Sep 01, 1998

Green guru Bob Fox to speak Sept. 14

SEATTLE -- Bob Fox, a principal in Fox & Fowle Architects, will discuss his 'green' New York City skyscraper at a brown bag luncheon Sept. 14 in Seattle. Fox will be joined by Tom Paladino, of Paladino Consultants, and Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin. Fox's skyscraper, called 4 Times Square, is the largest building to use sustainable, or green, design and construction. It is 48 stories tall and encloses 1.6 million square feet. The luncheon will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Dome Room, 700 Third Ave., Third Floor. To RSVP, contact Dan Nygaard at (206) 684-5938.

APEC verification workshop starts today

SEATTLE -- The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation organization, or APEC, is holding its environmental technology verification workshop in Seattle this week at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on Pier 66. The objective of the workshop is to promote innovative environmental technologies in APEC member countries by developing ways to verify their performance. The invitation-only workshop starts with a reception tonight. Wednesday will be devoted to orientation, site visits, a dinner and talk by Chuck Clark of EPA Region 10; the workshop sessions will be held Thursday and Friday. For more information, contact Michael Jacobson of the Pacific Rim Enterprise Center in Seattle, (206) 224-9934.

Old hatchery is 'historic,' gets upgrade

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. (AP) -- The outlook should get a little better for new generations of slippery residents of the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery after this summer. Renovations under way at the 60-year-old federal facility operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will make for a sturdier swim up the fish ladder, a more protected stay in the fish ponds and an easier release into Icicle Creek. "The old hatchery was just worn out and needed some help," said hatchery spokeswoman Corky Broaddus. The biggest improvement: new 100-foot-long covered rearing ponds that will cost an estimated $1 million. Broaddus said the covers will keep out ducks and other birds that feast on young fish in the ponds, and will better control the water temperature in the ponds. "These little guys were easy pickings in uncovered ponds," she said of the young salmon. "It should improve the overall health and safety of the fish." After adult salmon return to the hatchery to lay eggs and die, the eggs are incubated until they hatch. The young salmon are then kept in the ponds for up to 20 months, then released for their long journey past seven dams in the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Of the roughly 1.5 million small fish released each spring, only about 5,000 are expected to survive the adventure, escaping predators and fishermen to return to the hatchery in four to six years and spawn a new generation of salmon. Many of the original rearing ponds at the hatchery are no longer being used, Broaddus said. But they will not be torn out. The hatchery was recently added to the national registry of historic places, which happens to all federal facilities after they turn 50, Broaddus said. "Everything in the hatchery is now deemed archaeologically important," she said. "So we have to go through certain processes when we want to remodel the facility. We have to stay consistent with the historic integrity." The federal listing came after the new rearing ponds were already under construction, so they were not subject to the new standards for remodeling. A new underground pipe has also been installed to carry the fish from the rearing ponds into Icicle Creek when they are released in the spring. A drainage problem earlier this year meant the fish had to go through one pipe into another pond, then be released through another pipe into the river. Another phase of the remodeling project is restoring the river bank below the hatchery. She said flood waters in recent years have eroded the bank near the fish ladder, which fish use to reach the hatchery.

Northwest Natural rethinks pesticide use

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) -- Northwest Natural will re-examine its procedure for spraying pesticides in sensitive areas after complaints about spraying in a coastal prairie that supports the threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly. But the utility said it's simply not feasible to stop spraying altogether and clear the brush along its pipelines by hand. "We'll make sure we're not a protected area. If we are, we'll do what we can to make sure we're not harming anything," said company spokesman Deston Nokes. "But spraying will continue." The company is required by the U.S. Department of Transportation to keep pipelines clear of vegetation. Around the end of July, Northwest Natural crews sprayed an herbicide to control blackberries and other brush along a 30-foot wide, one-mile-long section of pipeline that crosses the Clatsop Plains, a coastal prairie between Warrenton and Gearhart. A neighboring landowner filed a complaint after learning of the spraying, which he said drifted onto his land. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Portland hasn't determined that the spray harmed any butterflies. An agency spokeswoman said it could be up to a year and a half or more before agency biologists can gauge the effect of the spraying through population surveys. Northwest Natural staffers said the pesticide in question was Garlon, a woody plant killer in widespread use. It would harm neither the butterflies nor the common blue violets on which the insects depend, they said. A Fish and Wildlife Service expert agreed it was "unlikely" the spray would harm the butterfly, but didn't feel comfortable writing off its effects on the violets, agency spokeswoman Brenda Lincoln said. However, she said, one of the brushy plants Northwest Natural hoped to eradicate, Scotch broom, actually blocks out the violets that the butterflies need. The Oregon silverspot butterfly is protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The insect has deep orange wings with black spots; the silvery spots are beneath its wings. Only about 200 of the butterflies were counted in the Clatsop Plains area in 1993. In the future, Northwest Natural will check with a local conservation group that monitors butterflies before spraying, Nokes said. The Nature Conservancy owns property on Clatsop Plains, and has copies of maps showing butterfly habitat. The utility also will notify nearby property owners when spraying is scheduled, Nokes said, adding that the issue made waves "at the highest levels of the company." Meanwhile, the landowner who complained, Robin Powers, said Monday that he still isn't satisfied. He said the herbicide, sprayed on a windy day, misted onto his land. His chief concern, he said, is the effect on birds that feed on the sprayed blackberries. "If I can push a criminal complaint, then I'm probably going to do it," he said. Jon Savelle is the Journal's environment editor. He can be contacted at (206) 622-8272 or jon@djc.com.

Merit Co.

Tacoma-based Merit Co. recently sponsored a basketball camp for 110 kids from Pierce County Boys and Girls Clubs. The camp -- George Karl's "Friends of Hoop" -- was held Aug. 11 at Highline Community College. It helped kids develop their basketball skills and agility.

Richmond Public Relations

Wendy Lothspeich has joined Richmond Public Relations as an account executive. Lothspeich formerly served as director of public relations for the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta and served on Olympic pre-planning communications committees during the 1996 Olympic Games.

King's Command Foods Inc.

Lorie Kelly has been promoted to director of marketing, a newly created position, at King's Command Foods Inc., a Kent-based meat processor. Kelly formerly served as a marketing and sales assistant.

State Department of Revenue

The Washington State Department of Revenue has named Jennine Purrington regional compliance manager for Region 1. Region 1 includes the greater Seattle and Bremerton areas, and Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, Jefferson, Clallam, and Island counties. Purrington formerly served as external operations manager for the agency's taxpayer account administration division and district compliance manager for tax discovery.

Seattle Mortgage Co.

David Smith has been promoted to chief credit officer and John Henkle has been promoted to commercial loan sales manager at Seattle Mortgage Co. Smith formerly served as senior vice president of commercial loans. Henkle formerly served as a loan officer in the commercial department.

Stoel Rives

David S. Levin and Kenneth M. Odza have joined Stoel Rives as associates in the firm's Seattle office. Levin joins the labor and employment law group and Odza joins the litigation group. Levin previously practiced in the New York office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Odza formerly practiced with the law firm of Faulker Barnfield in Juneau.