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GREEN SHORELINES WORKSHOP JUNE 23
A free workshop is coming up on voluntary approaches and incentives for greening shorelines. Please note that the event does NOT focus on Shoreline Master Program updates or regulatory reform. The facilitators will also want to be learning more from property owners on this topic. See contact information below for additional information.
Attend
this free workshop to learn:
What are green shorelines?
What are the benefits of various green
shorelines approaches?
What green shoreline approaches are
right for your property?
What incentives are available for
landowners who want to green their
shorelines?
and help us understand:
What about green shorelines is most
attractive to you as a shoreline owner?
What incentives would be most valuable
to you and your neighbors in considering
green shoreline approaches?
The workshop is free, but registration is required and space is limited. Three ways to register:
1.
Contact Jeanne Fulcher at 425-649-4318
2. Send e-mail to
jful461@ecy.wa.gov
3. Or register online through the Green
Shorelines Workshop Web site:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/events/greenshorelines.html
Who Should Attend?
Shoreline property owners from Lake
Washington and Lake
Sammamish
Contractors, consultants, federal,
state and local agency staff involved in
shoreline work, elected officials and
others interested in learning more about
green shorelines.
Tuesday,
June 23, 2009
5:30-6 p.m. meet & greet/light
refreshments 6-8 p.m. workshop
Where:
Mercer Island Community Center at Mercer
View
8236 SE 24th Street, Mercer Island, WA
98040
Directions:
http://www.mercergov.org/page.asp?NavID=1951
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GREENWAY DAYS JUNE 20 AND 21
Free, Fun Activities All Weekend Long!
Let Greenway Days be the Kick-Off to
Your Greenway Summer - Compete in the
Mountains to Sound Relay - One Day, 100
miles
Registration open until June 18th
-Take the Greenway Challenge - a
summer-long scavenger hunt with great
prizes
-Go Geoteaming - use GPS to find hidden
caches at Rattlesnake Lake, North Bend
-Volunteer for Greenway Days
With over 25 events in 10 communities,
there is something for everyone during
Greenway Days and throughout the summer.
Join a hike, take a bike ride, build a
kite, and enjoy the Greenway!
Events include:
-Fenders on Front Street Car Show and
Cruise, Issaquah
-Fall City Days
-Mercer Slough Environmental Education
Center, Bellevue
-Kayak Rides in Luther Burbank Park,
Mercer Island
-Tours of the Wild Horse Wind and Solar
Facility, Ellensburg
-Kite Making and More for Kids at
Meadowbrook Farm, Snoqualmie
-Interpretive Hikes at Tiger Mountain
with Greenway educators
For more information and a complete list
of events, visit mtsgreenway.org
or contact Stephanie Dunlap at
greenwaydays@mtsgreenway.org or
206.382.5565 x21
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NEW KING COUNTY SCIENCE NEWSLETTER
King County's Science and Technical
Support Section of the Water and Land
Division invites you to read their first
newsletter of 2009. The newsletter
features projects involving their
Science staff and information relevant
to the
health of King County water and land
resources.
These newsletters are designed to
increase awareness of King County's
science
programs, staff expertise, services and
to highlight current and emerging
issues. To view the 2009 first
quarter edition, please visit:
http://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/water-and-land/science/newsletter/2009/june/0906-4-section-overview.pdf
. o O o .
SHORELINE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM UPDATES -
LAKE SAMMAMISH
The Cities of Bellevue, Issaquah and
Sammamish are in the process of updating
their Shoreline Management Programs (SMP).
In 1972 the State's Shoreline Management
Act was passed by referendum to "to
prevent the inherent harm in an
uncoordinated and piecemeal development
of the state's shorelines." It was an
attempt to protect the environmental
benefits of our rivers, lakes and
saltwaters for all citizens - see
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/sma/
(Note the City Council of Redmond
adopted its Shoreline Master Program
Update in August 2008.)
These regulations affect both the Lake's
health and how property owners use their
shorelines. Therefore, it is important
for us to let our City Councils know
that we continue to want to keep Lake
Sammamish fishable and swimmable for
this and future generations.
