HomeMy WebLinkAbout37 2017-03-05R ct- 0.<4c_rrz-e-s bC__D
To: Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners
1820 Jefferson St.
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Telephone: 360-385-9100
From: Jan Wold
P. O. Box 1340
Poulsbo,WA 98365
March 5, 2017
I live along Hood Canal, on Shine Road, adjacent to Squamish Harbor. I have decades of
experience in natural resource research and management. My last position before retiring
was Forest Supervisor of a million-acre national forest for seven years.
Estuaries such as Squamish Harbor are some of the most diverse and imperiled ecosystems
in the world. It is important that Jefferson County follow its Shoreline Management Plan
by requiring permits and cumulative environmental effects analysis of proposed shellfish
farms.
Marbled murrelets are listed as a federally "threatened" species. The species has been
newly up-listed from "threatened" to "endangered" by the State of Washington and are
protected by law. Marbeled murrelets have been documented around portions of the
Olympic Peninsula and Squamish Harbor by the U. S. Forest Service, Washington State
Department of Fish and Wildlife and by local residents. Marbeled murrelets occur here
because of the forage fish they eat and feed to their one annual nestling and because of the
proximity to old-growth forest nesting habitat. They fly up to 55 miles from their foraging
areas to their nest where they rear a single young on large tree limbs in mature and old-
growth conifer forests.
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At-sea population monitoring from 2001 to 2015 indicated a 44% reduction in the
marbeled murrelet population between 2001 and 2015. According to recent research, a
high nest failure rate of 80% is possibly due to low prey availability at sea. A recent
research article states: "... sand lance are considered an important prey of breeding
marbled murrelets and we suggest that marine areas that should be prioritized for
protection are those in closest proximity to large tracts of nesting habitat,with low human
footprint, and near sand or gravel beaches." I believe that we should not further endanger
marbeled murrelet existence and habitat without first following the Shoreline Management
Plan's requirement for environmental analysis and permitting.
Squamish Harbor is a feeding ground for large quantities of local and migrating birds,
most of them protected by law. The western grebe is a state candidate for listing as
sensitive." The common loon is a state "sensitive" species. Both species are seen feeding
in Squamish Harbor. Numerous other bird species are frequent users of Squamish
Harbor. Many of these species depend on eelgrass, associated species, or forage fish for
food. We should not discourage their presence by threatening their food supply and
increasing the amount of human disturbance in the area.
Hood Canal also provides habitat for the threatened Hood Canal Summer Chum salmon,
adding even more need for analysis of shellfish farms under the county SMP. Shellfish are
touted as being important for cleaning the water of Puget Sound, but the extreme numbers
found in shellfish farms may in fact be cleaning the water of the very organisms that serve
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as the base of the food chain for marbled murrelets and Hood Canal Summer Chum
salmon.
Squamish Harbor is documented by the State of Washington as a refuge for native
eelgrass,which provides habitat cover and food organisms for the federally listed,
threatened" Hood Canal Summer Chum salmon. Washington DNR has also documented
Squamish Harbor as a spawning ground for herring and sand lance. These are the
primary foods for marbled murrelets.
Squamish Harbor faces south, directly in the path of winter storms that usually blow north
along the length of Hood Canal. These high winds unseat large numbers of plastic tubes,
nets and other apparatus used by shellfish farmers. This additional sediment and farming
detritus, churned up in "farmed" areas, can adversely impact the habitat and its
inhabitants.
Squamish Harbor is a breeding ground and home for large quantities of Dungeness crab.
Young and adult crab roam the underwater sand of Squamish Harbor. They are the
source of a great deal of recreational and commercial harvest. We should not restrict their
movement or risk their entanglement by permitting plastic tubes and nets on the floor of
the bay without analysis.
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