Our Cherry Point Legacy

Marie Hitchman was a member of the Cherry Point Work Group in 2007-2008.

On June 15, 1996, I participated in a field trip to the Cherry Point beach at Gulf Road. That day a member of our group took a photo of hundreds of young molting Dungeness crab carapaces (shells) at the very location of the proposed Gateway Pacific pier. The only salt water marsh along that entire Reach was alive with birds, including a bald eagle. Since that day I have spent many pleasant hours at low tide studying the marine organisms and have identified over 40 species of algae (seaweed) 25 of which are listed by Fish and Wildlife as substrate for the late spawning herring along Cherry Point. This is one of the most relatively intact and diverse areas in Puget Sound/Salish Sea. In 2002, a group of us enjoyed a two day low tide beach walk from Point Whitehorn to Neptune Beach. The first day we spotted Orcas swimming parallel to the shore.

In July 2007, I was privileged to participate on the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Cherry Point Work Group composed of representatives from government, industry, environment, education, and local tribes. Our task was to assist DNR in formulating a management plan for the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve established by the DNR Commissioner in 2000.The group met almost weekly for one and a half years with presentations on various topics, including jobs, ship traffic, and the marine environment.

Jobs: March 18, 2008, Skip Sahlin of SSA gave a brief presentation on the Gateway proposal. His answer to the question of the number of permanent jobs was 90. Why is this number now 280 and still rising? There was nothing in the presentation on storm water run-off from upland storage of coal, potash, sulphur, etc., or studies on the increased projection of rail and ship traffic through Whatcom County.  The proposed pier could accomodate up to three bulk cargo ships at one time.

Ship Traffic: Another presentation showed that there is already a tight traffic situation along the Cherry Point Reach. The newer cape sized cargo ships are bigger than oil tankers. The International Maritime Organization and the Coast Guard show that dry cargo vessels have the highest accident rate among commercial vessels worldwide. Another pier at Cherry Ptoint would increase the odds of a major collision and /or oil spill.

Marine Environment: The steep water gradient drop-off at Cherry Point which would allow  for a new pier without dredging also produces a very rich environment for zooplankton, late spawning herring, bottom fish, crab and on up the food chain to salmon and Orcas.

If you build it they will come. Not necessarily!

• The most direct distance to sea from Powder River coal in Montana and Wyoming is along the Columbia River.

• The permit for a coal export facility near Longview was withdawn by the applicant when internal douments revealed it planned to ship up to 10 times more coal than was listed on the application.

• Port of Tacoma said no to coal shipments.

• Port of Seattle is not at capacity.

• The Deltaport at Roberts Bank, where there is already a sizeable marine dead zone, is under major expansion.

So, among other things, what do the people of Whatcom County want for the future?

• Gateway/SSA/Carrix/Goldman Sachs/ BNSF want a profit for their private investors.

• Politicians want tax revenues.

• Labor wants jobs.

• Fishermen want a viable fishery.

• Puget Sound Partnership wants to clean up Puget Sound.

• Environmentalists want to maintain a healthy, diverse ecosystem for future sustainable development.

Dirty coal is a major contributor to global warming. According to James Fallows in the Dec. 2010 issue of The Atlantic magazine, the first experimental “clean coal” plant is scheduled to open in 2013 in China. In the U.S. a second “clean coal” plant is still in the experimental stage. Is it ethical to ship to the Far East a commodity that the U.S. is trying to phase out?

For those who prefer pragmatism, how pragmatic is it to ship dirty coal overseas only to have its pollutants such as mercury come back to us in the air we breathe?

Do we want to choose short term jobs and taxes from extractive industries like coal and potash, rather than protect the ecosystem for sustainable industries?

Is it wishful thinking to believe that this type of industrial development can happily co-exist with nature? I believe that the precautionary principle should apply

This Christmas my oldest son and his two teen-age daughters joined me in a walk along the Cherry Point beach. The outgoing tide was flowing back to sea from the outlet to the marsh. A pair of bald eagles kept a beady-eyed watch on us from a tall cottonwood. It was quiet and peaceful with a beautiful view of the San Juans. What kind of legacy will we leave for our children and grandchildren? §