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Protecting Wildlife in Washington
Meet Commissioner Lorna Smith, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
7PM Thursday, September 21 on Zoom
Lorna will talk about the role of the Commission in managing and setting policy for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. She will discuss current issues before the Commission, including establishing rules for when the Department can kill endangered wolves and whether or not Washington’s wolves should retain their endangered status.
Lorna is an alumnus of Evergreen College. She served as Snohomish County lead environmental supervisor from 1986-2007 and as faculty for several Continuing Legal Education seminars on environmental compliance. Following her time at Snohomish County, she and her biologist husband, Darrell Smith, spent four years in Costa Rica working on habitat projects and establishment of a new national park. They have been involved in a number of conservation efforts including teaching natural history courses for the Jefferson Land Trust and serving on the Board of the Olympic Forest Coalition.
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Other Events in September
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Tour Miller Peninsula State Park, Thursday September 28, 11AM: The North Olympic Group has been closely monitoring State Parks' plans to develop Miller Peninsula State Park, an intact 3,000 acre forest. Join David Allen, a native plant restoration expert, to find out why preserving the Park in its natural state is a better idea.
This walk is approximately 3 miles round trip, stopping for lunch on the beach. Bring: water, lunch, snacks, camera, binoculars and dress for the fall weather. Rain may cancel this event.
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(photo: Washington DFW)
Wolves in Washington: The Sierra Club Wildlife Committee is hosting Ben Maletzke, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Gray Wolf Specialist, to present the 2022 WDFW wolf report, September 20, 5:30 to 6:30.
The WDFW is proposing downlisting the wolf from endangered to sensitive. The presentation will give you an opportunity to learn more about gray wolves and how they are recovering and dispersing in Washington.
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North Olympic Environmental News
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Lawsuit Filed to Stop Elwha Clearcuts: A coalition of groups–Earth Law Center, the Center for Whale Research, and the Keystone Species Alliance–filed a notice of appeal to challenge a 126-acre timber sale (on a parcel named "Power Plant") that borders popular recreation routes and is in the Elwha River watershed. According to state documents, some of the trees slated to be cut in Power Plant are 80 to 100 years old. The legal action alleges that DNR has systematically engaged in extensive logging of older legacy forests in the Elwha watershed without studies or consideration of environmental impacts. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to restore the Elwha and DNR seems intent on undoing the progress made. Find out how to take action below: (Source: The Olympic Peninsula Environmental News)
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(Sandpipers at Dungeness Refuge, U.S. F&WS)
Environmental Groups Sue to Protect the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge: On August 17, Protect the Peninsula’s Future was joined by The Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat and Beyond Pesticides in a legal action to hold the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) accountable to follow its regulations and protect the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. The USFWS had previously approved a private shellfish operation lease for 50 acres of refuge bottomlands. The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1915 by President Woodrow Wilson. The Refuge provides habitat, a preserve, and breeding grounds for more than 250 species of birds and 41 species of land animals. Find out more here:
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Overwhelming Support for Legacy Forests : In April, the Forest Service issued a rulemaking proposal to improve the climate resiliency of federally managed forests. The public comment period on the proposal closed this summer and more than 480,000 people commented on the need to protect our legacy forests. Mature and old-growth forests are the only proven, cost-effective carbon capture and storage technology. "We just have to let them grow,” said Randi Spivak, public lands policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s really frustrating that the Forest Service, in the midst of this proposal, is still planning to log even more of these old trees. Our climate can’t wait another year for a rule. The time to act is now.”
Navy Required to Redo Environmental Study: The Seattle Times reports: "A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Navy could continue running an increased number of jet flights at its base on Whidbey Island but must redo its environmental impact study that has been at the center of the case. The order follows a 2022 ruling that the Navy violated federal law in its study of expanded flight operations of noisy Growler jets. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve sued the Navy in 2019 after it decided to increase the number of flights to more than 110,000 per year, according to the Attorney General’s Office."
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Recent Environmental Research by Local Scientists
Two publications by Olympic Peninsula-based scientists are critical to our current understanding of marine biology and how environmental research is presented.
The first is a clarion call for a change in how scientists present findings. The authors of this paper cite pages of examples where researchers watered down their own results rather than emphasizing protection of the natural resources studied. The authors call for scientists to be advocates for halting and reversing the systemic degradation of the resources studied.
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(Adult Coho Salmon, NOAA)
The second addresses the dynamics of juvenile salmon and forage fish in nearshore kelp forests, the product of decades of work that lays to rest the fallacy that salmon don’t need healthy kelp beds. The loss of healthy kelp beds is associated with global forage fish declines. |
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Meet Jennifer Johnston and Discover Environmental Education Opportunities at Peninsula Community College
Our June guest, Jennifer Johnston, told us about exciting environmental educational opportunities at Western Washington University’s College of the Environment and its campuses throughout the Salish Sea--including Peninsula Community College. Watch the video here:
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Join the North Olympic Sierra Club Leadership
The North Olympic Group is a volunteer-based organization that promotes sound environmental policies, supports environmental champions for public office, and gets people outdoors to enjoy the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula. Each year we elect new members of our executive committee. Current members are Darlene Schanfald, Bob Sextro, Genie Mixon, Norm Baker and Peter Guerrero. Contact us if you're interested in joining us. Send a brief description of your background, interests, and how to contact you.
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Closing Comments
Here on the Olympic Peninsula, only plastic bottles and jugs stamped with a 1 or 2 — like those used for soda, milk and detergent —are reliably recycled. Much of the rest ends up in landfills or polluting our marine environment. The United Nations estimates that we produce 400 million tons of plastic waste every year.
According to an investigation by NPR and “Frontline,” the industry knew most plastic would not be recycled. Avoid plastics when you can until we have strong producer responsibility laws and meaningful labeling of plastics so consumers know what's reusable and what's trash.
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The North Olympic Group's website is updated to reflect current environmental issues and events. Members are encouraged to periodically check it out.
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