September 7, 2004

Environmental Watch: Howard Hanson Dam meeting Sept. 8

SEATTLE — A public meeting on water and fish habitat restoration plans for Howard Hanson Dam is set for Sept. 8. at Federal Center South, 4735 E. Marginal Way S. from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release large woody debris collected above the dam each year.

The Corps worked on Howard Hanson restoration to study how gravel and wood work together. It built log jams with root wads attached and installed gravel. Corps biologists found chinook, pink, sockeye and coho salmon spawning in the new habitat last year. Monitoring surveys this year showed fry using log jams as rearing and protection habitat.

For more information, contact public affairs specialist Andrea Takash at (206) 766-6447.

Biodiesel on job sites: workshop Sept. 22

SEATTLE — Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition hosts a free workshop for developers, architects and contractors on biodiesel Sept. 22 at the Lighting Design Lab, 400 E. Pine St. in Seattle.

Talks include how developers have used biodiesel, stories from contractors and fleets using it, and where to get biodiesel. Participants can meet fuel providers and suppliers. Biodiesel is biodegradable and renewable.

New Environmental Protection Agency standards for emissions controls and cleaner diesel fuel for on- and off-road equipment will take effect in 2006. Biodiesel produces less air pollution than diesel fuel, according to Clean Cities, and is versatile enough to use with almost any diesel engine.

Register for the workshop before Sept. 15 by contacting (206) 684-0935 or linda.graham@seattle.gov. For more information, visit pugetsoundcleancities.org/biodieselworkshop.htm

$1M skate park eyed for Woodland Park

SEATTLE — The Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation is proposing a 23,000-square-foot skateboard park on unused land at Lower Woodland Park. It would cost $1 million.

Susan Golub, strategic advisor with Parks, said part of the reason costs are estimated to be so high is a maintenance road that would have to be moved.

Seattle lacks good skate parks, she said, though it has one at Seattle Center and one in Ballard on a site scheduled to be redeveloped into a new park.

No architect has been chosen, but a staff landscape architect drew a preliminary design with input from a group of skateboard enthusiasts. It would have areas to accommodate all skill levels, a street course and an elevated viewing area.

Construction for the 14,000-square-foot first phase is set to begin in 2006. Parks has requested $300,000 in grants from a committee for outdoor recreation.

The skate park is one item the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners will consider at its Sept. 9 meeting, to be held at 100 Dexter Ave. N. at 6 p.m. Also on the agenda is Occidental Square Park. Revamping the park is part of Mayor Nickels' Downtown Parks Initiative to make the space more inviting to visitors.

For more information, contact Sandy Brooks at (206) 684-5066 or sandy.brooks@seattle.gov.

County cutting willows at Marymoor

SEATTLE — Willow trees are being removed at Marymoor Park near Redmond, even though they provide shade for salmon in a fish and wildlife habitat.

The willow tree removal is part of a maintenance agreement King County signed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers more than 40 years ago intended to improve water flow through the area during floods. Vegetation between the banks is removed each year.

The county and the Corps are working on the Willowmoor Reach Restoration project, to see how the section could be reconfigured so willows don't need to be cut again. The project is in design phase and construction won't begin until at least the summer of 2006. For more information, visit http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/flood/willowmoor.

Oregon DEQ seeks study of its efficiency

PORTLAND — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is seeking proposals from firms or individuals to do a study of workflow efficiency.

The contractor will study the workload in DEQ's laboratory division, assessing priorities, looking at laboratory functions, and identifying ways to improve efficiency. The purpose of the study is to find out which functions could be outsourced to cut expenses and still maintain quality.

An optional meeting will be held Sept. 14 at the DEQ Laboratory, 1712 S.W. Eleventh St., Portland. Closing date for the RFP is Sept. 30.