Climate vulnerability, Pierce-Mason counties aquaculture prospects open for discussion
The Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel will hold a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 26, to discuss and present a draft climate vulnerability assessment for Puget Sound.
The Puget Sound Partnership is the state agency formed to lead the region’s collective effort to restore and protect Puget Sound. Working with hundreds of governments, tribes, scientists, businesses, and nonprofits, the Partnership mobilizes partner action around a common agenda, advances Sound investments, and tracks progress to optimize recovery.
The meeting will be held at the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Lab, Henderson Hall, 1013 NE 40th St., Seattle, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Oct. 26.
The meeting will include an update on efforts to implement the 2016 Biennial Science Work Plan, which recommends priority science actions in support of ecosystem recovery. Science and monitoring activities are critical to understanding whether efforts to recover and protect Puget Sound are having the desired effects.
The climate vulnerability assessment, which will help scientists, managers, and others understand the ways in which climate change might impact our efforts to recover and protect Puget Sound, will be presented and discussed.
On the web:
www.psp.wa.gov/SP_meetings.php
Public meeting on Burley Lagoon proposal, Oct. 25
A public meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 25 at Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor at 6 p.m. The Pierce County planning department is accepting public comment about the scope of the environmental impact statement through Nov. 8. Comments and documents specific to this proposal can be sent by email to Ty Booth, Pierce County planner at tbooth@co.pierce.wa.us or by mail (2401 S. 35th St., Suite 175, Tacoma, WA 98049-7490). Voice messages to 888-998-3946 will be recorded and later transcribed for the record.
The Pierce County and Land Service Department issued a Determination of Significance for Taylor Shellfish Farms proposed geoduck farm in Burley Lagoon earlier this month. The Oct. 25 meeting will allow the public to comment on and receive information about the parameters for an environmental impact statement that will be prepared under direction of the county.
In 2014, Taylor Shellfish Farms applied for a permit to convert 25 acres of tideland from clams and oysters to geoduck farming. Geoducks are raised in plastic mesh or PVC tubes which are embedded into the bottom of the tide flats at a rate of 40,000 to 45,000 per acre.
The county planning department’s Determination of Significance is available online:
https://palsonline.co.pierce.wa.us/
Mason County SMP update presentation, Oct. 25
The Mason County Shoreline Master Program update will be the subject of a public hearing, Tuesday, Oct. 25, in Shelton. The update will be presented to Mason County Commissioners in the Commission Chambers, 411 North Fifth St., Shelton, beginning at 6 p.m. The Shoreline Master Program regulates land use and development within 200 feet from rivers, lakes, and marine shores. Mason County has over 709 miles of shoreline that are protected by the Washington State Shoreline Management Act and by the Mason County SMP.
The county staff report on the update is available online:
www.co.mason.wa.us/community_dev/shoreline_master_program/SR-BOCC-Hearing-SMP-oct-2016.pdf
