MRC Press Releases
NEWS RELEASE
For release by December 11, 2002
For more information call Don Meehan at (360) 679-7327
Langley oceanographer to speak Dec. 11 on Antarctic ecosystem threats
A Langley oceanographer who has made 25 trips to Antarctica will speak Wednesday, Dec. 11, when the Island County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) meets in Freeland. Dr. Sayed Z. El-Sayed will speak on "Saving the Antarctic Ecosystem: A Global Concern." The public is cordially invited. The meeting will be held from 4 - 6 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church.
Dr. El-Sayed, who lives in Langley, is professor emeritus of oceanography at Texas A&M University. He is also a member of the Island County MRC and brings a unique local perspective to his county role. Before beginning his teaching career and his Antarctic studies, El-Sayed earned his doctorate at the University of Washington, researching and writing his dissertation on the English sole populations of Saratoga Passage, Holmes Harbor and Penn Cove.
El-Sayed will discuss how the fragile Antarctic ecosystem is greatly threatened by over-exploitation, ozone depletion, pollution and global warming. He will also discuss the international BIOMASS program (Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks), which he spearheaded, designed to safeguard and protect that ecosystem.
By understanding marine problems and protection strategies in other parts of the world, the Island County MRC is better able to develop effective strategies to benefit Island County waters.
Professor El-Sayed is the recipient of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Service Medal and the 1985 Distinguished Service Award by the American Institute of Biological Sciences. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names named El-Sayed Glacier in recognition of his work in the Antarctic.
Island County is one of seven northern Puget Sound counties with citizen-led Marine Resources Committees. These advisory committees were established in 1998 under the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative to help develop strategies and solutions to the depletion of marine life and habitat in local waters.
NEWS RELEASE
For release by November 6, 2002
For more information call Don Meehan at (360) 679-7327
Death-traps the topic of Nov. 6 Marine Resources speaker
Death-traps ensnare the living every day in the waters of Island County and north Puget Sound. These silent killers are the hundreds of lost or abandoned commercial fishing nets, crab and shrimp pots snagged on the sea floor. Many have been there for years, destroying fish, shellfish, birds and mammals, endangering recreational divers and snagging ships' propellers and rudders.
The public is invited to hear about these traps and the ambitious effort to rid our waters of them next Wednesday, Nov. 6, when the Island County Marine Resources committee meets at Heller Road Firehall in Oak Harbor, from 4 - 6 p.m. Speaker will be Michelle L. McConnell of Port Townsend, outreach and education coordinator for the Derelict Gear Project of the Northwest Straits Commission.
Island County is one of seven counties with citizen-led Marine Resources Committees. These advisory committees were established in 1998 under the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative to look at strategies and solutions to the depletion of marine life and habitat in northern Puget Sound.
Island County MRC gathers scientific data, inventories marine life and maps its habitat. It shares its findings with interested parties, including resource managers and the public. It also pursues grants to fund marine conservation and restoration projects to help improve habitat and marine life in many parts of Island County.
NEWS RELEASE
For release October 29, 2002
For more information call Don Meehan at (360) 679-7327
Whidbey, Camano citizens lead marine protection efforts
"Can you just imagine what it was like here 150 years ago?" asked Dr. Sayed El Sayed of Langley, gesturing over the waters of Admiralty Inlet from the Port Townsend ferry last Saturday afternoon. El Sayed was on his way home from a seven-county marine resources conference at Port Ludlow. He was talking of the abundant salmon, shellfish and marine life described by tribal speakers who attended the two-day Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC) meeting with citizen leaders from throughout the north Puget Sound area.
"We can never go back to those days -- they are forever gone," he lamented. "But still, we are so very, very lucky to live in this place. Such a wonderful place," he said, drawing a deep breath of salt air. "We must do what we can to protect what we still have, and restore the marine environment and habitat."
El Sayed is a marine scientist, professor and member of the Island County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) who attended the NWSC's fourth annual training conference with his counterparts from the six other counties and a large delegation from Island County. Don Meehan, WSU extension agent for Island County and a fellow committee member, said the tribal perspective was an important one for the group to hear.
"We need the historic perspective," he said. "We need to hear how people lived here for generations before us and sustained themselves on the abundance of nature. It helps us understand not only what we once had, but what we might bring back a little bit if we can gain a better understanding of our marine environment."
