May 18, 2004

Environmental Watch: Meeting Wednesday on Puget Sound plan

OLYMPIA -- Puget Sound Council, an advisory group for the Puget Sound Action Team, meets tomorrow at Washington State University, 600 128th St. S.E. in Everett from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Members will review the Puget Sound Conservation and Recovery Plan, which defines priority environmental work for 10 state agencies and two universities to take place from July 2005 to June 2007.

Ways to improve water quality and habitat for orcas, salmon, shellfish and other marine life are part of the plan, which will be submitted to the 2005 Legislature for review and funding.

Puget Sound Council has representatives from business, agricultural, environmental, and local and tribal governments. For information call (360) 725-5445 or visit www.psat.wa.gov/Who_we_are/Council.htm.

Strawbale/solar talk Thursday in Spokane

SPOKANE -- Architect Kelly Lerner will present "Strawbale Solar Design and Construction" on Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Washington State University's Spokane campus at 310 N. Riverpoint Blvd.

The talk covers projects in Mongolia, China, California and the Northwest. Lerner teaches natural building workshops and directs testing for the Environmental Building Network. She is an expert on climate-responsive design and sustainable development, and her ecological design work has been published in Metropolis Magazine, Alternative Construction and Building Without Borders.

For more information, contact Deborah Warner at (208) 683-1649 or sunrisedesign@icehouse.net. Or contact Ed Bryant at (509) 927-2430 bryant@icehouse.net.

New rules on oiled wildlife proposed

FEDERAL WAY -- On Thursday the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold a public meeting on its oiled wildlife rehabilitation rules. The meeting takes place at the Federal Way Regional Library at 34200 First Way S. from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

A draft of proposed rule changes, which would amend existing guidelines on how wildlife is rehabilitated, will be presented to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission at its August meeting in Everett/Lynnwood.

Copies of the draft are posted at www.wdfw.wa.gov/hab/oil_spill. For a paper copy, write to Eric Larsen, WDFW Oil Spill Team Manager, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia 98501. For more information, call (360) 902-8123.

BetterBricks offers energy events in June

SEATTLE -- Three roundtable discussions on energy will be held June 8, 17 and 29. "Navigating the Energy Points in LEED" will be on June 8 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Sellen Construction. A follow-up discussion will be held June 17 at Seattle City Light from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

"Energy Saving Design in Server Rooms and Data Centers" will be held June 29 at Seattle City Light from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Talks are sponsored by BetterBricks Professional Training, Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light and Tacoma Power. Talks are free but registration is required. For more information, contact (206) 343-3960, training@betterbricks.com or visit www.betterbricks.com/training.

Port OKs dredging for T-46

SEATTLE -- The Port of Seattle last week approved a dredging project at Terminal 46.

The $680,000 project will remove 27,000 cubic yards of sediment. Some or all of the spoils may be unsuitable for open-water disposal, port officials say.

Two-and-a-half years ago the port authorized $71 million to expand T-46 for Hanjin. The plan did not call for any dredging, but some "high spots" have been found on the harbor floor that will interfere with the operations of larger ships, port officials say.

Port commissioners approved funds to hire help to apply for permits, sample sediment and complete engineering. The design will be done by June, and the work is to go to bid in August.

$40K grants available for urban trees

SEATTLE -- Community groups and volunteers are encouraged to submit grant proposals for urban tree projects by July 1. Experts in forestry and ecology help volunteers start tree restoration projects. Grants of up to $40,000 may be used to buy trees and supplies.

As big leaf maples and alders in greenbelts reach the end of their natural life span, invading species such as English ivy, holly and laurel will leave no room for young trees.

King County received funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and Washington Department of Natural Resources to create the Natural Resource Stewardship Network, which is now 10 years old. Network members are government agencies, businesses and educational institutions.

For grant information, visit http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/pi/grant-exchange/NRSN.htm or call (206) 296-8042.

Helicopter crew works on salmon project

SULTAN -- Logs and root-wads from Spada Lake reservoir soon will be airlifted to the Sultan River by a Washington Department of Natural Resources' helicopter fire crew, giving pilots a chance to train for "what could be a very tough wildfire season," said Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland.

Government agencies and the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation are enhancing a juvenile salmon habitat in one of Sultan River's side channels.

Funds from the Fish America Foundation were used to purchase 1,000 hemlocks, cedars and Douglas fir trees, which were recently planted along the channel. Another 1,000 will be planted this winter.

Russian refuge to help NW salmon

PORTLAND -- Governor Mashkovtsev of the Kamchatka Oblast Regional Administration has authorized a 544,000-acre headwaters-to-ocean salmon refuge on the southwest side of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.

Guido Rahr of the Wild Salmon Center in Portland said Kamchatka is like the Pacific Northwest was 100 years ago, before habitats were damaged by industries. Rahr said restoration of Northwest habitats has cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Such costs can be avoided in Kamchatka with preservation projects like the refuge, which is designed to protect salmon from the impacts of coal, gold and natural gas industries.

The United Nations Development Program and the Wild Salmon Center say the Kol River Salmon Refuge is important because it has all six native Pacific salmon species: chinook, coho, sockeye, chum, pink and Asian masu salmon. Also in the region are steelhead, rainbow trout, Dolly Varden char and white-spotted char.