Sequim - Linderoth News Writer

Who’s going on the farm tour?

In this issue

B-1

Blood moon rising Sunday evening’s “supermoon” or “blood moon” — a total eclipse of the moon. The total lunar eclipse was visible from the most of North America and all of South America after sunset on Sept. 27. Get a great shot of the “supermoon”? Send it to us at news@sequimgazette.com.

SEQUIM GAZETTE Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015

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75 CENTS

Vol. 42, Number 39

Growlers, residents find uneasy peace Local efforts aim to lessen Navy’s presence

Naval Air Station Whidbey Island complex officials have been transitioning their electronic attack squadrons from the Prowler to Growler aircraft since 2008. The transition is to be complete next year. Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy

by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

What value does a moment of silence within nature have?

The question of values and quality of life are recently at the heart of some Olympic Peninsula residents as they work to protect one of the world’s few regions that support

temperate rain forests.

For more than 40 years, officials at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island complex have conducted electronic warfare training within Northwest Training and Testing areas, including at the Olympic Military Operations Areas that spans across portions of the Olympic Peninsula and extends off the

DUNGENESS WONDERS

SARC pursuing study for YMCA parnership

Park district sidelined, impact fees deferred

by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette

Big topics were front and center at the latest Sequim City Council meeting ranging from supporting new school construction and SARC’s operations to impact fees to options for a metropolitan park district.

Sequim Gazette staff

See SARC/YMCA, A-4

See GROWLERS, A-8

City of Sequim shows support for school bond

City of Sequim delays vote on contribution While they consider a number of options, Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center board members are further pursuing a partnership with the Olympic Peninsula YMCA. In a 3-2 vote last week, the SARC board agreed to contribute $5,000 toward a study of the feasibility of a partnership between the two entities.

SARC board chairman Frank Pickering, vice-chairman Sherry Nagel and board member Melinda Griffith voted in favor of supporting the study while board members Jan Richardson and Gil Goodman voted against.

The study funding, Pickering said, is just the first part of looking at a potential partnership. Among other options board members have considered to help run the facility slated to close in September 2016 include:

coastline into the Pacific Ocean.

Despite the Navy’s historical presence, within the past year a notice calling for changes to the training activities within the local training complex spurred concern among nearby communities.

Such changes include the Navy’s continued effort to replace the EA-6B Prowler type aircraft with EA-18G Growler and the use

School support

Diego Buhrer, 10, from the Olympic Peninsula Academy, checks out the artwork inside a large fish provided by the North Olympic Salmon Coalition at last week’s 16th Dungeness River Festival. Children could walk inside the hollowed fish throughout the two days of the River Festival. See story, A-4, and photos from the event on B-1. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

City councilors unanimously voted 7-0 to endorse the Sequim School District’s $49.3 million construction bond through a resolution on Sept. 28.

City Manager Charlie Bush recommended supporting the bond saying “it shows solidarity with the school district, goodwill and support for the BUSH kids in the district.”

Previously, the city council had not endorsed the school district’s two previous bond construction attempts in April 2014 for $154 million and $49.5 million in February 2015.

In 2013, they supported the school district’s two proposed levies but on March 24, 2014, city councilors voted 4-3 against a resolution supporting the $154 million proposal.

Councilors Ken Hays, Laura Dubois and Candace Pratt supported the resolution.

However, city councilors voted 6-1 with Erik Erichsen opposed to offering “general support” of the Sequim School District.

Councilor Ted Miller said he supports this resolution because “we owe it to our kids but it is simply not the best solution,” because he feels the state should be funding schools’

See CITY, A-2

Milestone met for 3 Crabs restoration project Commissioners OK future vacations of 3 Crabs Road, SequimDungeness Way

by ALANA LINDEROTH

missioners agreed to give up portions of two county roads.

Pending a new road meets condiMaking way for restoration work tions and safety standards, 1,475 at the former site of The 3 Crabs feet of Sequim-Dungeness Way restaurant, Clallam County com- and 132 feet of 3 Crabs Road will be Sequim Gazette

vacated and removed.

“It means we can proceed with Rebecca Benjamin, North Olym- the project and finalize the depic Salmon Coalition executive signs,” Benjamin said. director, called the agreement a “big As one of 14 Regional Fisheries deal” following the commissioners’ Enhancement Groups within the decision.

See RESTORATION, A-6

Sports B-5 • Schools B-8 • Arts & Entertainment B-1 • Opinion A-10 • Obituaries A-12 • Classifieds C-1 • Crossword Section C

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Growlers

Doug and Beverly Goldie say they can hear multiple Growlers go overhead nearly every day, while working in their organic garden at their Blyn home tucked away in the forest. Using landmarks for points of reference, Doug is able to triangulate and approximate the aircraft’s altitude and estimates some growlers fly by at about 3,000 feet. Sequim Gazette photo by Alana Linderoth

From page A-1

of a fixed electronic transmitter on Navy property at Pacific Beach and up to three mobile electronic signal transmitter vehicles throughout U.S. Forest Service and Washington State Department of Natural Resources lands.

The outfitted vehicles are aimed at providing a more “realistic” training scenario for the aircrew training for aviators from electronic warfare squadrons, Mike Welding, Navy public affairs officer, said.

“Effective electronic warfare training requires sources of electromagnetic energy that simulate systems operated by enemy combatants,” according to the 2014 Pacific Northwest EW Range Environmental Assessment. “The emitters will be frequently relocated among the selected sites, challenging crews in determining the emitter’s location.”

Based on planning and analysis within the 2014 Pacific Northwest EW Range Environmental Assessment, “over the course of a year, each mobile emitter would be driven out to one of the 15 sites in the Olympic Military Operations Areas approximately 260 times,” according to the assessment.

The assessment estimates that given the available flying days per year, the mobile emitters would need to support about 11 training events a day, for a total of about 2,900 year. To do so, it’s estimated the mobile emitters would need to operate eight to 16 hours a day.

However, to pursue their plans to incorporate the vehicles, Navy officials need permission from the U.S. Forest Service and Washington State Department of Natural Resources to access a possible 15 locations within

Clallam, Jefferson and Grays Harbor counties.

In February, Peter Goldmark, Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands, sent notice to Navy of the Department of Natural Resources’s disinterest in allowing road access to the Navy.

“DNR land as been publicly discussed as a location for the Navy’s proposed electromagnetic warfare training on the Olympic Peninsula,” he wrote in his letter. “Though we have not received a formal land use or lease application for this project, we feel that we are adequately informed to decide that we would not be interested in participating in this training exercise.”

Hoping officials with the U.S. Forest Service will follow Goldmark’s lead, about 50 activists, many from Clallam and Jefferson counties, traveled to the Olympic Forest Service’s headquarters in Olympia on Sept. 23 to deliver a petition opposing the use of Olympic National Forest for the Navy’s proposed enhanced electronic warfare training.

Petition opposes use of U.S. Forest Service roads The petition had more than 125,000 signatures from people locally and worldwide.

