April 21, 2003

Environmental Watch: Lacey company hires fisheries specialist

LACEY -- Skillings-Connolly Inc., has added Michael McGinnis to its environmental team.

Before joining the engineering and environmental consulting firm, he was fisheries manager for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation. There he developed the Tribal Fisheries Program; the Tribal Restoration Program; and the Timber, Fish and Wildlife Program. He managed and implemented more than 75 habitat restoration projects; consulted with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries services; and participated on multi-agency fish and watershed management projects.

He also has experience in hatchery management in Washington and managed a fish culture project in Zaire.

Bamboo flooring company hires CFO

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND -- TimberGrass LLC, which says it's the nation’s leading manufacturer of bamboo floors and building products, has named Donald Markey chief financial officer.

Markey has more than 20 years of management and financial leadership experience with fast-growth West Coast companies. Most recently he was executive vice president and CFO for Pinnacle Realty Management Co., in Seattle.

TimberGrass has doubled its sales every year since the company was founded in 1994.

BBL's Seattle office has a new VP

SEATTLE -- Civil engineer Kris Fabian has joined Blasland, Bouck & Lee Inc.'s Seattle office as a vice president.

Fabian, who has a doctorate degree, was hired as part of the company's plan to expand its port and harbor team. BBL officials say that across the nation port authorities and waterfront businesses' demand for engineering and scientific expertise is increasing.

Accrding to the company, Fabian is an international leader in the fields of contaminated sediment management, and geotechnical engineerring and remedial design. His experience includes the management and execution of large projects under CERCLA and state regulatory requirements.

City considers removing dam on Nooksack

BELLINGHAM -- City officials are weighing whether to rip out a 40-year-old diversion dam on the Nooksack River's Middle Fork to improve chinook salmon habitat.

The city, Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Tribe have been thinking about building a fish ladder, but that could cost up to $9 million, according to a Bellingham Herald report. Plus, the city faces an additional $3 million worth of repairs to the dam.

The dam forces water into a tunnel and pipeline that emplies into Lake Whatcom, helping to regulate the city's water reserves.

The city and tribes could avoid those costs by removing the dam and using a simple intake pipe upstream from the dam to funnel water into the lake, which is the source of drinking water for 85,700 people. City officials estimate removing the dam and installing an intake pipe would cost between $3 million to $4 million.

The city has hired Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Inc. of Seattle to start investigating the options, including removal of the dam.

'E' events on tap for the coming weeks

SEATTLE -- The following environment-related events are planned: