Local News Archives - Page 76 of 92

Puget Sound Gets Troubling Report Card On Sediment Contamination

he Washington Department of Ecology analyzed contamination levels in Puget Sound sediment in 1998 and 2008. The results are concerning. | credit: Department of Ecology |

Do you ever remember getting a bad report card – the kind of report card you’d purposefully leave in the bottom of your backpack, underneath the dirty lunchbox in the hopes that your parents wouldn’t notice it?

Washington Department of Ecology just released that kind of a report card on Puget Sound.

Back in 1998-1999 Ecology sampled the muck at the bottom of Puget Sound from Tacoma up to the southern tip of Whidbey Island. Ten years later they took samples from the same area and then compared the results.

The scientists tested for 133 potentially toxic chemicals including flame retardants, mercury and PCBs:

1998-1999: 4 percent of the study area had contamination levels above the standards.
2008-2009: 11 percent of the study area had contamination levels exceeding the standards. The contaminated area had almost tripled.

Here’s another comparison:

Back in 1998 Ecology judged that invertebrates – like mollusks and worms – were being negatively impacted at 7 percent of the study area.

Ten years later that figure had jumped to 28 percent of the study area.

Chemical contamination near the cities of Seattle and Tacoma showed some improvement.

But overall the report concludes that “the declining sediment quality… seen almost everywhere throughout Puget Sound should be a concern for environmental managers.”

Chinook Tribal Council Makes Ancestral Canoe Journey

Indian Country Today Media Network

From June 9-14 the Chinook Indian Nation Council will travel down the Lower Columbia River Water Trail in traditional canoes. The route, starting from Washougal, Washington will include stops in Kelly Pt. Park, Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, Kalama, Mayger Dock/Clatskanie, Cathlamet, Elliott Landing/Pillar Rock, Ilwaco, and Chinook Point/Fort Columbia.

The Chinook Council consists of nine members: Chairman Ray Gardner, Vice-Chairman Sam Robinson, Secretary/Treasurer Peggy Disney and Representatives Marketa Van Patten, Charlie Funk, Jane Wekell, Lisa Elliott, Jeremy Wekell, and Kate Elliott.

(Chinook Indian Nation/Facebook)

In accompaniment with other Chinooks and friends, the Chinook Council will spend five days and five nights travelling down the Lower Columbia River Water Trail. This will be a celebration of the great river, Yakaitl-Wimakl, which is still home to many Chinooks today. This journey will include the chairman’s family canoe, Itsxut (“Black Bear”), the Snohomish Chairman’s family canoe Sbeqwá (“Blue Heron”), Chinook Dan Heiner’s Canoe the Beau Tanner, and will include long time Chinook friend, Lyle Deschand’s new canoe.

After spending Sunday night in the Cathlapotle plankhouse, the Chinook Council and People will meet up river at the Clark Park in Washougal to conduct a naming ceremony for Deschand’s new canoe. They will then place all the canoes in the water and begin the journey back to Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. As the canoes travel down the river, Chinook families will host dinner and provide shelter for the travelers, much in the way of their ancestors.

This week of sharing and commemoration will culminate in paddling down to Chinook Point on Friday afternoon to participate in the private annual Chinook Nation First Salmon Ceremony.

Historical photo, Chinook canoe (Chinook Indian Nation/Facebook)

The Chinook Indian Nation/Chinook Tribes consist of the Cathlamet, Clatsop, Lower Chinook, Wahkiakum, and Willapa tribes. Despite being an influential tribe in this region since time immemorial, the U.S. government does not recognize the Chinooks as a tribal nation. The U.S. Senate shelved the 1851 Tansey Point Treaty agreements with the Chinook because they did not move them east of the Cascades. The Chinook continue their fight for federal restoration today.

Dedication of interpretive panels Wednesday in Everett

-The Herald

The public is invited to a dedication at 5 p.m. Wednesday of three interpretive panels depicting the early culture and history of the Snohomish peoples at Legion Park Bluff, 140 Alverson Blvd., Everett.

The late Hank Gobin and staff at the Hibulb Cultural Center in Tulalip provided source material for artist Jim Englehardt’s renditions of life on Port Gardner and the Snohomish River and estuary.