The decision of whether

officials with the Forest Service will grant the Navy access has been pushed from mid-month to early next year, Linda Sutton, activist with Protect the Peninsula, an opposition group based out of Jefferson County.

“This was just one of those things getting rubber stamped through,” she said.

Beverly Goldie, a Clallam County resident living in Blyn with her husband Doug, is president of the Clallam County-based opposition group Save The Olympic Peninsula and accompanied Sutton to Olympia.

While in Olympia, those delivering the petition oneby-one stated in one word what the Olympic Peninsula meant to them, Beverly Goldie said. The themes that emerged were words like “spiritual, sanctity and sacred.”

“There’s no environmental impact statement; there’s no policy and procedure in forest service or park handbooks; there’s no regulations of the Navy that address these themes — yet they were the reoccurring and most meaningful to the people that live here,” she said.

Beverly and Doug Goldie first became involved with the community push back toward the local use of mobile emitters and associated Growlers because of their

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shared appreciation for the area’s quiet beauty and the overall health and function of the ecosystems.

“The initial reason for getting involved is that we were concerned about the creatures, biodiversity and delicate ecosystem that it takes to keep this beautiful peninsula like it is,” Beverly Goldie said.

The Goldies’ reasons for being involved morphed within the past six months to beyond concerns of the area’s natural systems, but on to a personal level.

Despite their many calls to the Navy’s complaint hotline regarding jet noise, they’ve received few call backs.

“The last time anyone called us back was on June 24,” Doug Goldie said.

As both previous teachers and school principals in California, the Goldies moved to Blyn in 2010 and don’t recall the noise of Navy aircraft posing disruption.

Although the Navy’s use of the Olympic Peninsula as a training area has been ongoing, Beverly Goldie targets the transition from one type of aircraft to another as one reason for the increased noise and flyovers.

Changing aircraft Since 2008, officials at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island complex have been transitioning their electronic attack squadrons from the Prowler to Growler aircraft. The transition is to be complete next year.

Additionally, the increase of electronic attack squadrons operations at the Whidbey Island complex and the increase of up to 36 Growlers are being evaluated within the Navy’s Environmental Impact Statement that’s in the drafting phase.

The draft Growler Environmental Impact Statement is expected for release in spring 2016 to undergo the public review process and comment period.

“The Navy likes to say they have been training here for over 40 years,” Beverly Goldie said. “But the planes that were flying here 40 years ago are not the same planes that are flying today and the planes that are flying today are not the same that were flying a couple of years ago.”

Ba sed on t he Nav y’s findings of the noise study conducted for the 2012 Environmental Assessment, the sound level exposure of a Growler is one decibel louder during arrival than the Prowler, but it also notes a Growler is 2-8 decibels quieter in other flight profiles.

“The enhanced equipment (mobile emitters) haven’t been put into place yet,” Welding said. “I think there’s a heightened sense of awareness.”

However, based on the Goldies’ experience within past six months and audible and visible presence of Growlers flying over their home, they aren’t convinced it’s simply their level of awareness.

“I think it’s unwise to deny people’s experiences,” said Diana Somerville, a lifelong environmentalist and longtime Clallam County resident.

Values

Somerville sees the opposition to the Navy’s plans as issue centered on the methodology and values more than anything else.

“Maybe we need to change the conversation from how much can we stand to what does it mean to us to have this quality of life and quiet,” she said.

The pristine and natural beauty found within the forests and coastline of the Olympic Peninsula “can’t be taken for granted anymore,” Somerville said. “We need local leaders to stand up.”

The Goldies and Somerville agree the Navy and its need to train isn’t the problem, but it’s the location. The Olympic National Pa rk borders por t ion s of the Olympic Military Operations Areas where the use of mobile emitters and corresponding Growlers are proposed to train.

Worldwide, the park is one of 197 natural sites on the World Heritage list under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

However, the unique location also makes for an ideal location for the Navy’s elec-

SEQUIM GAZETTE

SEQ

tronic warfare training.

“The airspace in the Pacific Northwest is relatively uncongested compared to other areas, and the varied, mountainous terrain provides a high-quality, realistic training environment for aircrews,” according to Navy officials. Other benefits include, but aren’t limited to, the Olympic Peninsula has the mild weather for year-round flying and proximity to coastal regions as well as existing military training routes result in more efficient training.

EL

Growlers and mobile emitters Understanding the relationship between the mobile emitters and Growlers, Beverly Goldie and members of the Save The Olympic Peninsula, which held its first meeting last December and received its 501(c)3 status in June, are targeting the mobile emitters to lessen the local Growler activity.

“Our goal is that use of the Forest Service roads would be denied to the Navy for the use of electronic warfare emitters,” Beverly Goldie said.

Without the use of the mobile emitters, then the number of Growlers and increased training events wouldn’t be necessary, she explained.

Electronic warfare training already is being conducted in the Olympic Military Operations Areas, but the Navy’s proposed training changes result in an estimated 10 percent increase to current operations, amounting to less than one additional flight per day.

As is, Welding said, the number of Growler flights to the Olympic Military Operations Areas average about four flights per day. Though, because the Growlers aren’t flown everyday, more may occur on one day and then none the next.

Flights near Sequim En route to the Olympic Peninsula from the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island complex, two flight paths are located near Sequim, Welding said. When going to the Olympic Peninsula, the Growlers that pass over the Sequim area are usually at about 16,000 feet in altitude, but on their return flight, the pilots drop to about 7,800 feet as they glide and descend toward

See GROWLERS, A-12

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B-1

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SEQUIM GAZETTE www

Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015

Sequim’s Hometown Newspaper

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1 in 26

75 CENTS

Vol. 42, Number 48

More than 100 of the Sequim School District’s 2,627 students report they are homeless

Bringing their past Kiwanis experience and diverse backgrounds with a common passion for community involvement and an emphasis on children, Kiwanians Jack Gourlie, Wayne Boden, Philomena Lund, Mary Boden and Lily Lawson are among those revitalizing the Sequim-Dungeness Kiwanis Club. Sequim Gazette photo by Alana Linderoth

Kiwanis club makes comeback ‘Improving the world one child and one community at a time’

by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

A new wave of Kiwanians are working to fill any and all community cracks left behind after the Sequim-Dungeness Kiwanis Club dissolved more than two years ago.

“All of us come to Kiwanis with a big love of children,” Philomena Lund, Sequim-Dungeness Kiwanis Club president, said.

Not only do the members of the renewed club each share a passion to serve and support their community with an emphasis on youth, but each brings years, some decades, of previous Kiwanis experience.

Kiwanis clubs aimed at “improving the world one child and one community at a time,” Lund said, are found in individual communities nationwide. However, each club is part of a bigger network operating under the umbrella

See KIWANIS, A-11

Sequim’s most vulnerable The struggles homeless youth and young adults face daily in Sequim are nearly invisible to many, but are far from absent.

Within the Sequim School District, 101 students have self-identified as being homeless and even that triple digit number likely fails to capture all youth without a consistent home environment in Sequim, Jennifer Van De Wege said.

