription required.
https://bit.ly/3ANwnY4
://bit.ly/3ANwnY4
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Filed under: Clallam County, Environmental Activism, Environmental Protection | Tagged: sequim, Trumpeter swans | Comments Off on Swan-saving project complete at Kirner Pond – PDN
Posted on January 31, 2020 by Al Bergstein
A new “Destination Park” at Miller Peninsula. Seems on the surface like a good idea. More public beach access is needed, along with trails. Funding though is questionable and erratic. More on this, including public meetings, is coming in late spring. We’ll keep an eye out and let you know when they are happening.
A proposal to create a destination park on Miller Peninsula is back on the planning table. Staff with the Washington State Parks system are moving forward with a master plan to develop a state park on more than 2,800 acres on the peninsula between Sequim and the Clallam/Jefferson county boundary. In 2005, the Washington State Parks system began a six-year project to establish one of Washington’s next destination state parks, shelved those plans with a lack of secure funding. Michael Dashiell reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
State resurrects Miller Peninsula plans
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Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: clallam county, goverment, Miller Peninsula, North Olympic Peninsula, Parks, Puget Sound, sequim | Comments Off on State resurrects Miller Peninsula plans -PDN
Posted on February 1, 2016 by Al Bergstein
Many of us on the Peninsula are helping to protect and better understand eel grass. In Port Townsend, the local Marine Resources Committee (of which I currently am chair) has been managing the Eelgrass Protection Buoys, helping boaters understand the right spot to anchor to protect the remaining eel grass, which is home to all sorts of underwater life. There’s a lot left to know about restoring it.
Local scientists are lending their expertise to offset the global decline of seagrass by studying and restoring eelgrass throughout Puget Sound. To help address this decline, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Marine Sciences Lab in Sequim are working with the state on restoring eelgrass throughout the Puget Sound…. Eelgrass is recognized by the Puget Sound Partnership as both critical habitat and a vital sign of Puget Sound because changes in its abundance or distribution reflect changes in environmental conditions. Alana Lineroth reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20160201/NEWS/302019992/sequim-scientists-work-to-restore-eelgrass-in-puget-sound
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Filed under: Environmental Protection | Tagged: Battelle Lab, eelgrass, Environmental Protection, Puget Sound Partnership, sequim | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 19, 2015 by Al Bergstein
An update on the efforts to allow returning salmon to get up the Dungeness River. Thanks to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, who continue to show leadership and dedication to saving the historic runs of fish on the river that their people have fished forever. This is the effects of our inability to deal with the root causes of climate change, which is out of control fossil fuel use.
Dungeness River Fish Passage 2015C from NW Indian Fisheries Commission on Vimeo.
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Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: clallam county, dungeness river, jamestown s'klallam tribe, Puget Sound, Salmon, sequim | Comments Off on Dungeness River Fish Passage Video
Posted on August 17, 2015 by Al Bergstein
I’ve shot video on the small group of tribal fishermen that work the beaches at the mouth of the Dungeness. They are out at dawn and often working hard to catch a few fish. It appears that this year will be a washout for them. The fish just aren’t returning in numbers large enough to warrant going out.
Interest has waned in a pink salmon fishery at the mouth of the Dungeness River now that the numbers originally expected haven’t developed, said the natural resources director for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe. The beach seine fishery, in which weighted nets are used to pull fish to shore, was developed by co-managers of the Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam and Point No Point Treaty Council and approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to weed out some of the 1.3 million pinks expected to return this season, said Scott Chitwood on Friday. Leah Leach reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150816/news/308169973/interest-flags-in-pink-salmon-fishery-at-dungeness-river-mouth-after
See also: Crews deepen channels to help struggling salmon amid drought http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/crews-deepen-channels-to-help-struggling-salmon/ Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)
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Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: dungeness river, fish, klein spit, Olympic Peninsula, pink salmon, Puget Sound, sequim | Comments Off on Interest flags in pink salmon fishery at Dungeness River mouth after number of returning fish turns out lower – PDN
Posted on August 10, 2015 by Al Bergstein
With the Dungeness River at historic low flows, this is going to be a most interesting year to see if WDFW and others like the Dungeness River Management Team can make this run successful.
Work could begin this week on creating as hospitable an environment as possible for hordes of pink salmon expected to return to the Dungeness River later this month. A preseason prediction that 1.3 million pinks will return to the Dungeness this year may not come to pass, said Mike Gross, biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, who is based in Montesano. That estimate was based on a run of 400,000 pinks in the Dungeness two years ago. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150809/NEWS/308099995/crews-to-prep-dungeness-river-this-week-for-huge-run-of-pink-salmon
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Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: dungeness river, dungeness river management team, pink salmon, Puget Sound, sequim | Comments Off on Crews to prep Dungeness River this week for huge run of pink salmon – PDN
Posted on October 2, 2014 by Al Bergstein
October 2nd – You are invited to a potluck with the North Olympic Group of the Sierra Club to be held at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 North Blake Avenue in Sequim (next to Carrie Blake Park).
Social hour begins at 5:30 PM. Please bring a potluck dish to share and it would be helpful to bring your own plate, cup, and table ware. Members and friends of the Sierra Club are invited.
After the potluck, we will feature the following program:
Ron Eber, Historian for the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club, will present a program on the Wilderness Act. On the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Wilderness Act, Ron’s talk will explore the work of John Muir and the pioneer conservationists of Washington who laid the foundation for all the wilderness we have protected since his time. Muir’s earlier wilderness and park campaigns will also be looked at to see what lessons we have learned and can continue to use in the future.
