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!1
Hood Canal Coordinating Council projects get $550,000
By KEVAN MOORE that threaten the Sound in- water runoff before it is dis- nership is the state agency
To help Puget Sound
communities grow in ways
that protect the Sound, the
Washington departments of
Commerce, Ecology and the
Puget Sound Partnership
are working together to of-
fer $6.3 million in federal
grants for 23 local projects
to improve the health of the
watersheds where Puget
Sounders live.
Here in Mason County,
two projects being spear-
headed by the Hood Canal
Coordinating Council were
awarded $550,000. Of that
money, $300,000 will be
used to complete an inte-
grated watershed manage-
ment plan using the Puget
Sound Watershed Charac-
terization that will guide
the development of an in-
lieu-fee mitigation program
in the Hood Canal region.
The remaining $250,000
will go towards a Hood Ca-
nal regional stormwater ret-
rofit plan. The council will
identify, prioritize, and plan
for retrofits of stormwater
infrastructure in locations
most important to protect,
restore and limit surface
water runoff and related
pollution and boost rainwa-
ter infiltration in the Hood
Canal watershed. Member
organizations include Jef-
ferson, Kitsap and Mason
counties and the Port Gam-
ble S'Klallam and Skokom-
ish tribes.
The grant funds come
from the U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agency (EPA)
t Journal file photo
The Hood Canal Coordina ing Council got
$550,000 to help preserve Hood Canal, which
includes Twanoh State Park, above.
and implement projects in-
cluded in the Puget Sound
Partnership's Action Agen-
da -- the single playbook for
prioritizing and focusing ef-
a
a
F
ad jobs."
U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks
so addressed the health of
uget Sound.
"As I continue to fight for
crease.
A multi-agency assess-
ment released in November
2011 found the most com-
mon way that toxic chemi-
cals reach Puget Sound wa-
tersheds is through polluted
surface water runoff that
flows off developed residen-
tial, commercial and indus-
trial lands.
Runoff carries these toxic
chemicals and other con-
taminants across developed
lands where it goes mostly
untreated into the fresh wa-
ter lakes, streams and rivers
that drain to Puget Sound.
The pollutants in local wa-
tersheds come from many
scattered, hard-to-reach
sources that often are miles
from the marine shoreline.
Transforming forest
lands and fields into roads,
homes and businesses of-
ten reduces fish and wild-
life habitat. It can also have
forts to recover and protect
the Sound. Eighteen local,
state and tribal entities in
10 Puget Sound counties p
were offered funding. ]:
"Healthy watersheds are s
a key to a healthy Puget q
Sound," said Governor tJ
Chris Gregoire. "As our b
communities grow and pros- n
per, it's important that we b
develop and use the land e
in ways that protect our F
fideral funding necessary other environmental im-
t,, clean up Puget Sound, pacts on watersheds such
it is gratifying to see these as diminishing the effective-
rojects moving forward,"
icks said. "We know that
tving Puget Sound will re-
aire continued collabora-
on amongst governments,
asinesses and other orga-
izations. These projects
elp build on our collective
!forts to protect and restore
uget Sound for future gen-
working lands, our streams e~ations."
and the Sound itself. These | Officials note that as the
grants will help us do that. l#nds within the 19 wa-
The Sound plays a huge t_~rsheds that make up the
role in the quality of life in t~uget Sound region get
developed and more popu-
our state, which in turn is a 1Tted,
major driver of our economy
pollution
problems
ness of wetlands and flood-
plains to filter, cleanse and
control runoff.
Most funding recipients
being offered grants will
work with other partners.
They will use the EPA fund-
ing for a host of watershed
projects that include inno-
vative land-use planning
and water quality improve-
ments. These include:
- Constructing a new wet-
land facility in the town of
Coupeville that will protect
area shellfish resources by
cleaning and cooling surface
charged to Penn Cove.
Aiding the Nisqually
Tribe in creating economic
and market incentives for
landowners in the upper
Nisqually River to restore
and protect forested lands.
- Establishing a trans-
fer of development rights
program in Skagit County
designed to help stimulate
commercial redevelopment
in the city of Burlington
while saving surrounding
farms and forests.
- Getting experts out in
the field in Kitsap County to
better identify critical fish-
bearing streams and protect
working forest lands.
Restoring the Skagit
River estuary while protect-
ing local agricultural lands.
- Retrofitting stormwater
infrastructure throughout
the Hood Canal watershed
to better manage surface
water runoff, reduce pollu-
tion and boost rainwater in-
filtration.
"The projects we selected
for funding include a wide
range of approaches to
protect and restore Puget
Sound while helping sup-
port local economies," said
Department of Commerce
Director Rogers Weed. "It's
important to develop mar-
ket-based solutions to main-
tain working farms and
forests, and also consider
how to save money and pro-
tect jobs by cost effectively
developing urban areas to
accommodate our growing
population."
The Puget Sound Part-
responsible for leading the
coordinated effort to restore
and protect the Sound by
setting regional priorities,
spurring action by organiza-
tions and providing account-.
ability for progress.
"Thanks to the work of
our partners, we have many
successes to celebrate to-
day," said Puget Sound
Partnership Executive Di-
rector Gerry O'Keefe. "Con-
tinued federal funding will
advance science-based proj-
ects that put people to work,
improve water quality and
protect Puget Sound."
In 2010 and 2011, EPA
provided $34 million in
targeted grant funding to
Washington state agencies
to restore and protect Puget
Sound. The federal agency
provided:
- $8.5 million to the de-
partments of Ecology and
Commerce to restore and
protect Puget Sound wa-
tersheds -- of which $6.3
million has been offered to
18 local, tribal, state and
regional agencies and envi-
ronmental organizations.
- $8.5 million to the de-
partments of Fish and Wild-
life and Natural Resources
to restore and protect ma-
rine and near shore habi-
tats.
- $8.5 million to Ecology
to prevent, reduce, and con-
trol toxic and nutrient pollu-
tion.
- $8.5 million to Health
and Ecology to prevent, re-
duce, and control pathogen
contamination.
Harstine
Continued from page B-1
after the Whittier Narrows earth-
quake in 1987. I think it would be
a great new year's resolution for
all us to get involved if only in a
Dolphins
Continued from page B-1
slowed down, is much loud-
er than others and sounds
just like a shotgun blast.
The Bonnetts think the
dolphins use this particu-
lar noise to stun their prey
before attacking.
Also, Dave Bonnett said
the spaces between clicks
are very precise and seem
to form patterns. If sci-
entists could ever decode
these patterns, he said
they might be able to un-
derstand how sophisticat-
ed the communications be-
tween dolphins really are.
The Bonnetts plan to
return to the Amazon this
winter with incredibly pow-
erful recording software
"Now we're moving to
the next level which hope-
fully means we'll have
some more sophisticated
science down there," Dave
Bonnett said. "We've actu-
ally gotten more sophis-
ticated recordings - this
year we're going to take
equipment down that will
allow us to fully measure
the sound these dolphins
make."
The Bonnetts don't have
any plans to stop studying
their beloved dolphins any
time soon.
"We've begun the talks
to go down and do a one
year or multi year around
/
limited fashion. All you h~ve to
do is imagine something happen-"
ing to our bridge. How wo~ld you
get to the mainland or hoW would
you get help if all the pow ~r went
out? With Fire District 5'~ help
with training you will leal 'n that;
first, we need to learn the facts
about what to expect following a
major disaster in terms of imme-
diate services; second, learn about
our own responsibilities (as there
will be no governmental help) for
mitigation and preparedness;
third, train in the needed life
saving skills with emphasis on
Courtesy photo
A pink dolphin swims near the surface of this river. The mammals are
reclusive and don't jump like saltwater dolphins.
meeting at 1:30 p.m. on
Friday, Jan. 13 at the Shel-
ton Timberland Library.
the clock study," Dave Bon-
nett said.
The Bonnetts plan to
Page B-6 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, December 29, 011
~lve a talk on their project
~t the next Retired Sci-
ehtists of Mason County
decision making skills, rescuer
safety and doing the greatest good
for the greatest number; fourth,
organize neighborhood teams so
that we are an extension of first
responder services offering imme-
diate help to victims until profes-
sional services can get to us.
Harmony
Continued from page B-1
Schodde said the pro-
gram is a complement
to cancer treatment
and works to reduce
feelings of isolation in
cancer patients.
After that,. Holland,
who runs two mara-
thons a year, started
dedicating one of her
annual marathons to
Harmony Hill to raise
money for the organiza-
tion.
Holland just finished
a 185-mile, 10-day bike
ride from the Andes to
the Amazon for Unicef.
She said there is much
more to running than
exercise, and can ap-
ply it to her work for
the non-profit and any
charity.
"For me marathon-
ing is setting a goal
and challenging myself
everyday to do what I
said I was going to do,"
she said. "It's always an
opportunity to stretch
myself, to see how far
can I run and how fast
can I do it ... it's taking
time for yourself, focus-
ing on what is in front
of you, doing something
for others."
Holland has spent
her 37-year career in
business, starting at
IBM. Two years ago,
she moved back to her
native Portland, Ore,
and took a more active
role in her position at
Harmony Hill.
"I've always been a
remote board member,"
she said.
When Schodde an-
nounced her retire-
ment, Holland was an
integral part of the
team to find a replace-
ment. But part way
through the hiring pro-
cess, Holland and other
board members real-
ized that she should ap-
ply for the job as well.
Now Holland is ex-
If you are worried about gain-
ing weight during the holidays
why not come to a TOPS meeting.
Take Off Pounds SenSibly meets
at 9 a.m. every Monday morn-
ing at the Harstine Island Com-
munity Hall. Visitors are always
welcome.
cited to use her busi-
ness skills to continue
Harmony Hill's mission
into the future.
"I've reprioritized
mission over money,"
she said.
Schodde will still
work part time at Har-
mony Hill as Founder
and Director Emeri-
tus. However, she said
working part time will
be hard because it con-
flicts with her philoso-
phy on work and Har-
mony Hill. She com-
pared it to her experi-
ences living on a farm.
"I grew up on a
farm," she said. "It's a
lifestyle, it isn't a job."
Holland is working
with Schodde to realize
the founder's dream for
the future of Harmony
Hill.
"I asked Gretchen,
stand at the bottom
of the hill and tell me
what you see in 10
years," Holland said.
"We're teaming up to-
gether."
Holland plans to
work hard to increase
funding for Harmony
Hill, increase capacity
and beds at the facility,
get all its programs up
to full enrollment and
bring Harmony Hill
programs "off the hill."
They also want to
include programs for
entire families dealing
with cancer.
Overall, Harmony
Hill aims to take can-
cer patients from feel-
ing like they're "dying
from cancer," to saying
they're "living with can-
cer," Holland said.
Holland said she is
inspired by the work
Schodde has done to
create Harmony Hill.
"There's a lot of peo-
ple in the world that
have dreams and that's
it," she said. "Gretch-
en's one of the only
people I've met that can
have dreams and real-
ize them."