HomeMy WebLinkAbout050 Email - DavisDonna Frostholm
From: Sara Davis <saraonshine@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2021 10:43 PM ,
To: Donna Frostholm—��-<
Subject: MLA19-00036, Smersh Geoduck Aquaculture Project age
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Attention Donna Frostholm,
We are writing concerning the application by James Smersh for a geoduck farm on 5.15 acres of tidelands in Squamish
Harbor, Shine Road area. We are very, very concerned about this proposal and very much against it. We have been
landowners on Shine Road since 2000. The proposed geoduck farm would be in our back yard. We purchased our
property to enjoy the natural beauty of the area in our retirement. We marvel at the number of birds in the area along
with the rich diversity of creatures and plants that live in Squamish Harbor including the sand dollar beds, eelgrass beds,
fish, crabs, clams, sea otter, sea anemone beds and snails.
Having the geoduck beds in our back yard means we and our neighbors would be subjected to constant noise pollution
from generators. Plastic tubing of one per square foot of tidelands would mean thousands of tubes that would disrupt
the natural environment of thousands of native creatures that live in the water or near it. Whenever a geoduck is
processed the natural environment of the sand and waters would be disrupted further resulting in fewer natural plants
and animals able to live in the environment of a commercial geoduck farm. On our many walks along Shine Road we
have observed hundreds of plastic tubes from the current geoduck farm on Shine Road littering the beach resulting in a
further toxic environment for the native plants and animals that live in Squamish Harbor.
Over the years we have marveled at the many people who slow down and some who actually stop on Shine Road by our
home just to gaze at the beauty of the harbor. Fast forward and they will be able to look at thousands of PVC pipes
sticking out of the sand. They would also get to watch the plastic tubes litter the beach by the hundreds when strong
winds occur. This is a common especially in the winter months when strong winds affect Squamish Harbor and Hood
Canal Bridge near our location. Because of these harsh weather conditions it could be days or weeks before tubing
could even be collected.
Hicks Park is located next to the proposed geoduck beds. This is a small park that suites the area well, but holds a limited
number of cars and boats. Allowing this proposal to use the park for commercial parking would mean it would be full
much more often and fewer people in the area would be able to enjoy the harbor for its intended purpose. Children
could not play in the water, families could not launch their boats and the habitat within the area could easily become a
dead zone.
Shine Road and Squamish Harbor are not commercial areas and should not be used for commercial geoduck
purposes. We believe we all should work hard to save the natural habitat in this area so birds, native plants and native
animals can continue to thrive.
Sincerely,
Ed and Sara Davis
1254 Shine Road
Port Ludlow WA 98365