Monthly News Archive:
October 2006
Table of Contents:
- Salmon farm on Bainbridge lands Whole Foods deal
- Ecologist finds quiet spot in park and hopes to expand on it
- State issues warning on eating Puget Sound salmon
- Washington landowners to help pygmy rabbits
- Let's make a deal: Boeing Field for trails
- Taking pause in an eagle on a crisp autumn day
- A mixed bag for recycling in Washington State
- Puget Sound orca pods lose 3
- Paid for not taking the car to work
- Puget Sound panel details daunting cleanup endeavor
- Toxic stormwater is one of the Sound's biggest threats
- Real Estate Lawyers Build For Lions and Tigers and Bears – Oh, My!
- A rising tide of chemicals in Puget Sound
- Marine life is disappearing from Puget Sound, and fast
- Washington property rights measure raises concern
- A great Northwest pastime--backpacking--is losing popularity
- $1 million grant for wetlands secured for Washington coast
- Garbage-to-diesel plant to open near Tacoma
- First pact saves farm
- Climate Change Accounting in Two National Forests
Salmon farm on Bainbridge lands Whole Foods deal
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND -- The sea gulls know it's feeding time, even though the brown food pellets flying their way aren't meant for them.
At an offshore salmon farm here, the fish dine on a mixture of anchovy, herring, wheat, soybeans and corn. They receive no hormones, antibiotics or steroids. They aren't genetically engineered. They swim in pens filled with one-half to two-thirds the number of salmon in typical Canadian farms.
Double nets keep salmon in and sea predators out. Another net protects the top of the pens, giving gulls a place to perch as t...Read the full story
October 30, 2006
Add Comments...Ecologist finds quiet spot in park and hopes to expand on it
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK -- Reclining against the trunk of a Western hemlock, arms behind his head, Gordon Hempton listens closely to the quiet symphony of nature.
The rumble of the Hoh River in the distance. A winter wren's trill. The chattering of a Douglas squirrel.
Perhaps more striking is what's missing. There is no sound of airplane traffic, campground generators or overchatty hikers -- all sounds that Hempton says are disturbing the peace at national parks across the country.
The abundance of quiet in this small spot led Hempton to place...Read the full story
State issues warning on eating Puget Sound salmon
Puget Sound's chinook salmon, prized by sport fishermen, tribes and endangered orcas alike, are so polluted with toxic chemicals that the state Health Department is advising that children and pregnant women limit how much they eat.
In reality, the advisory will have little effect; nearly all the chinook sold locally are caught outside Puget Sound. And most people don't eat that much chinook.
But the very idea that Puget Sound's iconic salmon have turned toxic has the power to generate powerful emotional reactions.
For state officials and environmentalists, the notice...Read the full story
Washington landowners to help pygmy rabbits
EPHRATA, Wash. - Now all they need is the rabbits. On a sprawling central Washington wheat farm, state and federal officials signed a landmark agreement Tuesday to create a "safe harbor" for reintroduction of the tiny Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, which was listed as an endangered species in 2001 and whose impending return has raised concerns among area farmers that the bunnies could bust their business.
Pygmy rabbits are the smallest rabbits in North America, weighing about 1 pound, and one of only two rabbit species that dig burrows in deep soil. They are ...Read the full story
Let's make a deal: Boeing Field for trails
Call it the local land swap of the century -- maybe.
Under a deal many months in the making, the Port of Seattle would acquire Boeing Field from King County and in exchange would give the county a 47-mile Eastside rail corridor for recreational use.
It's still just a concept.
It faces many hurdles: regulatory, financial, business and political.
But King County Executive Ron Sims and Port of Seattle Chief Executive Mic Dinsmore presented it as a vital transaction at a news conference Wednesday that even surprised one of the county's biggest private employers —...Read the full story
Taking pause in an eagle on a crisp autumn day
TABLE MOUNTAIN — Someone else saw it first.
