NOPLE Salmon Recovery Newsletters

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As many of you already know, my last day as NOPLE Coordinator will be February 28. On March 1, I will start as a Senior Planner with Clallam County. It has been my pleasure working with all of you. To apply for the position of NOPLE Coordinator, click here.

Selinda Barkhuis

February 2006, Volume 3, Edition 2
NOPLE Salmon Recovery Newsletter

Humor

  • To read the totally irrelevant funny (actually, this month it's more philosophical) part, you will have to scroll down the rest of the newsletter to the bottom. Try reading some of it in the process.

Federal & WA State Salmon Recovery News

  • NOAA Fisheries Service releases proposed Endangered Species Act recovery plan for Puget Sound Chinook, and requests public review and comment. Please note that the closing date for the 60 day review and comment period on the draft plan is Feb. 27th. Click here. Find the documents at the following locations:
    • Port Angeles Public Library, Referenced in Northwest Section, 2210 South Peabody Street, Port Angeles
    • Sequim Public Library, Reference Desk, 630 North Sequim Avenue, Sequim
    • Clallam County Government, Environmental Health Services Group, 223 East Fourth Street, Port Angeles
  • Recent Seattle PI Article on Puget Sound Chinook Recovery Plan. click here.
  • Two views on the Puget Sound Chinook Recovery Plan.
  • NOAA Fisheries Service announces final updated Endangered Species Act listings for 10 distinct population segments (DPSs) of West Coast steelhead. Click here.
  • The next SRFB meeting will be held April 6 & 7 in LaConner. For location, agenda and meeting documents for all SRFB meetings, click here.
  • There are changes afoot in how SRFB will distribute its funding for salmon habitat projects. Especially if you are considering submitting a SRFB proposal within the Puget Sound Chinook ESU area within the next three years, click here and read the left-hand column.
  • Shared Strategy Two-day Adaptive Management and Monitoring Workshop will be held April 4th and 5th, Location: To be determined (Seattle area is most likely). The April workshop is intended for technical and policy leads, Lead Entity Coordinators, and others who are and/or will be actively engaged in recovery plan monitoring and adaptive management activities. Contact Margee Duncan with Shared Strategy for more detailed information and to RSVP. 206-447-1656, e-mail: mduncan@sharedsalmonstrategy.org.
  • Leaky Spokane fuel depot wins 'Dead Swan Award' for water polluters, click here

Olympic Peninsula Watershed & Salmon News

  • NFWF funded the following local Community Salmon Fund projects recently:
    1. Hoh River Knotweed Control Project by 10,000 Years Institute.
    2. Knotweed Control in Big River Riparian Area by Clallam County Noxious Weed Control Board.
    To read more about these projects, click here.
  • The SRFB funded the following NOPLE projects recently::
    1. Deep Creek Roads Decommissioning and Sediment Reduction Project by North Olympic Salmon Coalition.
    2. IMW Final Restoration Treatments by Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.
    3. Hoko River Habitat Restoration by Washington Department of Natural Resources.
    To read more about these projects, click here.
  • Applicants of previously funded SRFB projects. The NOPLE coordinator has free SRFB logo stickers available for you to use on your project sign.
  • Report on 2005 Knotweed Project by Clallam County Noxious Weed Control Board
  • Ecology has prepared a report entitled: Progress on Watershed Planning and Setting Instream Flows: 2005 Report to the Legislature. This report has been prepared to comply with RCW 90.82.043(5) and RCW 90.82.080 (6) which require the Department of Ecology to report on statutory changes recommended in watershed plans and progress toward setting instream flows around the state. It also provides an overview of watershed planning efforts to date and needs identified from watershed planning groups as they begin moving into the implementation phase. It is available on-line, click here.
  • "Washington State's Forest Practices Program and the Clean Water Act" is discussed in this white paper dated January 11, 2006. A very quick read, click here.

