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Home My WebLink About2961-443 0ft1/t ~ Z-q(p( Jeanie Orr From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: AI Bergstein [albergstein@gmail.com] Wednesday, March 11, 2009 8:07 AM Jeanie Orr; Roseann Carroll The Leader; Peter Downey; Mike Sato; Bill Miller; Tom Giske; Michelle McConnell For tonight's Planning commission meeting Given the agenda for tonight's Planning Commission discussion on Aquaculture, I am sorry that I cannot make it to the meeting, due to a business conflict. I would like to request that the following newspaper article in the Seattle Times be entered into the record: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008824523_geoduck07m.html and that Commissioner Peter Downey be asked to recuse himself due to conflict of interest on this issue. I have no problem with Peter speaking from the other side of the "bench" meaning as a public citizen not on the committee, but to have the commissioner, who directly benefits from aquaculture (as does his wife) in his job, be part of the debate on the committee, is most likely in violation of county conflict of interest rules. If he is not in violation of the letter of the law, then he certainly appears. to be in violation of the spirit of the conflict of interest laws of this state. To be writing the rules, testifying to the committee and running the decision on who will speak - on this issue is unseemly at best. Al Bergstein People For puget Sound Board of Directors Port Townsend, WA 1 Local News I Skirmish continues over shellfish farming in Puget Sound I Seattle Times N... Page 1 of 4 m,eSeattlemmes Saturday, March 7, 2009 - Page updated at 12:00 AM Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-3113 or e-mail resale@seattletimes.com with your request. Skirmish continues over shellfish farming in Puget Sound By Michelle Ma Seattle Times staff reporter TOTTEN INLET, Thurston County - On a crisp winter afternoon, as a slight ripple crosses narrow South Puget Sound, it's hard to imagine this place as a battleground. But a fight has simmered for 15 years here, in the Sound's shallow tidelands. A coalition of neighbors numbering in the hundreds say the shellfish-growing operations of Shelton-based Taylor Shellfish are fouling the waters and beaches. The neighbors claim the farms - particularly those growing geoduck clams - are squeezing out other creatures, damaging tidelands and turning the best beaches into industrial sites. Taylor disputes those assertions and says growing shellfish actually helps the environment. The Mason County company long has worked to protect and improve water quality in the Sound and says it's done everything possible, aside from going away, to address residents' concerns. Taylor wants to expand farming in the South Sound's nutrient-rich waters, deemed among the world's best for growing shellfish. Already, the company leases or owns nearly 10,000 acres throughout Puget Sound where it grows oysters, mussels and clams, including geoducks. In the latest skirmish, local residents tipped off the state that Taylor was growing geoducks and oysters on state- owned land on Totten Inlet near Olympia without a lease. The company says the trespass was unintentional and is suing the state to try to establish ownership of the MIKE SIEGEL I THE SEATTLE TIMES Geoducks are especially prized in Asia, where the clams can sell for $100 each. They typically weigh 1 Yo to 2 pounds. MIKE SIEGEL I THE SEATTLE TIMES Taylor Shellfish employees gather a load of oysters for shucking. The Shelton-based company leases or owns about 10,000 acres throughout puget Sound where it grows shellfish. MIKE SIEGEL I THE SEATTLE TIMES Hannah the dog sits on a Totten Inlet beach in Thurston County. South Puget Sound's nutrient-rich waters are deemed among the world's best for growing shellfish. http://seattletimes.nwsource.comJcgi-bin/PrintStory . pI ?document_ id=2008824523&zsectio... 3/1112009 Local News I Skirmish continues over shellfish farming in Puget Sound I Seattle Times N... Page 2 of 4 property. Complicating the situation, experts say the environmental effects of geoduck farming aren't understood well. More studies are needed to determine whether the claims of ecological damage have merit. "It's clear to me there is this trade-off between shorelines that people value for recreation and the use of it for aquaculture," said Tom Leschine, director of University of Washington's School of Marine Affairs. "We kind of have a cultural fight." Prized in Asia Taylor has about 80 acres in geoduck (pronounced "gooey duck") production. About 12 of those acres are on Totten Inlet. Typically weighing 1 Y2 to 2 pounds apiece, the clams are especially prized in Asia, where they sell for as much as $100 each. The company expects to harvest 700,000 pounds this year, up from about 500,000 pounds last year. Growers raise the clams by sinking thousands of PVC tubes upright about 18 inches apart in the sand and seeding each with three tiny clams. The tubes are covered with netting to stave off predators. The tubes are removed a year and a half later, and the geoducks continue growing for four more years. Taylor has worked to minimize the visual impact of the farms by matching the color of the pipes with that of the beach. The pipes usually are underwater except