Since April, Sequim High biology teacher and activity coordinator Van De Wege also has become the school VAN De WEGE district’s McKinney-Vento liaison.

“It’s been eye-opening and there’s a big learning curve,” she said, reflecting on the mere months she’s been the district liaison.

Of the self-identified homeless students, about a dozen are unaccompanied and about 15 are kindergarten age.

“It’s the ‘littles’ that really make me sad because they’re not going to self-advocate,” she said.

See HOMELESS, A-4

Sequim students and advocates struggle to handle homeless issues

by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

Playfield parking plan to add 60-plus spots Family Advocates, City agree on project

by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette

More parking is a go at the Albert Haller Playfields and James Center for the Performing Arts.

Plans were unanimously approved on Nov. 23 by Sequim city councilors who designated $140,000 in the city’s 2016 budget to help add 60-70 parking spots at the Water Reuse Demonstration Site north of Carrie Blake Park while increasing safety.

City staff estimate the project cost-

ing about $318,000 to add a one-way road from the Interpretive Center off Blake Avenue traveling east to new angled parking that connects to existing parking toward Rhodefer Road.

The effort to add parking stems from Phase II of the Sequim Family Advocates’ plans around the playfield.

“We’re totally behind this latest proposal,” said Dave Shreffler, president of the Sequim Family Advocates.

“It makes a lot of sense and it’s a better solution than what we had previously been discussing. We’re thrilled

the city has some skin in the game this time.”

Shreffler said no dollar amount has been set yet, but he believes contributions from the Albert Haller Foundation, Sequim Family Advocates and other contributors will exceed the city’s contribution.

Plans unfurled Previously, the advocates returned $128,000 back to the Albert Haller Foundation, which granted the funds.

Total, they had about $164,000 raised, including the grant for the project

See PARKING, A-2

A new $318,000 plan for parking adds 60-70 spots at the Albert Haller Playfields. Photo/map courtesy of the City of Sequim

Sports B-1 • Schools B-8 • Arts & Entertainment B-2 • Opinion A-12 • Obituaries A-11 • Classifieds C-1 • Crossword Section C

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SEQUIM GAZETTE

Homeless

officials continue to run their Dream Center in Port Angeles, a drop-in center for homeless and at risk youth ages 13-23, but that too has experienced reduction in programs because of funding and space limitations.

From page A-1

McKinney-Vento The McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act is a federal law that “ensures immediate enrollment and educational stability for homeless children and youth,” according to the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The act enables federal funding to states to help support school district programs that serve homeless youth, like the Sequim School District.

Under the act, each school district is responsible for designating a homeless liaison to identify students needing served, provide public notice to homeless families and facilitate access, like transportation, to school.

Districts also are required to track homeless students and annually report their data to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“The federal regulations are very basic and nearly wholly unfunded,” Van De Wege said.

Although benefits exist as a smaller school district like Sequim, Van De Wege admits the size of the district poses difficulties, such as the time allotted time to coordinate and serve homeless students.

“In a small district, it’s a sliver of your job description,” whereas in larger districts there may be multiple employees focusing on homeless or at risk students, she said.

“I’m supposed to be spending significantly less than five hours a week on this, but when trying to coordinate resources for more than 100 students, it’s difficult,” Van De Wege said.

Trying to best serve and connect with the all the homeless students within the school system, Van De Wege is spreading the responsibility beyond only her and onto the schools’ counselors.

“Counselors in e ach building are now points of contact and are able to connect with the students, help monitor them, look up their attendance records and grades,” she said. “This is just one more type of positive adult intervention.”

An inside look

Proactive measures under way

Based on three years of records, Sequim School District representatives estimate about 100 local student-aged youths are homeless. Sequim Gazette photo by Alana Linderoth

safety net.

“If I had somewhere to go, I’d leave,” Jaimee said.

Jaimee is a senior at Sequim High School and stays with her boyfriend after previous living situations with family and later a best friend fell through. Although the year Jaimee lived with her best friend proved the most stable, she was left with little housing options after her friend moved out of the state, she said.

Before moving in with her friend, Jaimee’s family had lost their home and thus moved in with her grandmother — sharing a small two-bedroom home. Given the limited space, Jaimee slept on the couch.

“I felt like there just wasn’t any room for me,” she said. “I hated that couch.”

Her family later moved into a house of their own, but again lost it. Between the inconsistent housing and disagreements with her parents, Jaimee moved out just two weeks after her 18th birthday.

“I have places I can stay but it’s easier when you have one place you know will be there,” she said. “I know a lot of people are in a far worse situation than me, so I just want to help.”

Things are off and on between Jaimee and her boyfriend, which leaves her on edge whenever they disagree because he’s able to kick her out and has done so before, she explained. If she could leave him, she would, she said, but after looking into affordable housing options in Sequim, she has yet to find an alternative.

Jaimee works, but with school she’s not able to work enough to pay rent and still have money for daily expenses, like food.

“If we (Sequim) had a temporary housing shelter, I think I’d try to live there until I graduate and can work more and find a place,” she said.

consistent relationships and/ or living with grandparents because their family is in a financial crisis, equate to about 80 percent of the homeless youth within Sequim schools, Van De Wege estimates.

Based on the past three years of records the number of homeless youth enrolled in Sequim schools remains consistent, at about 100 students. Van De Wege notes, most of the names are new from year to year, indicating the transient lifestyle of many of the students.

From last year, only about 25 percent of the students no longer listed as homeless or in a crisis situation still are enrolled in the school, Van De Wege said.

“I don’t see the number changing (number of homeless students), but I would like to see that 25 percent be more like 75 percent,” she said. “The problem is just too massive to address all the needs, but keeping the school a safe, stable space and continuing to help them achieve academic success is about the best we can do.”

The concept of being “homeless” can be misleading, Van De Wege explained, as it doesn’t only refer to those unsheltered, but it could include youth and young adults couch surfing or staying in temporary housing situations.

“We’re seeing more situations where parents are leaving children with grandparents and leaving,” she said.

Depending on the organization, federal or state perspective, the definition of homeless can change.

Disconnected resources

Having personal insight into the available resources For one homeless Sequim in Sequim as both a youth High student having an and young adult with limited attentive, available school transportation, Jaimee feels counselor is making a big having a “safe place to stay” difference during her last for those that need it and 24year of school, but Jaimee hour access to little things still is limited in what she like bus passes would help, can do and where she can go Homeless defined as a full-time student with no Students like Jaimee, jug- she said.

“We have a lot of resources car and little in the way of a gling school, work and into help these youth and young adults, but almost all are in Port Angeles,” Van De Wege said.

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business hours.

“There’s a need in Sequim,” Martha Ireland, Serenity House executive coordinator, said. “The St. Vincent de Paul Society associated with St. Joseph’s Catholic Church is the only place in Sequim that answers the phone in the IRELAND evening and weekends.”

Longterm solutions to reduce homelessness typically focus on making available affordable and permanent housing, but Mike Flynn, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, also recognizes the importance of temporary housing options for those genuinely needing emergency shelter — like situations where someone is fleeing from domestic abuse.