Opportunities to put in your two-cents worth

  • The Miller Peninsula State Park is entering the planning and development phase. A public workshop sponsored by the WA State Parks and Recreation Commission (SPRC) to identify public ideas and concerns will take place:February 22 6:30 PM, Guy Cole Community Center, Carrie Blake Park, Blake Avenue, Sequim.To learn more about the planning and development process click here.
  • The Board of Supervisors to the Clallam Conservation District has one seat up for election at the March 7 2006 vote. The balloting will be open from 3 to 7 PM in the Port of Port Angeles office, 228 W. First Street, the Sequim Library 630 N. Sequim Ave, and at a location in Joyce yet to be announced. Last year, no one filed for the open seat then, and 78 people voted with Bob Forde of Sequim capturing 47 write-in votes from members of the North Olympic Peninsula Phone Tree. To read about last year's election, click here. Anyone living and registered to vote in Clallam County can run for Conservation District supervisor. To be listed on the ballot, submt a Nomination Petition signed by 25 or more registered Clallam County votes to the Clallam Conservation District or the Washington State Conservation Commission. Petitions are available from the district office, 1601 E. Front Street, Ste. A, Port Angeles, WA 98362, 452-1912, Ext 5 or from the commission, PO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504, 360-407-6215. The completed petition must be verified by the conservation district or the county auditor by 2/20/06. Up for the election is the three-year term held by Sequim Realtor Steve Marble, a property-rights advocate. To find out more about the Clallam Conservation District and the board of supervisors, check out the CCD website, click here.
  • Final Environmental Impact Statement on 9.3-Million Acre Conservation PlanAvailable for Public Review and Comment. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and conservation plan covers future forest practices on approximately 9.3 million acres of non-Federal and non-tribal lands in Washington State. Written comments on the conservation plan, implementation agreement, and the FEIS will be accepted for 30 days, January 27 through February 27, 2006. Written comments may be sent by mail, facsimile, or delivered to: Sally Butts, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 510 Desmond Drive SE, Suite 102 Lacey, WA 98503-1263 FAX: 360/753-9518 Hardbound copies of the proposed conservation plan, proposed implementation agreement, and FEIS are available for viewing, or partial or complete duplication, at all Washington State Libraries and most city and county libraries. The documents will also be available on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Western Washington Office website at: click here. For further information please contact Sally Butts, Project Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 360/753-5832.

Education and Resources

Local trainings

  • Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Short Course: Forks. The "Coached" Forest Stewardship Planning Shortcourse is an educational opportunity for owners of family forests in Washington. The informational, hands on, practical approach of this program will enable landowners to learn useful information about their natural resources. The programis open to all persons. Participants will be able to author their own Forest Stewardship Plan with guidance adn "coaching" by nautral resource professionals. Dates: Nine Tuesday evening sessions, beginning March 28th ending May 23rd with a field day on Saturday May 6th. Location: Olympic Natural Resources Center in Forks, WA. For more information, contact: WSU/Clallam County Extension (360-417-2279) or download registration information, click here
  • The next WSU Clallam County Beach Watcher training will be held in April and May of 2006, and applications will be available after the New Year. If interested, contact David Freed. Program Coordinator, WSU Beach Watchers, Clallam County, 360-565-2619, 223 E. 4th Street, suite15, Port Angeles, WA 98362, email dfreed@co.clallam.wa.us. For more info, click here.

    Not so local trainings

  • The "Climate, Climate Change, and Weather of the Pacific Northwest" annual conference, sponsored by NOAA's National Weather Service, the University of Washington, and the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Meteorological Society, covers recent developments in weather forecasting and observational technologies, major weather events of the past year, and topics dealing with western U.S. meteorology. It will be held Seattle March 3-4. More information, click here. If you have questions, contact either brad.colman@noaa.gov or Cliff Mass cliff@atmos.washington.edu.

    On-line resources

  • EPA Watershed Academy: click here
  • EPA Watershed Handbook: click here
  • Monitoring Stream and Watershed Restoration. Phil Roni, editor. 2005. 350 pages. click here.
  • Ecosystem Recovery Planning for Listed Salmon: An Integrated Assessment Approach for Salmon Habitat. T. Beechie, E. A. Steel, P. Roni, and E. Quimby, editors. NOAA Technical Memorandum, NMFS-NWFSC-58. December 2003. 183 pages. click here.
  • Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems: A Guide for Puget Sound Planners to Understand Watershed Processes, publication #05-06-013. click here. Workshops for applying the guidance, click here.

Grants

Humor-philosophy

  • The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

    When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in
    a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

    A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front
    of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and
    empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then
    asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

    The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
    He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between
    the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They
    agreed it was.

    The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of
    course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar
    was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

    The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and
    poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space
    between the sand. The students laughed.

    "Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to
    recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the
    important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and
    your favorite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they
    remained, your life would still be full.

    The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and
    your car.

    The sand is everything else--the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the
    jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf
    balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the
    small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to
    you.

    "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with
    your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to
    dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and
    fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really
    matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

    One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee
    represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked.

    It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
    there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."