This project is a collaboration between the Northwest Neighborhood Association and Historic Everett. It was funded by the Tulalip Tribes, the city of Everett Parks Department and Cultural Commission.

Being Frank: Don’t let First Salmon become Last Salmon

By Billy Frank, Jr, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Chairman

Winter snows are melting up in the mountains and soon the only white stuff we’ll see floating in the air will be cottonwood fluff, a sign that the salmon are beginning to return and a reminder that it is time to celebrate the fish that sustains us as a people.

In gatherings large and small, tribes throughout western Washington will celebrate First Salmon ceremonies this spring and summer to welcome home the salmon.

It is an honor for a tribal fisherman to be asked to harvest the First Salmon, a scout for the Salmon People who live in a village under the sea. With drumming and singing the First Salmon is welcomed and shared. The First Salmon’s bones are then returned to the water to allow his spirit to go home. If the First Salmon was shown proper respect, he will tell the Salmon People how well he was treated, and lead them back to the tribe’s fishing area for harvest.

The return of the salmon means tribal fishermen will be returning to the water as well. As part of the First Salmon Ceremony, many tribes also include a Blessing of the Fleet for protection of tribal fishermen and their boats.

But it is getting harder every year to put our tribal fishermen on the water. While careful harvest management by the tribal and state co-managers is making a strong contribution to the recovery of wild salmon, the keys to rebuilding those runs have always been to protect and restore salmon habitat.

Yet day after day we see salmon habitat being lost and damaged, and little being done to stop or fix it. Our declining salmon populations and resulting lost fishing opportunity are mirrors that reflect the increasingly shrinking quality and quantity of salmon habitat in our region. Conservative fisheries are effective only when they go hand-in-hand with equally strong efforts to protect and restore salmon habitat.

The lack of action on protecting and restoring habitat has gotten to the point that we can no longer make up for declining salmon runs simply by reducing harvest. Those days are gone. Even if we stopped all salmon fishing everywhere in western Washington, most weak wild salmon stocks would still never recover. There simply isn’t enough good quality habitat to support them.

But despite everything that’s thrown against them – dams, pollution, predators and much more – the salmon never stop trying to make it home. We can’t stop either. We all need to work harder to make sure the salmon has a good home when he returns.

We don’t want to ever find ourselves contemplating a Last Salmon Ceremony.

First Neighbors, Dedication to Snohomish Peoples

Historic Everett and the Northwest Neighborhood Association will be honoring the earliest inhabitants of the Everett community with the installation of three interpretive signs depicting the early culture and history of the Snohomish Peoples.

Legion Park Bluff, June 5th, 2013 at 5PM

140 Alverson Boulevard, Everett WA

Tulalip’s 4th Annual Stickgame Tournament

Saturday-Sunday: Tulalip Tribes Stickgame Tournament. An exciting event with games and vendors. The games are located on 27th Ave, across from the Boom City Swap Meet and there is plenty of parking.

The games will be going on all night and tomorrow. There are 120 teams in the tournament. Stickgames are a long tradtion that has been revived over the years and brought back to Tulalip in order to, “bring families and friends from all tribes together in this long running tradition,” said Tulalip Tribal member Nessie Hatch.

North Tribes in the back playing the south tribes in the pregames before the Tournament.Photo by Monica Brown — North Tribes the playing the south tribes in the pregames before the Tournament.
Photo by Monica Brown

Free seminars at Tulalip Cabela’s

Free upcoming seminars at the Tulalip Cabela’s include:

June 1: 11 a.m., Puget Sound Crabbing Essentials; gear, bait, line, and where to go.

June 2, 1 p.m. in the Gun Library: Shotgun Cleaning 101. Keep your firearms in like-new condition.

June 3: 6-7:30 p.m., Advanced Tips and Techniques for Archers; pre-registration suggested by calling 360-474-4880.

June 8: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Family Outdoor Adventure Day; free kids fishing pond, live music by The Bobbers, youth archery shoot, decoy painting, kids calling contest, laser shoot, BB gun shooting, face painting, gold panning and more.

Every Saturday, June 8 to Nov. 9: 11 a.m., Responsible Firearm Ownership.