“We have an urgent and important need for emergency housing and services in Sequim,” he said. “We probably get one to two calls per week and we’re happy to respond, but having a dedicated family emergency service in this community is essential.”

At-risk and/or homeless youth are some of the most vulnerable and susceptible to victimization, yet no emergency shelter for youth exists in Clallam County, Kim Leach, Serenity House of Clallam County executive director, said.

“I think it’s one of the biggest deficits the county has,” she said.

Serenity House officials used to run a youth-focused emergency center, but faced the challenges of a rural community where the numbers aren’t enough to support a timely and expensive operation like that, Leach explained.

“We’re very interested in identifying what we can bring to this size of community to better serve at-risk youth that’s also economically viable,” she said. “We’re looking into a variety of services.”

For example, Leach and Viola Ware, Serenity House program director of Housing Resource Centers and Youth and Young Adult services, are Creating a space Leach and Ware also are working to fund a youth and young adult rental assistance interested in creating a safe program. Serenity House home or opening a place

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Despite the difficulties faced when trying to reduce youth and young adult homelessness, the efforts are ongoing to better serve young, displaced individuals like Jaimee.

Within the past year Serenity House officials increased their outreach and time at the resource centers, are collaborating with local law enforcement, revamping their “Ready to Rent” curriculum and continue to focus heavily on education and employment skills to foster self-sufficiency.

“We need more volunteers,” Ware said. “The more people youth can connect with when they come into the resource centers, the better.”

In hopes of increasing public awareness, understanding of the McKinneyVento Act and coordination between family services and the schools, Serenity House officials are working to coordinate a public McKinneyVento training in May. Additionally, Serenity House officials seek to narrow and deepen their focus with a countywide survey. Because the younger homeless or at-risk demographic tend to be “mobile,” Wa re s a id , t he a s s e s s ment is aimed at gathering more specifics about the demographics’ WARE needs, common risks and obstacles to services.

“Most of our data comes from people that are coming through our doors, but one of my concerns is what about everyone else?” she said. “The assessment will help us move in the right direction and augment the HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) data.”

“We’ve done different needs assessments, but the difference with this one is hopefully it will be more global in its scope,” Ware said. “The assessment will complement the outreach we’re already doing and help us get to more of that target demographic.”

The assessment is developed, but Serenity House officials are coordinating the launch of the assessment with organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, churches and schools.

“We plan to roll it out in the next couple of weeks,” Leach said.

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like the Boiler Room in Port Townsend — a nonprofit coffee and tea house and social services hub with resources, education, activities and socialization opportunities for many youth and young adults.

“A project like the Boiler Room was in our initial plan,” Ware said. “We even have the building (located in Port Angeles) for us to do it, but we don’t have the funding and staffing capacity right now.”

A similar, but grass roots effort was started last year by a handful of concerned citizens and community organization officials to bring The Coffee Oasis to Sequim. The Coffee Oasis is an established faith-based, nonprofit organization aimed at providing community gathering places and is supported by serving self-roasted coffee from direct-trade coffee beans. The organization has multiple locations in Kitsap County where Sequim resident Cecilia Eckerson first became familiar with the nonprofit.

However, after a few months of meeting in Sequim with few results, the local effort took a turn in a different direction, but hasn’t gone away, Eckerson said.

In collaboration with another concerned Sequim citizen, Gail Lucas, Eckerson is continuing to work toward developing a place devoted to youth and young adults in Sequim.

“Coffee Oasis is a good model for Kitsap County, but I just think Sequim is a different animal and we need something that fits this community,” she said. “What we would like to do is rent an apartment or house and start a drop-in center.”

Although the Boys & Girls Club in Sequim provides a safe place for youth, it too has limitations.

“There’s the Boys & Girls Club, but when you get to a certain maturity level it’s just different,” Jaimee said.

“It’s kind of a weird place to be when you’re 19 and older.”

Ellen Bartee, a local resident involved in both the Clallam County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and the effort to implement a Coffee Oasis in Sequim, echoes Jaimee and recognizes a local need for a place that focuses and serves older youth and young adults.

“The Boys & Girls Club is an excellent club that is making a huge impact on younger children,” she said.

“But, I think particularly urgent are the needs surrounding 16-24 year olds who may be aging out of foster care, struggling with various addictions and victims of abuse.”

The concentration of social services in Port Angeles for at-risk or homeless teens and young families, Bartee said, continues to leave a “glaring gap” in Sequim.

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Witherow, amplified

Shelving the spending?

Library system considers cuts

A-9

Local band goes electric for holiday

B-1

Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015

SEQUIM GAZETTE www

Sequim’s Hometown Newspaper

com

75 CENTS

Vol. 42, Number 47

Sequim set for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday

Jeri Sanford, owner of Over the Fence, left, helps Debbie Weinheimer of Agnew shop for a new rug before Thanksgiving. Sanford and other local businesses participate in the annual Small Business Saturday by extending hours on Nov. 28, following the Thanksgiving shopping rush.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

Free dinners, Small Business Saturday and Santa are slated for this week

offering plenty of goodies and specials.

Continuing this year are a few free meals on Thanksgiving along with the Sequim tree Sequim Gazette staff shopping on Thanksgiving or lighting, Santa Claus coming Black Friday or looking local on Shopping options abound this Small Business Saturday, many and a classic tractor procession. weekend in Sequim. stores in the Sequim-Dungeness See SHOPPING, A-6 Whether you are an early bird area are extending hours while

A future for Sequim’s farmland Challenges, efforts and successes to maintain local farms

by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

Since 1950 the amount of farmland in Clallam County has declined by 70 percent, leaving about 20,000 acres accessible.

At that rate, an average of about 1,000 acres per year of local farmland disappears, Tom Sanford, North Olympic Land Trust executive director, said.

“Sequim is a farm town and our community reflects that in so many ways, even though farming isn’t anything like it once was,” Joe Holtrop, Clallam Conservation District executive director, said. “As we lose farmland, we lose a critical part of what helped create our character.”

Sequim continues to be home to the oldest festival in the state, the Sequim Irrigation Festival that began when the first headgate on the Dungeness River was lifted to allow for irrigation in 1895 — A lingering indicator of the historic importance of agriculture in the valley.

The Sequim-Dungenes Valley, once dotted with more than 500 dairies, now supports two, Sanford said. Although it continues to undergo change and face challenges, many individuals and organizations are working to protect and keep what farmland is left.

The fertile soils of the Dungeness River delta and the river as a water supply make the SequimDungeness area, stretching to Agnew an ideal location for farming, Sanford explained.

“We’re so lucky here in Clallam County with great resources,” Clea Rome, Washington State University Clallam County Extension director, said. “Soil and water are a farmer’s greatest resource and there is a large proportion of prime farmland in our county and we’re unique with

A historical aerial of Sequim in the mid-1900s shows the open and vast farmlands once sprawled across the Sequim-Dungeness Valley between the foothills of the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Since 1950, farmland in Clallam County has declined by 70 percent. Photo courtesy the Clallam County Historical Society At left, relying on creativity and collaboration, cooperative farm owners Anna Bunk, Noah Bresler, Sallie Constant, James and Liam Burtle founded River Run Farm off Woodcock Road in the fall of 2012 after being drawn to the Sequim-Dungeness area because of its proximity to urban centers, access to fertile land and water.

