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Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 Shelton-Mason County Journal Page 37
Hittite
Serving the Communities of Belfair, Allyn, Grapeview, Tahuya, Mason Lake,
South Shore and Victor
unning
the ball
North Mason High School’s Caden
Atencio runs the ball against Mason
county Cup rival Shelton on Friday
at Phil Pugh Stadium in Belfair. The
Climbers defeated the Bulldogs 35-
19. See more photos on page 38.
Herald photo Shawna Whe/an
Grapeview commissioner joins statewide discussion
3y Kirk Boxleitner .
:box/e/‘tnemdmasoncounty com
Port of Grapeview Commissioner
Xrt Whitson has found seVeral outlets
it the port for his talents particuu
arly in the field of environmental is-
;ues — over the course of his decades
ipent working in commercial and gov—
:rnment sectors.
So it’s not surprising the port will
)e sending him to a statewide discus-
.ion of environmental concerns with
ellow Washington port officials. ’
On Sept. 21-22, Whitson will join
he Washington Public Ports Associa-
ion’s 2023 environmental seminar in
tuston, just north of Tacoma, Where
iarticipating port representatives
rem throughout the state will be fur-
iished a forum through which to share
experiences,
heir
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Whitson, a resident .of the Mason
Lake area, represents port District 1,
which includes the area around Mason
and Benson lakes. He retired after 37
years at Boeing, where he worked as
an environmental engineer.
Whitson is a state—registered pro-
fessional civil engineer, and he also
worked for the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency and the state Department
of Transportation on state federal and
state environmental management.
In keeping with his skills and in—
terests, Whitson was appointed by the
Mason County Board of Commission-
ers to fill an open slot on the Mason
County Clean Water Advisory Com-
mittee. The committee establishes pro—
grams and projects to reduce nonpoint
source pollution that threatens sur—
face water quality in Mason County.
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He’s one of the committee’s nine
stakeholder members, (and one of its
three resident members) who advise
Mason County commissioners and
make recommendations for water
quality work conducted within the
county’s Clean Water District.
“Mason County, as well as Western
Washington in general, focuses on salt—
water quality to protect the shellfish
dndustry,” Whitson said. “But it’s im—
perative that they also address fresh
water, as there are 101 lakes in Mason
County. Some of them are of signifi-
cant size, such as Lake Cushman, Ma»
son and Benson lakes, Spencer Lake,
Trask Lake and a host of others.”
Whitson stressed that those lakes
require no less consideration, because
“they are the source of nutrientsload—
ing that impacts the water quality in
saltwater environments.”
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Whitson pointed out that Benson
Lake recently suffered a large algae
bloom that turned the lake green, and
while it turned out not to be the harm—
ful variety cyanobacteria, a blue-green
algae that can produce toxins that
make people and animals sick, he not—
ed that there was nonetheless a small
cyanobacteria bloom in Mason Lake.
“It did not spread, thank goodness,"
Whitson said. “But believe it 'or not,
it’s very easy to lose a lake to toxins.
Contamination from any source can
quickly expand, to the point where
it becomes uninhabitable to both hu-
mans and native fauna, which yields
enormous consequences.”
The Port of Grapeview has issued a
statement reiterating its commitment
to the lakes within its borders to en-
sure they are kept clean by proactive
measures.
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