Meehan pointed out Island County is unique among the seven northwest Washington counties whose marine resources committees report to the NWSC. No Indian tribes are sited here. But the county's waters and beaches were well known and used by area tribes. The story is revealed in tribal accounts, archaeological digs and in the research of lay historians such as Roger Sherman of Coupeville. Sherman, who represents agricultural interests on the MRC, also attended the Port Ludlow conference. His collection of historic photographs is filling in some pieces of Island County's past for the MRC - helping track how the last century of development has changed the county's harbors and shoreline.
Others here also are contributing leadership and expertise. Whidbey Island is home to one of the two founders of the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative, former U.S. Congressman Jack Metcalf, who co-sponsored the legislation with U.S. Senator Patty Murray. Metcalf attended last weekend's conference, as did former State Representative Dave Anderson of Clinton, newly appointed to the Northwest Straits Commission, and Island County Commissioner Bill Thorn, of District 3.
In addition to El Sayed, Sherman and Meehan, other MRC committee members attending from Island County were Dr. Phyllis Kind of Greenbank, a scientist and Beach Watcher; Hi Bronson of Camano Island, an environmental planner; and Mike Gallion of Clinton, who represents sport-fishing interests. Committee staff attending were Gary Wood of Coupeville, the MRC's executive director, and Dan Pedersen of Langley, its administrative assistant.
The Northwest Straits Commission organized the two-day training session under the theme of partnerships and strategies for protection. The meeting brought together members from the Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, Island, Snohomish, Jefferson and Clallam county committees. Also included were representatives of several Northwest Indian tribes because of the stake they share in a healthy environment and managing the resource, and several marine scientists and members of the Northwest Straits Commission. The science program focused largely on marine reserves and their impact on the resource and its users.
The Northwest Straits Initiative authorized establishment of citizen-based marine resources committees in 1998 to gather local data using the best available science, and to advise planners and resource managers at all levels on how best to reverse the decline in marine species in the Puget Sound region.
Island County's MRC has focused much of its initial effort on collecting data about near-shore habitat, including the location of feeder bluffs, eelgrass beds, drainage outfalls and hardened shorelines that may affect spawning grounds for the forage fish on which salmon and other species depend. The MRC also is working on projects to remove derelict commercial fishing gear snagged on the sea floor and to develop a pilot shore steward program to promote healthy environmental and habitat practices by property owners throughout the county.
The MRC has applied for funding to work with the Navy to remove a failed bulkhead at Maylor's Marsh, across from the city of Oak Harbor. If the project is approved, it will include beach restoration work aimed at attracting more forage fish, salmon and other marine species to the harbor.
NEWS RELEASE
For release by August 14, 2002
For more information call Don Meehan at (360) 679-7327
Moore to speak about Langley waterfront at Aug. 14 Marine Resources meeting
Revitalization of the commercial center for marine activity on Langley's waterfront will be the topic at the next meeting of Island County's Marine Resources Committee (MRC), Wednesday, Aug. 14. Langley waterfront revitalization is one of the current projects of guest speaker, Linda Moore, of Langley.
The meeting will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church from 4 - 6 pm, with Moore's talk following the regular business session. The public is invited.
Moore is chief executive officer of Integrated Solutions, formed to deliver the unique combination of law, finance, development, good humor and tenacity required to work at the crossroads of affordable housing, jobs and sustainable development technologies in rural communities.
Recent projects include the creation of a micro-enterprise loan fund, in the context of developing a 16-acre model mixed rural development on Whidbey Island. Moore's previous experience includes involvement in the mixed-use project of the inner harbor in Baltimore and redevelopment of the Fulton Fish Market in New York City.
Moore was born in Redmond, Ore., and grew up in farm country on the Yakima Indian Reservation. She is licensed to practice law in Washington, Maryland, Colorado and the District of Columbia.
Moore served on the Island County Planning Commission from 1997-1999, through its completion of the Growth Management Comprehensive Plan.
The Island County MRC, along with six other north Puget Sound MRCs, was created in 1999 in response to a precipitous decline in fish harvests. It is tasked with using science and education to manage and protect the resources of North Puget Sound by advising local and state agencies, and using grants to fund studies the agencies can't afford to do.