Sequim Gazette photo

by Alana Linderoth

our irrigation network.”

The United States Department of Agriculture recognizes 32,961 acres of prime farmland based on an area’s soil type and 250,455 acres of farmland of statewide importance. “Prime farmland” as defined by the USDA is “land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, forage, fiber, and oilseed crops and is available for these uses.”

A balancing act The area’s natural makeup conducive for farming, the flat, scenic land with mild weather and surrounding a town (Sequim) became an attractive place to live. By the 1960s and continuing into

See FARMLAND, A-3

YMCA reports positive results from SARC survey Pickering: Report is just ‘next step’ in efforts to reopening Sequim facility

by MICHAEL DASHIELL

of the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center — had positive responses to a possible YMCA/SARC partnership.

The majority of Sequim residents That’s the summation from Kyle polled in a telephone and online Cronk, CEO of the Olympic Peninsurvey — both users and non-users sula YMCA, after reviewing results Sequim Gazette

of a survey conducted in October by the Spokane-based Strategic Research Associates company.

“The question we wanted to answer was, ‘Do you want to see a YMCA come to this community?’,” Cronk said. “Overwhelmingly you have said, ‘Yes.’” Cronk and Joanne Vega, director/ partner with Strategic Research

Associates, delivered highlights of the survey to a packed room at the Sequim Civic Center on Nov. 18.

Nearly 70 percent of all surveytakers had a positive response to a possible co-management of SARC, a multi-use athletic facility at 610 N. Fifth Ave., that closed on Oct. 30 after running out of operating funds.

“There is an urgency now,” Cronk said. “SARC is closed. This is a community-wide solution to open its doors.”

SARC still would be community owned, SA RC board chairman Frank Pickering said, while the YMCA would present a

See SURVEY, A-8

Sports B-5 • Schools B-8 • Arts & Entertainment B-1 • Opinion A-10 • Obituaries A-9 • Classifieds C-1 • Crossword Section C

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SEQUIM GAZETTE

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Farmland From page A-1

the following decades, Sequim became a targeted area for residential development.

“Growth in the SequimDungeness Valley is a challenge because that’s where a lot of people want to live,” Steve Gray, Clallam County planning manager, said.

“During the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and even into the 1990s people were buying and selling 1- to 2-acre lots.

The zoning development now reflects that.”

“It’s certainly a balancing act,” he said. “Once the land is divided, establishing the new development footprint has its challenges.”

The onset of development and draw to the area opened the door to economic potential and the chance for many farmers to pursue a different lifestyle.

“Dairy farming is very hard

work that requires a constant presence to milk, feed and clean up after the cows,” Holtrop said. “That generation of farmers was worn out and not very well off … the next generation wasn’t real excited about taking over.

The Sequim-area farmers had an out — their land was very valuable for residential development.”

To help balance growth, Clallam County officials created the zoning designation “Agricultural Retention” (AR) following the state Growth Management Act. “The purpose of the Agricultural Retention zone is to maintain and enhance the agricultural resource industry of Clallam County through conservation of productive agricultural lands and discouragement of incompatible land uses within the agricultural retention zone,” according to the county zoning code.

Under the zoning designation, the minimum size for an AR development is 16 acres

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and therefore residential density can’t exceed one dwelling unit per 16 acres or unless subdivided before the effective date of AR designation.

About 6,200 acres are zoned AR, Gray said.

“That’s a small footprint of the agricultural land compared to the past, but hopefully the zoning can retain those farms as they are today and keep the large farms in place,” he said.

Agriculture is an allowed land use throughout the county, but when identifying areas to AR, county planners targeted the SequimDungeness area given it’s rich history with farming and ongoing pressure from urban sprawl.

Because of the aggressive subdividing done prior to

the AR zoning designation, county planners use “cluster” development as a method for balancing growth with farmland.

For example, cluster development occurs when development is concentrated in one parcel of six, 5-acre parcels of a previously subdivided 30-acre farm, thus leaving 25 acres available for agricultural use.

“I think overall its (zoning) certainly been effective in keeping the Agricultural Retention zones intact,” Gray said. “I’d still like to see more of the 5-acre parcels combined.”

However, Holtrop doesn’t look to zoning as an effective method for conserving the area’s farmland. Instead, he points to the property own-

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and they have no retirement other than to sell off land,” he said. “Therefore, we need to be able to purchase their development rights.”

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ers and their ability to capitalize on the value of their property without converting it to non-agricultural uses as key in maintaining what farmland is left.

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Thirty retirees from the Lodge at Sherwood Village, The Fifth Avenue and the Sequim area took hot air balloon rides on Nov. 20 in the field at the Lodge.

Captain Crystal Stout, executive director of the Chrysalis 501(c)3 foundation and the Dream Catcher Balloon Program, and her crew prepped and steered the tethered balloon, which caters to people with physical and/or mental special needs.

Many of the riders ranged from their 60s-90s and said it was their first time in a balloon, including Bonnie Vorvick of Sequim who said she did it “for the fun of it.” For more information on the program and fundraisers, visit www. dreamcatcherballoon.org.

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A-12 • Nov. 25, 2015

SEQUIM GAZETTE

Farms

From page A-3 farmland is the North Olympic Land Trust. Having incorporated Friends of the Fields, within its 25 years officials with the land trust have conserved 3,200 acres countywide, Sanford said. Of that, about 460 acres are working farmland, about 11.5 miles are salmon habitat and 1,800 acres of timber land with 460 work working timber land.

“One of the targeted focal areas has been in the lower Dungeness basin,” he said.

“The North Olympic Land Trust has worked to conserve 14 farms in the county and 13 of them are in eastern Clallam County.”

Both the Dungeness Valley Creamery and 24-Carrot Farm are success stories of farmland conservation, Sanford said.

The Dungeness Valley Creamery is one of two of the remaining dairies in SequimDungeness and was able to continue after owners Jeff and Debbie Brown retired.

Friends of the Fields worked with the Browns’ daughter Sarah McCarthey to secure state and federal grants as

well as community fundraising to purchase the farm’s development rights and afford her parents to retire.

“This gave the Browns the equity to retire and allowed their daughter to buy the family business,” Sanford said. “It’s a good example of intergenerational transfer of farmland.”

In 2012, the land trust was able to successfully work with landowners of a 10-acre parcel of prime farmland that had once been part of the Delta Farm. Using funds from several years of community fundraising, the development rights were purchased on the parcel known as “24-Carrot Farm.” This effort then allowed Nash and Patty Huber, owners of Nash’s Organic Produce, to purchase the land at affordable agricultural prices.

