Apr 13, 1999

Hart Crowser names 4 new principals

The environmental consulting firm of Hart Crowser has announced four senior appointments in the Seattle office. Julie Wukelic, senior environmental manager; Rob Frazier, federal market manager; Jeff Wagner, geotechnical division manager; and David Chawes, corporate health and safety manager; have been named principals of the firm. Wukelic has 16 years experience managing and coordinating multidisciplinary projects and manages the firm's Property Assessment Programs. Frazier, with more than 21 years of experience, specializes in directing emergency response and remedial actions in hazardous substance spills. Wagner has 16 years experience applying geotechnical engineering to planning, design and construction, and currently manages the firm's Geotechnical Division. Chawes is responsible for the firm's hazardous building materials discipline and has 20 years of experience.

Perkins hires former Bogle attorneys

Perkins Coie has added several attorneys to its environmental practice: Charles R. Blumenfeld, Robert F. Bakemeier, Karen M. McGaffey, Elizabeth L. McDougall and Karla J. Axell. All were formerly with Bogle & Gates. Blumenfeld formerly headed the environmental and natural resources group at Bogle & Gates. He has extensive experience in issues involving hazardous waste cleanup and permitting activities. Bakemeier is a litigator whose practice focuses on complex environmental litigation and counseling. McGaffey joins the firm as of counsel, emphasizing environmental and appellate litigation. At Bogle, she represented oil and energy companies as well as seafood processors and mining companies. McDougall is an associate. She has experience with mid-size environmental disputes. Axell was formerly an associate at Bogle and is a contract attorney with Perkins. Her practice is in litigation and counseling.

Trout listing compromise is reached

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- The Fish and Wildlife Service backed off an earlier endangered listing and declared the bull trout threatened in Nevada and Idaho on Thursday. The move allows anglers to continue fishing in the Jarbidge River. Environmentalists said the federal listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act should provide enough protection to save Nevada's last remaining population of bull trout from extinction. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said it was a good compromise that balances the needs of the troubled fish population and Elko County officials who want to rebuild a washed out road to a campground along the river in northeast Nevada. Federal officials will work with state regulators in Nevada and Idaho over the next two years to develop a long-term strategy to try to reverse the bull trout's declining numbers, the Fish and Wildlife Service said. Government biologists decided the federal listing was needed to protect the fish from the road building, mining and livestock grazing that have taken a toll on the few cold mountain streams where it still survives in the region. "Bull trout and their habitat are under great pressure from human activities, causing populations to decline," said Michael Spear, the Fish and Wildlife Service manager for Nevada and California based in Sacramento. By declaring the fish threatened, "we are taking an important step to stem this decline and promote recovery," he said. The service took the unusual step of temporarily declaring the bull trout endangered on an emergency basis in August after Elko County insisted on moving forward with road repair work near the river. The new permanent listing makes it illegal to alter the bull trout's habitat without first getting approval from the federal government. The threatened status means sport fishermen can continue to fish the river as long as they release any bull trout unharmed. An endangered listing would have made it illegal to even accidentally hook a bull trout while fishing for other species in the Jarbidge River -- punishable by fines of up to $100,000. Reid said the endangered listing would have meant a moratorium on any activity in the bull trout's habitat. Bob Williams, the Fish and Wildlife Service's field supervisor for Nevada, said the emergency listing was based on the "unauthorized road activities. "Since then, we've been in a dialogue with the Elko County folks," he said. County officials "intentionally drove heavy machinery" through a portion of the West Fork of the Jarbidge, the Fish and Wildlife Service said. The work crew destroyed about one-fourth of the bull trout habitat remaining in that section of the river -- the stretch with the highest density of bull trout. An estimated 50 to 125 bull trout spawn annually throughout the entire Jarbidge River basin. Williams said the threatened listing was arrived at partly because county officials have agreed to stay out of the river and the state of Nevada has dropped plans to stock the river with rainbow trout, which compete with the bull trout for food. "We felt some management activities were occurring that were positive to the extent that we could list it as threatened," Williams said. Only four other populations of bull trout survive in the West. The Fish and Wildlife Service declared the bull trout as threatened in the Klamath River and Columbia River in Oregon last summer. The agency has proposed listing the fish as threatened in the Coastal-Puget Sound area of Washington and the St. Mary-Belly River in Montana.