Ron holds a degree in Geography from California State University at Northridge and a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon. From 1976 – 2008, he was the Farm and Forest Lands Specialist for the Oregon Department of La
We hope to see you there.
Darlene Schanfald, Board Member
Sierra Club – North Olympic Group
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Filed under: Events | Tagged: event, sequim, Sierra Club | Comments Off on EVENT – Oct 2 – Sierra Club Meeting- Ron Eber speaks on the Wilderness Act 50 years on.
Posted on April 4, 2014 by Al Bergstein
Sad, but expected. They likely will lose, as other suits have, and cost the State hundreds of thousands to defend.
The Olympic Resource Protection Council has decided it will sue the state over a rule that governs water use in the Dungeness Valley. In a meeting Thursday night at the Sequim library, the group membership agreed to pursue a lawsuit against the state Department of Ecology in an effort to force the agency to review the Dungeness Water Rule…. Water use in the basin was restricted by the Dungeness Water Rule, a measure instituted January 2013 by Ecology with the aim of preserving water in the Dungeness River for both human use and for aquatic species when its flow diminishes in dry summer months. Joe Smillie (Peninsula Daily News)
http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20140404/NEWS/304049975/group-to-sue-state-over-dungeness-water-rule
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Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: department of ecology, dungeness river, dungeness Valley, Puget Sound, sequim, water use | Comments Off on Group to sue state over Dungeness water rule – PDN
Posted on October 28, 2013 by Al Bergstein
Given the recent bluff collapse in Port Townsend, this might be of interest to some of you!
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Filed under: Events | Tagged: bluff, bluffs, Clallam County, clallam county, Port Townsend, sequim, workshop | Comments Off on EVENT: Free workshop for homeowners on bluffs!
Posted on January 29, 2013 by Al Bergstein
Had a chat this morning with Gerry Christensen who is helping Carol Hull and others with the North Olympic Peninsula Local Food Access Network (L-FAN). (I’ve added their link to the NGO section of the left hand front page if you need to find it in the future).
http://localfoodaccessnetwork.wordpress.com/
In their words:
Our primary focus is North Peninsula local food ecosystems with an emphasis on developing and supporting increased and sustainable capacity for production, distribution, and consumption locally.
Our high-level goals are to educate, act, and facilitate the positive actions of others regarding local food related issues within the North Olympic Peninsula area of Washington. We will strive to do this in harmony with businesses, organizations, and citizens within the area. Our goal is to communicate with all, seek cooperation when possible, and collaborate or partner with various entities concerned with local food.
As I know some of our readers are involved in this area of environmental activism, I recommend that you contact Gerry and introduce yourself and your organization. Gerry and his family are somewhat new to the Peninsula having come out from Colorado, so I’m sure he’d appreciate getting to know more of you that are working in the area of the local food movement.
His contact info is
Gerry Christensen <gerry.christensen@gmail.com>
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Filed under: Jefferson County | Tagged: Clallam County, environment, farming, Olympic Peninsula, organic, sequim | Comments Off on New Local Food Group of Sequim joins our network
Posted on July 27, 2012 by Al Bergstein
The contentious battle over water rights in the Dungeness watershed comes closer to a resolution.
“With the date of anticipated promulgation growing closer, State Reps. Steve Tharinger and Kevin Van De Wege continue to support the final approval of the Dungeness Water Management Rule. “
Comments on the article were by the usual suspects, real estate agents that claim a harm to the market, but have no data to actually support their claims. Let’s remember that the market is already in the tubes because of a economic downturn, caused by an unregulated lending market in the last decade while the political party they blame for this was out of power.
http://www.sequimgazette.com/news/article.exm/2012-07-26_dungeness_water_rule___two__yeas___one__probably_
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Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Clallam County, sequim, water, WRIA | Comments Off on Dungeness Water Rule: Two ‘yeas,’ one ‘probably’ – Sequim Gazette
Posted on June 7, 2012 by Al Bergstein
For the opportunity to help restore shoreline and Meadowbrook Creek, the State is proposing to purchase the 3 Crabs. If the state can pay $1M and I owned the place, I’d likely sell as well. Can’t imagine the Crabs have been making that kind of money, and we the People get back some prime shoreline in the bargain. I’m ok with that. With that money the owner can open elsewhere if she wants. But likely she is ready to retire, since she bought it a long time ago.
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The building that has long housed The 3 Crabs restaurant would be removed under a proposed state Fish and Wildlife purchase of the Dungeness Bay landmark location.The state Fish and Wildlife Commission last week approved the $1 million purchase of the nearly 52 acres of land and tideland property along Dungeness Bay’s shores overlooking New Dungeness Lighthouse 3 Crabs site would be razed after state buy, proposal says
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120607/NEWS/306079998/3-crabs-site-would-be-razed-after-state-buy-proposal-says
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Posted on March 21, 2012 by Al Bergstein
Julia Parrish, Executive Director of COASST, will discuss “Sea of Birds: Population Patterns of Washington’s Coastal Residents and Migrants” at the March 21 Olympic Peninsula Audubon general meeting at the Dungeness River Audubon Center, beginning at 7 pm.
COASST training will be held Saturday, March 24, 10 am – 4 pm at the Feiro Marine Life Center. Please see attached flyer for details.
Treats and coffee provided; rsvp: 206-221-6893 or coasst@uw.edu
Cathy
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Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: birds, event, Puget Sound, sequim | Comments Off on EVENT CANCELED- “Sea of Birds” lecture on March 24