There’s plenty of willingness from farm owners to sell their development rights, but it’s expensive to buy them so the land trust is limited, Sanford explained. This is especially true when it comes to smaller farms like 24-Carrot Farm that aren’t large enough to compete for state and federal grants.

“We work with a number of farmers and landowners that are very interested in selling

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their development rights of the farmland, but not in a financial position to donate it, so how much we can do really depends on us being able to get funding,” he said.

The 1960s surge in development in Sequim wasn’t unique to the area, but farmland was disappearing across the state.

In reaction, concerned Washingtonians shortly passed an amendment aimed at the taxation of agriculture and timberland, allowing active farms to be taxed at a lower rate.

“That farmland value is pennies per acre than if it were valued at full market price,” Susan Lundstedt, GIS technician for Clallam County and county representative on the county’s Agricultural Commission, said. “The program works well until a farmer gets too old to farm.”

If a farmer can’t keep the farm active to satisfy the current use requirements, it’s often costly to transfer the property from its designated current use.

The tax program helps make it affordable for farmers keep their land, but its also been designed to prevent large and/or well-off developers from stashing their land at a reduced tax rate until they’re able to develop it, Lundstedt explained.

“That’s the reasons for the compensated tax,” she said.

“It’s been very successful for that first and second generation of farmers … if they were paying full blown taxes they would be under, but the challenge comes when they decide they want to stop farming and move their land into another use.”

Typically, although there are exemptions and caveats, when taking farmland out of its current use, the difference between the agricultural value and what would have been paid on full market value (based on highest and best use price) for the past seven years need paid.

“Those bills can get big really fast,” Lundstedt said.

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“From my point of view the biggest concern for these farms is getting new, younger people to come in take these farms over,” she said. “That’s the surest and safest way that these farms will survive.”

An aging demographic According to the USDA 2012 Census of Agriculture, the average age of farmers is 58.3 years, continuing a 30year trend of steady increase.

Given the aging farming population, Rome said there’s not only a need to maintain access to farmland, but there needs to be an active push to foster the next generation of farmers.

Rome helps with this effort through her work at the WSU Extension. In collaboration with local farmers Extension offers an internship program aimed at educating the next generation of farmers.

The Extension also hosts a variety of workshops and educational opportunities to help bridge the knowledge gap for interested future farmers.

“There are different legs of the stool we are all working on to address farming here,” Sanford said. “The land trust focuses on land, whereas I lean heavily on the (WSU) Extension to help ensure the farmers are there.”

When working with future farmers, Rome and the programs offered through Extension focus on farming practices, but also the technical and business side of farming, like how to invest and successfully market their products and grow their business.

“It can be difficult for farmers to transfer their land to willing, excited young farmers that also have the capital,” she said. “For a thriving farming community, we need more innovative ways for new and beginning farmers to access capital and strong local and national policies that support farming.”

Two community programs beginning to take shape and help contribute to those needed access to capital are “Local Dollars and Sense” and “COIN” (Clallam Opportunity

Investment Network), Rome said. Both network groups work to pool funds and invest into the community.

Already, within its first year of existence, the Local Dollars and Sense have made local loans.

Despite the challenges facing farmland and aspiring farmers, Rome is “encouraged within the past couple years,” she said. “There have been people here or coming here that are interested in commercial agriculture.”

“River Run Farm is a great example of this,” she said.

Industry sees growth In the fall of 2012 River Run Farm off Woodcock Road was co-founded by young farmers and friends. The cooperative farm is run by four partners, with an additional two partners coming this winter.

Noah Bresler, 31-years-old, settled in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, along with his partners to start their own farming endeavor after eyeing a variety of areas in Washington.

“We moved to Sequim because we saw a lot of potential,” Bresler said. “A big part of that was because there was a lot of land here — it’s fragmented by development, but still has a lot of potential.”

“We were looking for a place with good soil and water and close enough to urban centers to make enough revenue to support businesses,” he said.

There are some huge agricultural areas in Skagit and many parts of eastern Washington, but with the existing large-scale and successful farmers, Bresler said, “it felt difficult to access good land” in places like that.

“The farm business is really difficult to pencil out,” he said.

“I think at this point you have to do it for the love of working outside and growing plants — that’s why we’re doing it, but in doing so you’re forced to make it financially viable.”

Being a cooperative farm is an innovative and creative way to pursue operating their own farm, Bresler said. It spreads the costs of operating the farm and equipment among more people, he said, and provides

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more “economic stability.”

Bresler and his business partners ran into the hurdles that keep many people from getting started, but fortunately found ways to overcome the challenges.

With financial support from family and collaboration with local descendants of the Woodcock family who wanted to see their historical farmland kept in farming, Bresler and his partners were able to buy part and lease the rest of their 60-acre farm.

“The inspiration and skills are out there,” Bresler said.

“I have a lot of really bright friends that want to farm and know what they’re doing, but the capital and access to land is the challenge.”

Recognizing the funding limitations of local organizations like the land trust, Bresler feels in order to conserve farmland, it’s dependent on the area’s land owners.

“Ultimately it depends entirely on the land owners and what they want to do with their land,” he said. “It’s a pretty grim future if land owners can’t afford to do anything but get top dollar for their land.”

Although not all land owners can afford to get anything less than their land’s fair market price, it’s “really important” for those that can to make the monetary sacrifice for the greater good, Bresler said.

Bresler points to the fact that most people who move or visit Sequim are doing so because of the area’s rural character and open space.

While still allowing for growth, Clallam County Agricultural Commission member Paul Forrest sees plenty of local, untapped farming potential. With a diversified career in many facets of the agriculture industry both domestically and internationally, Forrest noticed the absence of agriculture in some areas of the county when he moved to the area more than two years ago.

“A lot of farmland isn’t being farmed and should be,” he said. “I find it unsatisfactory that all these parcels of land are going to weeds, but first we need to show there’s money to be made.”

“The only thing sustainable in agriculture is profitability,” he said.

The market is there

If ambitious farmers can get both the access and capital to begin to farm the untapped farmland in the area, Bresler is confident the market is there.

Making way for the success of River Run Farm is the shifting and developing consumer market.

“The demand for what we’re doing is growing exponentially,” he said. “Especially in the Seattle area, but around here, too.”

However, Bresler is quick to point out that the market River Run Farm serves is specific and centered primarily on those seeking local and organic.

“One of the biggest challenges with the farmland is the fact that farmers own only a very small percentage of the land they farm,” Holtrop said.

Because of fewer large swaths of available farmland good for crops like grain and fact that many farmers lease their land, Holtrop envisions more, small “diverse farms that are nimble enough to adjust to changing consumer demands,” he said.

However as efforts to balance land use continue, the characteristics of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley will continue to offer unique opportunities “that can’t be done very easily anywhere else in Washington,” Holtrop said.

For example, the climate and geographic isolation of the peninsula makes the area an “excellent location for growing seed, which is a high value crop and already being done” and is seeing more interest.

“It’s been a big transformation, but maintaining the farmland that’s here is important, Sanford said.

“It’s a piece of our identity.”

SEQ

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In this issue

Time to spring ahead!

