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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
November 3, 2016     Shelton Mason County Journal
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November 3, 2016
 
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Page A-26 - She#on-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 Homecoming court The North Mason High School Royal Homecoming Court poses football game. Herald photo by Shawna Whelan for pictures Oct. 28 before the Canal The Hood Salmon Enhancement Group and the Washington State De- partment of Natural Resources are partnering to restore critical salmon habitat in the Dosewal- lips River Estuary. The project seeks to restore natural estuarine habitat at the mouth of Walker Creek, which feeds into the greater Dosewallips River estuary complex, near Brinnon, in Jefferson County. By KEVAN Much of the work MOORE entailed removing a large creosote-treated barge embedded in the shoreline. Since creosoted wood can leach toxic chemical compounds into the aquatic environment, remov- ing this barge will improve water quality and habitat value. Work also included removing large amounts of fill and regrading the shoreline. HCSEG will be adding habitat enhancement features such as logs and root-wads, and planting native vegetation along the shoreline. Creosote contains a harm- ful group of chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Juvenile salmon migrat- ing through urban estuaries show reduced disease resistance, and changes in growth and metabo- lism, with similar results as seen with PAH exposed animals in lab studies. Salmon are only one of the many species subject to harm- ful exposure of the chemicals present in the creosote-treated lumber in this barge. In addition to being a source of toxic chemicals, this barge is associated with large quan- tities of fill material that were brought in and placed right in the estuary. Part " of this project is removing this fill material so that the half-acre footprint can once again belong to the estu- ary, and all of the habitat that goes along with it. The Dosewallips River Estuary is home to Hood Canal summer chum, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), in addition to chinook, coho and pink salmon. The estuary provides critical habitat during the rearing stage of juvenile salmon. During this stage, juvenile salmon de- pend on the vegetation and shal- low tidal channels for cover from predators and feed on inverte- brates that thrive in the estuary. Restoration efforts will add approximately 19,500 square feet (0.45 acres) of intertidal habitat to the greater Dosewallips Estu- ary and Dabob Bay, and restore 5,000 square feet (0.11 acres) of upland riparian habitat. This barge itself likely dates back to the first half of the 20th century. Although there hasn't been any indication as to what the barge was used for prior to being placed on the shoreline, locals have suggested the project site is the location of the old ferry terminal that ran from Brinnon to Seabeck. Once the barge was brought onto the shore and the fill material was placed next to it, an oyster processing facility, la- beled as "Seafarms" in old county records, was placed on top of the barge. In construction, a septic tank and a well was found inside the fill material. An old photo- graph shows the barge with build- ings on its surface and powerlines running down to it. Decades ago, there was a lot of activity at this site. However, in the past several decades the site has been entirely abandoned, with the barge slowly falling apart. Just in the begin- ning of 2016, the outer wall of the barge collapsed during a storm. Before long, large portions of this barge may have been swept away, spreading creosote-treated lumber throughout Hood Canal. Now that the barge has been re- moved and most other work is now complete, HCSEG will be focusing on native plantings and other hab- itat enhancements, which should be completed later this fall. • Kevan Moore is the commu- nity organizer for the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group. He can be reached at 275-3575, ext. 31. cont. from page A-24 along quickly. The port paid for a market assessment, which showed the Pit- man property is val- ued at $540,000 to $565,000. Carlson said at the Oct. 18 meeting he estimated the acqui- sition would cost more like $600,000 total. The port would be re- sponsible for 25 percent of those costs. "A park would be ide- al," said commissioner Lowell Mahugh. "My feeling is that we're not spending port money yet, we're just looking into it." The Grapeview Com- munity Association al- ready uses part of the Pitman property during the annual Grapeview Water and Art Festival. Bob Pastore, a Grapeview resident who volunteers for the port, gave a presenta- tion during Monday's meeting regarding the grant. Pastore said he had researched the grant and has begun filling out the application to meet the Nov. 1 dead- line. Pastore added ap- plying for the grant is not binding; the port has the ability to cancel the project and return any awarded money through next fall. Several residents expressed concern with the port's procedure. Resident Diane Hartley said she didn't understand why Pas- tore was involved in the process. "It rather bothers me that you're not acting as an entity," she said to the port commissioners. "I don't understand why Mr. Pastore is making the presentation when he's not an elected of- ficial .... This should be transparent, but it seems as though it's all happened out of sight." Several residents also made comments that the port doesn't yet have matching funds for a separate $528,279 RCO grant it was awarded earlier this year. The money will go toward repairing and realigning the crack- ing concrete boat ramp and possibly adding a permanent restroom at the port's public boat launch facility. Similar to the other RCO, the grant pro- vides 75 percent of the project's costs; the re- maining 25 percent must come from the Port of Grapeview. "Slow down, slow your roll," said Grape- view resident Bob Al- len. ' /ou still don't have money from the first project figured out." Other attendees spoke in favor of the possible acquisition, seeing it as a necessary step to get the ball roll- ing on a new project. Several people said they didn't understand the opposition to the grant application since nothing is set in stone. "The timing is not ideal, but this is what's happening," said resi- dent Sandy Carlson, who is married to com- missioner Carlson. "I think it would be short- sighted not to consider it." After public com- ment, all three commis- sioners voted to move ahead with the grant application. The next step in the application is a techni- cal presentation to an RCO board on Nov. 16, at which port commis- sioners will get feed- back on their applica- tion and plan for the project. The next regular port meeting is 7 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Grape- view Community Cen- ter, 4350 E. Grapeview Loop Road. the art of landscaping Landscape Design and (360) 280-5116 Pond Supply Store 4120 #3 Harrison Ave NW, Olympia, WA 98502 Proudly serving the South Sound Area (360) 412-0309 www.natureperfectponds.com r OVUle rs Trucks, RVs Offer Ends November 30, 2016