A guy passing by on the trail, enthusiastic Malamute leading the way, called it out and pointed directly overhead.
"Bald eagle!"
His enthusiasm was almost silly at first. Bald eagles, thankfully, are a common sight in the Northwest, thanks to curbs on pesticides and other pollutants that threatened their existence as recently as three decades ago. You see them in city parks, along shorelines, and, in the winter, in spectacular numbers on local salmon-spawning streams.
The proud birds are pr...Read the full story
A mixed bag for recycling in Washington State
Washingtonians, take a bow.
We've raised our rate of recycling to the highest level in state history 44 percent. That's way above the latest reported national average of 29 percent.
Now the bad news: The Evergreen State's recycling rate still lags behind the 50 percent goal established by the Legislature back during the first Bush administration. Worse, a new assessment by the state Department of Ecology shows that we're producing more waste per person than ever before almost eight pounds per day.
"That's doubly disturbing because we have more people than we've ever ...Read the full story
Puget Sound orca pods lose 3
Experts believe missing adult whales may have died of starvation
Three of the 90 orcas that call Puget Sound home are missing and presumed dead, researchers said Tuesday. At least two had shown signs of starvation.
Although it's fairly common for young orcas to perish, the deaths of three adults in or near their reproductive prime is worrisome, researchers said. It's also much more common for whales to die in the winter, when food is scarce, rather than in the usually abundant summer.
"This is very important," said Kelley Balcomb-Bartok of the Center...Read the full story
Paid for not taking the car to work
Region's best job sites for commuters listed
Even on Seattle's drizzliest, chilliest mornings, Daniel Hirschstein leaves his new sports car in the garage and pedals through train yards and past petroleum tanks down a narrow industrial path to his lab at Amgen Inc.
"I think that there's too many cars on the road as it is," said the 47-year-old research scientist. "I just came back from L.A., and believe me, I'd hate to see our city turn into something like that, traffic-wise."
His company agrees. That's why every time Hirschs...Read the full story
Puget Sound panel details daunting cleanup endeavor
A blue-ribbon panel charged with restoring the health of Puget Sound by 2020 outlined ambitious priorities Thursday, including reducing toxic chemicals and sewage, improving shorelines, reducing stormwater runoff, restoring and preserving habitat and getting people involved.
But Gov. Chris Gregoire's Partnership for Puget Sound was fuzzy on the cost of restoring Puget Sound by 2020 - and how to hold everyone accountable for reaching those goals.
"The partnership talks about accountability as the key issue, and it is," said Kathy Fletcher, partnership member and executive dir...Read the full story
Toxic stormwater is one of the Sound's biggest threats
Knowledge goes only so far in controlling polluted runoff
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND -- It's up to the oysters now.
Can they save Bainbridge Island's Eagle Harbor? A government cleanup hasn't.
The scenic bay is still under assault, despite a costly rehab of the harbor. A defunct creosote plant at the water's edge was walled off, vast amounts of poisoned sludge were scooped out and what remained was buried under clean sand.
But the $100 million-and-counting effort couldn't keep the harbor's eelgrass -- a crucial marine refuge ...Read the full story
Real Estate Lawyers Build For Lions and Tigers and Bears – Oh, My!
Well, actually, for raccoons, birds and somewhat smaller wildlife, but as part of an ongoing community service initiative, 50-plus members of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and their spouses or guests will spend a day at the Progressive Animal Welfare Society in Seattle to construct cages for raccoons, build recovery pools for oiled birds and paint the Wildlife Center building.
Although ACREL members usually work with pen and paper – or, more accurately, PCs and PDAs – they are also handy with a hammer...Read the full story
A rising tide of chemicals in Puget Sound
Modern chemical is now found at the top of the food chain
PORT RENFREW, Vancouver Island -- Sporting hockey helmets and knee pads, the two researchers squatting in the aluminum skiff looked ready for a roller derby.
Peter Ross' voice broke the static of the marine radio.