Full Moon rising

Daylight savings starts Sunday; remember to change your clocks

New owner, new location

A-7

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

SEQUIM GAZETTE www

Sequim’s Hometown Newspaper

com

Sequim Museum sets new vision

75 CENTS

Vol. 43, Number 10

Bluffs are ‘melting’ away in Dungeness

Sequim Museum officials plan to sell the existing exhibit building on Cedar Street and build a new facility next to the DeWitt Administration Building on Sequim Avenue. Submitted graphic

Exhibit building is in the works thanks to donation from West End pioneer who wanted to preserve history

Record area rainfall weakens cliffs along Sequim coastline

by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

Mother nature is on the move.

Within the past few months the bluffs west of the Dungeness Spit have retreated more than 35-feet in some areas.

“Record rainfall has resulted in dramatic high bluff erosion this winter,” Anne Shaffer, Coastal Watershed Institute executive director, lead scientist and marine biologist, said. “What we’re seeing is exactly normal.”

However, the mechanism driving the erosion isn’t so much marine energy at the base of the bluffs, she said.

Instead “water conveyance, including stormwater, nonpoint and septic issues associated with development” are impacting the stability of bluff tops.

“These bluffs are actively melting,” Shaffer said.

Bluff erosion is a natural and necessary process for ecosystem health, Shaffer explained. It provides a variety of ecosystem services like

See BLUFFS, A-4

Music licensing bill with Sequim roots plays on

Board members and volunteers for the Sequim Museum stand near the entrance for the recently announced new exhibit building. They include, from top left, Budd Knapp, president Jerry Brownfield, Art Rogers, Greg Fisher, Bob Clark, secretary Trish Bekkevar; bottom left, Joy Headley, advisor Nancy Goldstien, Beverly Majors, treasurer Louie Rychlik, vice-president Hazel Ault, executive director Judy Reandeau Stipe and Bob Stipe. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette

The future looks bright for preserving Sequim’s past. Officials with the Sequim Museum said three properties they received and sold helps them start a building fund for a new exhibit building next to the DeWitt Administration Center, 544 N. Sequim Ave. “We’re excited to be moving forward,” said Museum Executive Director Judy Reandeau Stipe.

The new building is the final phase of bringing the administration and exhibit buildings closer to one another, museum volunteers said.

Funding came together thanks to land endowments from West End pioneer John Cowan and his wife Inez, which included two timber properties on Lake Ozette Road and off Highway 112, and a home in Port Angeles.

Friends and West End historians say Cowan felt history was important and should be preserved.

Cowan died in 2000 and following Inez Cowan’s death in 2015, the properties went for sale in October and the two timber properties sold in December and the home in February 2016.

Reandeau Stipe arranged the sales and her commission was donated to the Sequim Museum and the net proceeds were split between the Sequim Museum and Forks Timber Museum. She said the Cowan family hasn’t

Van De Wege seeks registration standards for licensing agents

See MUSEUM, A-8

Rep. Kevin Van De Wege’s music licensing bill may make it to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk after more than a year of discussion and dissection.

His proposed House Bill 1763, “Regulating music licensing agencies,” requires new registration and filing VAN DE WEGE standards for music licensing agents. It passed both in the House 72-25 on Feb. 10, and 48-0 on March 3 in the Senate. Now, the House and Senate will finalize the bill before tentatively sending it to the governor.

by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette

Sequim YMCA, SARC agreement up for review Officials target September opening, but plans are contingent on county grant

by ALANA LINDEROTH

ation District 1, better known as the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center, is complete.

A lease agreement between the After working together for Olympic Peninsula YMCA and nearly five months to create a plan Clallam County Park and Recre- aimed at reopening SARC — a Sequim Gazette

According to the contract, the Olympic Peninsula YMCA will be What: Discussion of YMCA lease the operator of the anticipated Sequim Y, and the Clallam County When: 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 9 Where: Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St. Park and Recreation District 1 will serve as the landlord.

The YMCA will “fulfill the mismulti-use facility that closed last October — the entities have out- sion of the Clallam County Parks lined a 15-year lease agreement See YMCA/SARC, A-11 with two 10-year extensions.

SARC Board meeting

See MUSIC, A-12

Sports B-5 • Schools B-8 • Arts & Entertainment B-1 • Opinion A-10 • Obituaries A-9 • Classifieds C-1 • Crossword Section C

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Training offered on oiled bird care The Clallam Marine Resources Committee, along with the Island Oil Spill Association, offer free oiled wildlife rescue training.

Two sessions are slated: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Saturdays, March 26 and April 9, both at the Clallam County Fairgrounds in Port Angeles. Call Cathy Lear at 417-2361, email clear@co.clallam.wa.us or see www. clallamcountymrc.org/meetings-events.

On March 26, the training focuses on basic intake and stabilization. Participants learn basic bird anatomy and how to take care of oiled birds, including holding, washing, weighing, giving the birds fluids and performing a general health examination.

On April 9, training focuses on search and capture. Participants learn about search and collection planning and procedures including how to find and stalk the birds, how to team up to capture the birds using nets and how to safely hold and place the birds in transportation boxes.

Bluffs

From page A-1

SEQ

C

Coming Through!

Ch am by

Oly

The Benjamin Franklin — the largest ship to ever call on the Port of Seattle or any U.S. port — heads west past the New Dungeness Light Station on Tuesday, March 1. The vessel is longer than the Empire State Building is in height, wider than a football field and as tall as a 20-floor building, according to CMA CGM, a French container shipping company. The Benjamin Franklin made a stop in Seattle on Feb. 29 after previous stops in Long Beach and Oakland, Calif. “It’ll probably be several years before we see something that big again,” Northwest Seaport Alliance spokesman Peter McGraw told the Seattle Times. Track area vessels online at www.marinetraffic.com. Photo by Jay Cline

one practice used when trying to slow or stop erosion near developed areas.

“Shoreline armoring on these things doesn’t work,” Shaffer said. “These bluffs are too big and often aggravates the problem.”

Instead of trying to hinder erosion, Shaffer suggests implementing measures to protect bluffs and allow them to fulfill their ecosystem services. Part of protecting the bluffs is controlling what happens on and around them that could have impacts, like development.

“There’s a very clear relationship between saturation at the top of these bluffs and

bluff activity,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer and her colleagues are just beginning to gather data on the recent erosion, but “we all know that development has direct impacts to surface and storm water,” she said.

Continued development of bluffs is admittedly a frustrating thing for Shaffer.

“We continue to see more and more homes allowed,” she said. “From our perspective the fate of those homes are clear.”

To fully protect bluffs and reduce risks associated with building homes on unstable land, the right tools need created given many bluffs are developed,

she said. Already some landowners have had to take action to avoid danger from erosion.

“It’s an ongoing discussion how to best fund it,” but Shaffer is trying to secure grant funds for a pilot project aimed at creating a funding pool for “bluff stressed property owners.” Another option is a protection tax, similar to a public utility district or flood protection district.

