Sound Bites: Bite-Sized Bits of News From Around Puget Sound

Locke Sees No Reason to Change Clinton Roadless Rule: The Bush administration wants to give governors a say in managing more than 40 million acres of backcountry national forests, but Washington’s Gov. Gary Locke isn’t jumping at the chance. In the wake of the administration’s latest effort to tweak the Clinton-era Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Locke’s natural resource adviser says the governor already enjoys a good relationship with regional federal forest managers, and he sees no reason to tinker with a rule affecting just under two million acres of national forests in Washington. Ron Shultz, Locke’s natural resources policy adviser, added that the governor wants no special attention. (06/13/03), Vancouver Columbian, http://www.columbian.com/06122003/clark_co/45843.html. From Tidepool.org.

Revived Wild Sky Bill Gets a Hearing: A proposal to create a wilderness area in Snohomish County is back. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, chairperson of the Senate forests and public-lands subcommittee, said the Wild Sky Wilderness proposal is nearly ready to pass the Senate. But the question remains: Will it make it through the House this year? The 106,000-acre swath of mountains and forest in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest would be Washington’s first new wilderness area in almost 20 years. The area is home to lynx, grizzly bear and possibly the northern spotted owl. Wild Sky was first proposed three years ago. (06/05/03), Seattle Times, http://seattletimes.nwsourcecom/html/localnews/134908201_wildsky 05m.html.From Tidepool.org.

Northwest Wildfire Threat Higher Than Usual: A new summer wildfire forecast indicates that most of Washington and Oregon faces an above-average risk of major forest fires. Analysts say that the low winter snowpack and dry weather in recent weeks have combined to increase the risk beyond what was forecast earlier this spring. Under a new forecast to be released later this month, the fire danger is elevated both east and west of the Cascades, with northeast Washington the only area where the risk is considered to be average. (06/15/03), Seattle Times, http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=fire15m&date=20030615. From Tidepool.org.

Washington State Eyes Certified Forests: Timber-cutting decisions on state forests in Western Washington could soon get a gentle nudge from the invisible hand of the marketplace. Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland announced this week that independent auditors will assess whether timber cut from state forests will receive green stamps of approval. Certification could attract consumers willing to pay a premium for wood deemed to be grown and harvested in an environmentally sensitive manner. The allure of third-party certification could affect deliberations by the Board of Natural Resources when it establishes the state’s annual timber harvest target later this year. State officials acknowledged that the updated FSC audit probably will require significant changes to land management, possibly to include longer rotations before timber stands can be harvested, smaller clearcuts and new restrictions on the use of herbicides. (06/05/03), Vancouver Columbian, http://www.columbian.com/06052003/clark_co/43906.html. From Tidepool.org.

Orca Population Officially Depleted: Puget Sound’s killer whales officially were designated as “depleted,” requiring the federal government to find ways to rebuild their population. “As promised, we are moving ahead to protect these magnificent animals that are a Puget Sound icon,” said Bob Lohn, regional head of NOAA Fisheries in Seattle. The depleted status—a legal definition under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act—requires NOAA Fisheries to develop a conservation plan “as soon as possible” to deal with factors that may be causing the population decline. (05/30/03) Bremerton Sun, http://www.thesunlink.com/redesign/2003-05-30/local/162351.shtml. From Tidepool.org.

Foreign Poisons Found in Marmots: Pesticides, carried in the atmosphere across the Pacific Ocean from Asia, are turning up in endangered Vancouver Island marmots living in remote areas at high altitudes. “The Vancouver Island marmot is giving us a bit of a signal, a bit of a warning that these contaminants, these pesticides are moving through the air,” said Peter Ross, marine mammal toxicologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Institute of Ocean Sciences in North Saanich. (06/06/03), Victoria Times Colonist, http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/story.asp?id=0D045356-1E11-487D-A478-922F605B7457. From Tidepool.org.

Washington Stormwater Rules Fall Short: Environmentalists have won a significant victory in their fight to force the state Department of Ecology to rein in pollution washing off about 1,300 properties owned by businesses and local governments. Up to one-seventh of those facilities likely are causing pollution of Puget Sound and other waterways by allowing oil, grease, heavy metals and industrial chemicals to gurgle off their property in rainwater runoff, Ecology has estimated. Yet only half could even locate a state-required plan to control the pollution. Many of those were out of date, and even those that did exist were not always followed. No more than one-quarter of businesses and governments comply with the rule, Ecology inspectors estimated after a 2001 study. (06/12/03), Seattle P-I, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/126306_stormwater12.html. From Tidepool.org.

Farmed Salmon Blamed for Wild Declines: A report by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Atlantic Salmon Federation says too little is being done to prevent salmon farms from causing environmental damage. The report says the decline in stocks is linked to sea lice from farmed salmon sites, and interbreeding between escaped fish and the wild population. As the number of farmed salmon has exploded, the population of its wild relatives has crashed. Estimates suggest there are 48 caged salmon to every wild one in the North Atlantic. (05/30/03), BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2948720.stm. From Tidepool.org.

Nonprofits Grapple With Change, Poor Economy: The number of nonprofit corporations registered with Washington’s secretary of state grew by 3,700 in 2002, to total 43,904. There were about 19,700 federally recognized foundations and charities at the end of 2003. Of these, 7,350 had revenues of more than $50,000. Together, their revenues totaled nearly $32 billion. Yet after a decade when the number of these larger charitable nonprofits in the state grew by 300 to 400 each year, last year’s growth was only 212. Nonprofits not only responded to the difficult climate affecting their communities, they were also affected themselves. Numerous organizations, small and large, reported unprecedented challenges in fund raising. (05/20/03), Puget Sound Business Journal, http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2003/05/19/focus18.html. From Tidepool.org.

Washington State Wants to Capture and Relocate Elk: Citizens will get a chance to offer opinions and share facts about a proposal by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to augment the dwindling North Cascades elk herd with 50 animals from the Mount St. Helens area. Under the relocation proposal, wildlife biologists would capture a total of 75 to 100 elk from the Mount St. Helens Wildlife Area in the next two years and transport them to several release sites along the South Fork of the Nooksack River. Between 40 and 50 of the animals would be relocated this September or October. (06/24/03), Environmental News Service, http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2003/2003-06-23-09.asp#anchor6. From Tidepool.org. §