"We've got a customer," he said. "We'll be coming up alongside."
On a sunny summer afternoon, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists zipped back to the larger Zodiak-style vessel where research gear was stored. The "customer" was a ...Read the full story
Marine life is disappearing from Puget Sound, and fast
Peter Lang and his buddies like to go diving by Blake Island, just across Puget Sound from West Seattle, where they can scoop up delectable Dungeness crabs.
But when they showed up last spring, the lush meadows of eelgrass where crab like to hide were nearly gone. In the sandy expanse below, they could pick out just a cell phone and an old car radio.
Where they normally spotted scads of crabs and fish, they saw just one sick-looking Dungeness -- with only one claw. It didn't bother to run from them.
The place -- within sight of Tillicum Village, where tourists savor ...Read the full story
Washington property rights measure raises concern
State and local fishing organizations warned Wednesday that Initiative 933, the property rights initiative, would roll back a decade of stream protection rules and threaten habitat restoration efforts on waterways statewide, including the East Fork of the Lewis River.
An unreleased draft report by the the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, prepared by staff members in the habitat and wildlife divisions, reaches some of the same conclusions.
I-933 would force local governments to pay property owners when they enforce laws that require them to leave a portion of their...Read the full story
A great Northwest pastime--backpacking--is losing popularity
Ron Strickland was a 19-year-old Georgetown University student when he read an article about antiques dealer Paris Walters, who hiked 450 miles through the Cascades on what later became the Pacific Crest Trail. The year was 1962, and a continuous long-distance backpacking trip like that was a rare feat.
"It captured my imagination," says Strickland. Six years later, he flew to Seattle and hiked the trail himself, escaping into the wilderness from what he felt were the crowds and social malaise of the East. Strickland felt liberated by the Cascades, which were much grander than anyth...Read the full story
$1 million grant for wetlands secured for Washington coast
The North Willapa Bay Wetlands Conservation has received a $1 million federal grant to help protect 2,116 acres of wetlands.
Funding will be used to purchase 1,391 acres of wetlands for conservation and an additional 725 acres of land will be restored through dike removal and invasive species control.
“Willapa Bay is a pristine estuary that is home to amazing biodiversity,� said Congressman Brian Baird, D-Wash., who helped obtain the funds. “The grant will help ensure it is protected for future generations to enjoy.�
The Wildlife Forever Fund, Tagney Jones Family Fun...Read the full story
Garbage-to-diesel plant to open near Tacoma
Green Power Inc., an Issaquah-based alternative energy company, plans to build an $82 million garbage-to-diesel plant in Fife, the company’s chief executive officer said Tuesday.
The company says it has technology that can turn household trash into diesel fuel in a matter of minutes with a process that generates almost no pollution.
The plant is set to be built on 12 acres of private property inside the Puyallup Tribe of Indians reservation. Green Power will lease the land, which is owned by Michael Turnipseed, a Puyallup Tribe member and owner of an excavation business. Mic...Read the full story
First pact saves farm
The county will pay $2.1 million for the development rights, reserving the land for agriculture.
ARLINGTON - Orin and Grace Barlond might have gone either way.
Sell their farm to developers and get millions right away, then have the land turn into subdivisions.
Or keep their farm, and sell off future development rights to Snohomish County.
The longtime Arlington farming family is in line to become the first to take the county's deal.
Orin Barlond wants to see his 91 acres of land worked by farmers for as long...Read the full story
Climate Change Accounting in Two National Forests
WENATCHEE -- The Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests will be among the first in the nation to prepare for global warming.
Forest administrators are working on a plan that includes measuring climate change, and strategies to adapt quickly if changes occur.
The plan, when unveiled in 2007, will take a serious look at how to deal with what experts say may include larger and more frequent wildfires, and massive forest die-backs from pine beetle and other insects.
"The Okanogan, Wenatchee and Colville forests are going to be at the leading ed...Read the full story