during the lowest tides. Still, some neighbors object. At harvest time, workers pump water into the sand, liquefying the beach and making it easier to scoop out the clams. Sandy beaches can recover within a couple of weeks after harvesting, said Brian Phipps, geoduck manager for Taylor. But a number of residents dispute tha~, saying beaches are damaged by planting equipment and hydraulic pumping. They're concerned about disrupting shallow, sensitive areas where young salmon, crab and other organisms find their food. "Nothing is the same after they go," said Buzz Walker, who has lived on Totten Inlet for more than 40 years. "They've turned this into a factory." Fritz Mondau built his house on the inlet about 30 years ago and said oysters were grown with little equipment at the time. But, as shellfish farming has ramped up in recent years, fewer birds and fish are feeding along the shores, Mondau said. "We felt it was a really dramatic shift," he said. Help clean the Sound? Taylor has grown shellfish since 1890 in Puget Sound and is the largest producer of farmed shellfish on the West Coast. The family-owned company says its operations rank among the world's best for growing food in environmentally sensitive ways, and that its shellfish actually help clean the Sound by filtering water as they eat. "Shellfish has a long, long tradition in the Northwest," said Bill Taylor, president of Taylor Shellfish. "Looking forward, there's a lot of demand for shellfish as world fisheries decline and people want to eat healthier http://seattletimes.nwsource.com!cgi-binlPrintStory . pI ?document_id=2008 824523&zsectio... 3/11/2009 Local News I Skirmish continues over shellfish farming in Puget Sound I Seattle Times N... Page 3 of 4 foods." Taylor's critics have circulated pictures online of the company's farms during planting and harvest that don't represent how they look most of the time, Taylor spokesman Bill Dewey said. "It is not the environmental Armageddon our opponents would like you to believe," he said. Shellfish farmers say they have a stake in trying to protect the Sound, because the state restricts where aquaculture can occur due to pollution levels. Taylor has funded projects to identify potential sources of pollution, developed an environmental code of practices and does regular beach cleanups throughout the Sound. "The Taylorfamily is so totally dependent on clean water," said Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People for Puget Sound, an environmental group. "That hasn't changed at all, and they still fight for clean water." Still, a vocal group of citizens don't see the company in that light. Residents first protested Taylor's plans to put more rafts for growing mussels in Totten Inlet about 15 years ago. Homeowners helped push for stricter environmental review of that project, and the rafts still haven't gone in. Several other community groups cropped up around the time Taylor started raising geoducks. Taylor says its relationship with most local residents is good, and the company leases tidelands from more than 100 homeowners. Washington is unusual in that most of its tidelands are privately owned. A few companies also lease state land. Taylor recently sued to s~ek rights to about 25 acres of state-owned Totten Inlet tidelands where it has farmed for 40 years, but apparently without proper authority. Company leaders say they believed the land was theirs, and the state never said otherwise until recently, when neighbors complained. State Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark has asked for six months to review the trespass and try to resolve the issue. But Taylor has oysters and geoducks there that are overdue for harvest. "We just can't walk away from that land," Dewey said. More study needed Scientists say little is known about the environmental impacts of geoduck farming. In 2007, the state Legislature provided $750,000 to launch several studies on the issue, but some are concerned funding won't continue because of the state budget shortfall. One study is looking at organisms in the sediment to track what happens to them during the farming cycle. That would help determine whether geoduck aquaculture affects habitat, said Glenn VanBlaricom, the UW researcher leading the study. Meanwhile, the state is preparing more specific guidelines on where and how geoduck farming should occur. Still, it would be up to each county to decide how to regulate the farms. Some residents aren't convinced local governments can adequately oversee the operations. They'd like the http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory . pI ?document_ id=2008 824523 &zsectio... 3/11/2009 Local News I Skirmish continues over shellfish farming in Puget Sound I Seattle Times N... Page 4 of 4 state to designate areas for shellfish farming, while leaving other habitat untouched. "A viable shellfish industry is important in Puget Sound, but ultimately we all share in the future of Puget Sound's shorelines and need to get to the bottom of how we can apportion the shorelines," said Doug Myers, director of science at People for Puget Sound. Michelle Ma: 206-464-2303 or mma@seattletimes.com Copyright @ 2009 The Seattle Times Company " http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-binlPrintStory . pi ?document_ id=2008 824 523&zsectio... 3/11/2009