Every Saturday, June 15 to Aug. 24: 1 p.m., Learn to Fly Fish. Each class will present the basics of fly fishing including techniques, gear, casting, fly selection and more. Pre-registration is suggested by calling 360-474-4880. For a complete schedule of upcoming free classes and events, call that number or go to www.cabelas.com/tulalip.

DOT adds webcam for Skagit River bridge construction

Published: May 30, 2013

The Bellingham Herald

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Washington Department of Transportation officials have installed a webcam at the site of the collapsed Interstate 5 bridge on the Skagit River so residents can monitor the progress on repairing it.

Nearly all the materials for a temporary bridge have arrived at the site and DOT hopes to meet Gov. Jay Inslee’s goal of spanning a collapsed section by mid-June, officials said. The National Transportation Safety Board is still finishing its site investigation, The Skagit Valley Herald reported.

A section of the bridge collapsed May 23 after a girder was struck by an oversize load on a truck. Traffic currently is detoured through Mount Vernon and Burlington

.A temporary bridge will replace the 160-foot section that fell into the water. That will reopen two lanes in each direction. A permanent replacement this fall should restore the bridge.

To get to the DOT webpage that also includes traffic cameras for the George Hopper Road exit and Highway 20, click here. The webcams should automatically reload every 2 minutes, DOT said.

Skagit River I-5 bridge work waiting on NTSB’s OK

– Associated Press

MOUNT VERNON — Nearly all the materials for a temporary I-5 bridge over the Skagit River have arrived at the site and the Washington Transportation Department hopes to meet the governor’s goal of spanning a collapsed section by mid-June, officials said.

Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson told a telephone town hall Wednesday night that work can begin as soon as the National Transportation Safety Board finishes its site investigation, The Skagit Valley Herald reported.

A section of the bridge collapsed May 23 after a girder was struck by an oversize load on a truck. Traffic is detoured through Mount Vernon and Burlington, creating a roadblock on the main trade and tourism route between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C..

Kelly Nantel of the NTSB said Thursday that it had no information to release on when its investigation would be complete. An interview with the driver of a pilot car for the truck had been scheduled Wednesday but had to be rescheduled.

“They need to release the site to us and we need to get in the water and inspect the piers and see what shape they’re in,” state Transportation Department spokeswoman Abbi Russell said from Shoreline. “If they’re sound we can start looking at what the temporary structure will look like.”

Work is continuing with all possible speed. Divers worked overnight Wednesday in cold murky water to remove jagged pieces of the fallen bridge deck. Some girders still under water have to be preserved for NTSB inspectors, she said.

Work will continue through the weekend. Some piece of the temporary structure can be assembled off-site and rolled into place later.

The temporary bridge will replace the 160-foot section that fell into the water. That will reopen two lanes in each direction. A permanent replacement this fall should restore the bridge.

Federal money is paying for the temporary span and 91 percent of the replacement. But there are no plans for a new and improved bridge to replace the 58-year-old structure. Peterson told the Mount Vernon teleconference that there are a lot more bridges in Washington in worse shape.

Meanwhile, traffic delays are easing on the detours around the fallen bridge, which carried 71,000 vehicles a day.

“People are getting into a routine,” Russell said. “We still have backups here and there.” Afternoons seem a little more congested than mornings, she said.

Matika Wilbur: Indian Enough Photography Exhibit Opens in Ohio

Indian Country Today Media Network

As ICTMN reported in January, Matika Wilbur has embarked on a three-year project to photograph peoples and cultures that are not only alive but are thriving and a force in American life.

Wilbur, a 28-year-old Swinomish/Tulalip woman, hit the road November 28 on Project 562, an undertaking to photograph people from every federally recognized indigenous nation in the United States. When completed, the project will result in a book, exhibitions, lecture series, website and a curriculum.

Now, along her journey, the exhibit Matika Wilbur: Indian Enough has opened at River House Arts in Perrysburg, Ohio. The exhibition, featuring Wilbur’s photographic work, will run until June 10.

To help support Project 562 or learn more about the project, visit MatikaWilbur.com or the Project 562 Kickstarter page.