New forestry rule to protect salmon

OLYMPIA-- The Washington Forest Practices Board recently approved a new and comprehensive emergency rule that provides additional protection for the seven new salmoniod listings announced by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The 120-day rule, which went into effect April 6, expands the geographic scope of the emergency rule adopted last November after the federal listing of the Bull Trout. Now, additional environmental review will be required to harvest trees or build roads within 100 feet of fish-bearing streams and within 200 feet of other "salmoniod listed areas."

Bainbridge gets enviro-friendly boiler

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND -- The city Public Works Department recently installed a new boiler that may help cut operational expenses at the city's maintenance facility and protect the environment. The Shenandoah/Columbia L24 Waste Oil Boiler -- distributed by Northwest Industrial Equipment of Kent -- burns used motor oil, transmission and other petroleum-based fluids from the city's vehicle fleet to heat the department's maintenance bays. Chris St. Romain, Public Works facilities fleet/equipment lead, expects the waste-oil boiler to dramatically reduce heating bills. In fact, using recycled oil could save the city about 60 cents per gallon, he said. Northwest Industrial Equipment officials said the boiler also meets on-site used oil recycling guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency and the state Department of Ecology.

Potato grower gets water-saving tips

OLYMPIA -- A team of pollution-prevention engineers from the Department of Ecology will work this year to help Basin Frozen Foods, a potato processor in Warden, reduce its pollutant discharge and save water -- even as the company triples its processing capacity. Basin Frozen Foods was picked to be the fourth facility in the state to receive pollution-prevention help from Ecology's Toxic Reduction Engineer Exchange program. The company's discharge permit limits it to discharging about 350,000 gallons of water per day. However, a draft engineering report indicated that once the facility expands, it will need to discharge about 1 million gallons per day -- an amount that the city of Warden can't accommodate. Ecology engineers plan to adopt new technology that will help keep discharge within manageable quantities. The engineers will then use the Basin Frozen Foods plant as a model for similar companies which need to reduce water waste. "It's easy to see why we're so excited about this," said George Schlender, a water-resource manager for Ecology. "If the facility needed to triple its water use to correspond to its expansion, we'd be talking about a huge quantity of water that we just don't have in Washington."

Destinations.com

Todd Tarbert has been named president and CEO of Destinations.com, a voice and Web-based leisure travel reservation service. He has been president of the firm since last summer when it was formed by merging two travel technology companies. Earlier in his career Tarbert founded Synergies Inc., a Seattle-based venture capital firm focused on start-up companies.

Bullivant Houser Bailey

The law firm of Bullivant Houser Bailey has added Stephen D. Fisher, a corporate and intellectual property attorney, to its Seattle office in the Business Practice Group. Fisher was formerly with Stoel Rives and advises businesses on capital formation, mergers, financing and technology transfer.

MediaMosaic

MediaMosaic Inc., a Renton-based technology training and communications company, has appointed Wayne Worthen vice president of design services. The move is the result of a company reorganization and the formation of two service divisions, design services and technology.

Northwest Lodging

Joseph 'Jimmy' Saiz has been named area director of operations for Northwest Lodging, a Seattle-based hospitality management company. He will oversee operations for all hotels and inns in Oregon, southwest Washington and Idaho.

KCTS

The KCTS Television Board and the KCTS Association Board have two new directors: Tomio Moriguchi of Seattle and Dorothy Byrne of West Vancouver, B.C. Moriguchi is chairman and CEO of Uwajimaya Inc. in Seattle. Byrne is a barrister and solicitor and has worked in the B.C. broadcast industry.

Street Youth Legal Advocates

Casey Trupin, a third-year law student at the University of Washington, has been named a 1999 recipient of an Equal Justice Fellowship from the National Association for Public Interest Law. Two years ago Trupin and a group of UW law school faculty and other students formed the Street Youth Legal Advocates of Washington. The fellowship will provide Trupin with funding to operate SYLAW for the next two years.

Lugo Construction

Lugo Construction of Fife has hired Herb Pilgreen as a project manager. Pilgreen will operate out of the firm's Bellevue office. He previously worked for Ron Construction.

Tully's

Valerie Roberts has joined Tully's Coffee Corp. as construction manager for its California expansion program. Roberts will oversee general contractors, architects and vendors for the company's upcoming roll-out plan. She previously served as construction manager for Starbucks in San Francisco.