Save Lake Sammamish recommends the
following points be made to the
Councils:
1) Adopt strong standards for vegetated
buffers and building set backs:
a) vegetated buffers control runoff
into the Lake by capturing chemicals,
pollutants and sediment. Grass cannot do
that!
b) the view you save could be your
own - a neighbor's remodel waterward
could block your view and decrease your
property value
2) Limit percentage of impervious
surface on Lake Sammamish to:
30% Urban Conservancy, 40% Shoreline
Residential
30% lots less than 3,000 SF in size
a) lot line to lot line neighbor
houses diminish your privacy and
property enjoyment
b) runoff with pollutants goes
directly into the Lake - no room for
filtration
c) keeps houses in proportion with
neighborhood
3) Encourage bulkhead removal -
currently bulkheads may be constructed
to
protect a legally permitted structure
only from imminent danger. This has been
poorly enforced.
a) bulkheads destroy gradual beaches
damaging shallow water areas with
vegetation essential for the survival of
salmon fry
b) wave action against bulkheads
churns up sediment
c) water displaced by your neighbor's
bulkhead could damage your property
(concrete bathtub effect)
4) Retain 80% of significant trees
within shoreline buffer (non hazard
trees)
15% or 200 SF buffer area allowed for
access or active use, remainder
vegetated
Retain 70% trees in shoreline
jurisdiction
a) large trees frame views of the
Lake
b) provide habitat for bald eagles,
osprey, herron, kingfishers and others
c) intercept rainwater, hold
shoreline in place, prevent erosion and
produce oxygen
d) provide shade in summer - you save
electricity!
5) Mandate low impact development (LID)
techniques
a) insufficient room to filter
runoff and pollution from built hardened
surfaces along shoreline
b) over time you will save resources
and money
c) maintain your property value on a
clean, healthy Lake
6) Control dock size
a) little room is left for swimming
when docks are too close together
b) numerous docks destroy salmonid
habitat
Thank you for taking the time to get
involved at the following sessions!
-May 19, 2009 6-9pm Public Open House at
the Eagle Room, Issaquah City Hall
http://www.ci.issaquah.wa.us/News.asp?NewsID=1197
-May 21, 2009 at 6:30pm Bellevue City
Hall - Open House
http://www.bellevuewa.gov/shoreline-master-plan.htm
-May 28, 2009 at 6:30pm Issaquah
Planning Policy Commission Workshop and
Public
Comment at City Council Chambers, 135 E.
Sunset Way.
http://www.ci.issaquah.wa.us/News.asp?NewsID=1197
-May
29, 2009The Draft SMP Update for the
City of
The
City Council of
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KOKANEE IN THE MEDIA
Check out the short
video telling some of the Kokanee story
and documenting Kokanee returns last
fall:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/salmon-and-trout/sammamish-kokanee-video.aspx
.
And check out page 64 of the current edition of the national Trout Unlimited magazine for a focus on the plight of our Kokanee and what TU is doing to pitch in on solutions: http://www.tu.org/site/c.kkLRJ7MSKtH/b.5067579/k.4220/2009_Archive/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp#e6470671
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GREEN SHORELINES FOR LAKE SAMMAMISH AND
LAKE WASHINGTON
Green Shorelines is an organization that
uses vegetation and natural materials to
reduce negative impacts on nearshore
habitat for plants, fish, and wildlife
while protecting property.
Historically, hard engineering fixes
such as bulkheads have been used to
protect property. These solutions often
negatively impact fish and wildlife
habitat. Coordination and Communication
Workshops will be held during March
through June, 2009. To learn more and
register for one of these workshops, go
to:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/events/greenshorelines.html
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ADOPT-A-KOKANEE
In February 2009, the Bellevue/Issaquah
Chapter of Trout Unlimited in
cooperation with the King Co. Department
of Natural Resources, the Washington
Department of Fish & Wildlife and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will
begin a research program of placing
acoustical tags on native Kokanee,
Cutthroat Trout and Northern Pike
Minnow. The acoustic tags will track
their movement throughout the Lake
Sammamish watershed and its tributaries
through strategic placement of listening
stations. This research will give us a
better understanding of the habits of
these fish throughout their lives. This
information is vital if we are to save
our Kokanee.
To help support volunteer efforts on
this and other projects Trout Unlimited
is offering you a chance to adopt a
fish. With a $100 donation they will
send you an 8" X 11" picture of your
fish. Along with this photo you will
receive its vital statistics, where it
was caught and information regarding its
life history. You will also receive a
periodic record of its movement as they
track them around the lake.
A $300 donation will allow you to
accompany their research crew on a trip
to help collect and tag the fish you are
adopting!
Please complete the form below. Thanks
for your support in helping us save our
little red fish!
****************************************
Name__________________________________
Donation_________
Address______________________________________
City______________________ State____ Zip
Code__________
Phone_________________
email____________________________
Mail checks to:
Bellevue-Issaquah Chapter of Trout
Unlimited
P. O. Box 2652
Issaquah, WA 98027-0121
For more info or to donate on-line, check
out their web site at:
www.tu-bi.org , or phone
206-200-2840 or E-mail
emtbckt@msn.com
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U S Fish and Wildlife accepts petition to study listing the late-run Kokanee as an endangered species
USF&W is initiating a 12-month status review process through which they will decide on the question of listing the population. For more info, see their Press release . To view the petition, go to: www.scn.org/savelake/Kokanee.Petition.pdf
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kokanee op-ed
Following is an article that appeared in the August 3, 2007 Post Intelligencer.
Obscure salmon struggles to survive
MARK TAYLOR AND MATT MATTSON - GUEST COLUMNISTS
Beneath the surface of Lake Sammamish, a little slice of Washington's native salmon legacy is silently struggling to survive. Far from the minds of the water skiers and too few to register much of a blip on anglers' fish finders, the native run of Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon languishes in relative obscurity compared with the lake's other attractions.
Once so common that our ancestors harvested them to fertilize gardens, fewer than 1,000 remain today. The largest run of native kokanee in Issaquah Creek quietly blinked into extinction a few years ago, while the responsible federal agency did nothing to respond to citizen cries to protect them.
Today we have another chance to save a remaining native run of Lake Sammamish kokanee and, in doing so, preserve and restore another chapter in Washington's salmon tradition that would otherwise merely become a part of its history. We should not squander the chance to act this time.
Because of its acute need for cold, clean water and intact, healthy habitat, kokanee -- landlocked cousins of sea-going sockeye -- are indicators of a healthy watershed, and, conversely, their disappearance is among the first signals that something of ecological importance has gone wrong or has gone missing. That signal amplifies as it moves downstream toward Puget Sound. A healthy watershed fosters a healthy community and a functioning ecosystem that reaps economic and quality-of-life benefits throughout, for all its residents and visitors. That means not just the kokanee, but chinook, steelhead, whales and people.
The Lake Sammamish kokanee have survived this long facing much of the worst that human progress can dish out, even when it is exacerbated by Mother Nature's torrent. This past fall, it was amazing that a few of the little red fish made it up the rushing water to spawn, and even more surprising, their nests of eggs were not all washed away in the floods. They have hung on despite the worst of our land-use decisions, pollution and heating of the cool water they require, and now they are migrating to Lake Sammamish only to face ever-warmer waters and predatory warm water fish.
Rather than see how much more the kokanee can take, it seems like now would be a good time to offer these great fish some much-needed help.
Although a number of individuals and organizations in the basin are doing good things for kokanee, and the kokanee are responding, we can do more. Merely dodging their extinction for a few more years should not be the goal here; rather, real and lasting recovery should be.
Recently, a number of organizations, including ours, filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect Lake Sammamish kokanee under the Endangered Species Act. Giving these fish that safety net will bring together current activities aimed at saving the fish, and encourage others to join us.
We failed to act sufficiently in time for the Issaquah Creek stock, and the result is that it is now a part of our unfortunate history with salmon. But we certainly have the time and the means to act to save the remaining stocks, and to keep another critical part of Washington's native salmon legacy going. This time, we should remember the Lake Sammamish kokanee in time to act, not just remember them in history.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Taylor is president of the Washington Council of Trout Unlimited. Matt Mattson is tribal administrator of the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. Other authors of this essay are Joanna Buehler, president, Save Lake Sammamish, and Kathy Fletcher, executive director, People for Puget Sound.
. o O o .
petition submitted to list Sammamish late run Kokanee as an endangered species
Trout Unlimited has submitted a petition to place the Sammamish late run Kokanee on the endangered species list. SLS was a co-signer along with King County, the City of Issaquah, People for Puget Sound and the Snoqualmie tribe. Our thanks go to Trout Unlimited and all those who volunteered to count the Kokanee fry in Lewis Creek at night and in all kinds of weather to provide data for this petition. To view the petition, go to: http://www.scn.org/savelake/Kokanee.Petition.pdf
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past SLS summer newsletters
To read any of the following SLS newsletters, click on the corresponding date:
. o O o .
Is Lake Sammamish dying?
This is the headline of an excellent article on many facets concerning
the quality of Lake Sammamish. The article was written by Sarah Koenig and
published in the Redmond Reporter. This newspaper does not have its own
web site and gave permission to include it in the SLS site.
Go to article.
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