Creating the tools to give people “an out,” Shaffer said, would help existing landowners relocate further from the bluffs and in-turn help protect themselves and the bluffs.

Shoreline Master Program update

Bluffs and development on them are addressed in the maintaining beaches, meterClallam County Shoreline ing wave energy, providing Master Program under reforage fish spawning beaches view by the county Planning and feeding and refuge for Commission. migrating salmon.

The program provides Sediment supply from county officials with inforcoastal bluff erosion processmation and regulations needes help to create landforms, ed to manage bodies of water including the Dungeness and adjoining shoreline in Spit, David Parks, Departareas where people live, work ment of Natural Resources and recreate, Steve Gray, geologist noted in his recent Clallam County Department publication “Bluff Recession of Community Development in the Elwha and Dungeness deputy director and planning Littoral Cells.” Parks has and manager, told the Gazette in continues to study local bluff a past interview. processes.

“It focuses on striking a “Where we see bluffs that balance between developare retreating properly we ment and economic growth also see healthy beaches,” while preserving our unique Andy Stevenson, Clallam shorelines and the ecological County resident and retired functions and services they marine geologist with the US provide,” he said.

Geological Survey, said. “It’s Once revised, county staff as simple as that.” plan to host regional edu“Shoreline environments cational workshops on the are critical and the ecoprogram. logical function these bluffs Staff have steadily worked provide are important to on the Shoreline Master Proeverything — not just for gram November 2014 draft salmon, but for our entire since 2009. The program way of life,” he said. was slightly updated in 1992, but otherwise the it hasn’t Protection undergone a comprehensive “Bluff erosion is a proreview since adopted in 1976. cesses that is supposed to The recent update is behappen, but when there’s a hind schedule, but Gray septic or oil tank or house anticipates having it to the associated with it that’s when Sediment is continuously dispersed from bluff erosion west of the Dungeness Spit, where Board of County Commisyou have a problem,” Shaffer some bluffs have retreated more than 35 feet within the past few months. Photo courtesy of sioners by late summer, said. Shoreline armoring is Anne Shaffer/Coastal Watershed Institute where it will undergo a local adoption process before final adoption by the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Research from scientists The Great Outdoor Photo contest, proudly sponsored by Browns Outdoor, encourages like Parks was included in children, 13 & younger, to share photos they snap while out and about. the update, Gray said, and influenced the distances (setbacks) a landowner can build in relation to the bluff edge.

Proud Sponsor of the Peninsula Families Outdoor Photo Contest “The minimum is 150-feet, 112 W. FRONT, PORT ANGELES • 457-4150 but whenever possible we encourage people to build For more info, and to enter, further back,” Gray said. “It’s Deadline to Enter March 29, 2016 visit peninsuladailynews.com a question of when, not if the

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bluffs are going to continue to erode.”

Despite the known impermanence of bluffs, the county doesn’t have the “justification” to outright eliminate all development on bluffs or make existing homeowners move, Gray said. Instead “we want to increase the buffers, not just for safety, but for new development and to minimize impacts to the drift cells,” he said.

Increasing safety precautions isn’t sufficient to Stevenson.

“There are areas currently developable that really need to be redlined, but the county isn’t willing to create a regulatory environment where somebody is going to get hurt,” he said.

“You can’t deny geology,” he said. “To me, it’s cheaper to fix it now than later.”

Stevenson spent 32 years with the USGS working in different areas and coastlines and brought that experience to the table during the Shoreline Master Program update as a member of the technical committee. The committee consisted of about 30 people, all with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, he said.

“It was very clear to me all the way through the process that this is an extremely contentious issue,” he said.

Stevenson walked away from the update process “disappointed,” he said, as he feels the program it doesn’t accomplish its goals.

His biggest concern with the program is it uses an erosion average of 1-foot per year for planning purposes and establishing setbacks.

“I don’t think it’s a good number,” he said. “I think today’s number is more like 2-feet a year.”

Feeder bluffs west of the Dungeness Spit don’t erode at a regular rate, but are episodic, which make it difficult to conclude the rate of erosion from year to year, Stevenson said.

“Geologists have two different senses of time,” he said. “There’s the geologic calendar and then there’s the human life span.”

By studying the past 5,000 years the bluffs erode on average about 1-foot per year, but when “we’ve started to look at that the short term rates they are pretty much double that one year average,” he said.

So, the question becomes what has changed within the past 5,000 years? The answer is “a lot,” Stevenson said.

“There are many factors at play and they all have an affect (on bluff erosion),” he said.

The data ins’t available to “pinpoint” one action or more likely actions impacting erosion, Stevenson said, but “what is clear is that things have changed and we’re seeing an increase in erosion rates.”

For information on the county’s Shoreline Master Program update, visit www.clallam.net/LandUse/ SMP_CurrentDraft.html.

Publications by Parks can be seen at, www.researchgate. net/profile/David_Parks.

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Vol. 41, Number 44

SARC to close its doors Oct. 30 Board votes to shutter rec facility, gains funds to aid Sequim High’s swim team

by MICHAEL DASHIELL

and Recreation District 1 — one that oversees the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center — voted to temIn a 4-0 vote on Oct. 21, board porarily close the facility until other members of Clallam County Parks funding sources are found.

Sequim Gazette

“Certainly one of the toughest decisions of my life,” SARC board chairman Frank Pickering said.

“It’s a community asset. Unfortunately, it has not had the entire support of the voting community.”

In a unanimous vote, Pickering, Sherry Nagel, Jan Richardson and Gil Goodman agreed to close the

multi-use building that houses a gymnasium, racquetball courts, weight room, aerobic rooms, pools, sauna and more; board director Melinda Griffith was absent.

Craig Miller, an attorney who represents both SARC and the William Shore Memorial Pool, said the options SARC has to remain open

Relief from Clallam’s dry spell Planning proved key for farmers combating drought impacts, though state climatologist warns warming trend isn’t over

by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

T

he onset of fall with cooler temperatures and rain showers may seem to indicate the statewide drought is over, but for many SequimDungeness Valley farmers the impacts of a warm winter and dry summer still are lingering or yet to come.

Despite the change of seasons, Sequim and the greater Olympic Peninsula is considered to be in a state of “severe drought” according to the United States Drought Monitor produced through a partnership among the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of NebraskaLincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Olympic Peninsula was one of the first areas a drought emergency was declared as early as March because both the agricultural and residential communities are heavily reliant on surface water-related supplies, Ginny Stern, Washington Department of Health hydrogeologist, said. Secondly, the hydrology of the area doesn’t lend itself to large storage reservoirs and that “creates real challenges.”

“This historic drought is not over and we’re already planning for next year,” Maia Bellon, Washington State Department of Ecology director, said. “There’s growing concern we may not get our winter snowpack in the mountains and if we don’t, the harm will be felt much earlier next year and be more costly.”

Already DOE officials plan to allocate

are varied, from collaborations with nonprofits, for-profit businesses, the formation of a metropolitan park district, operations levy to financing and more.

But given the financial situation of SARC, board commissioners

See SARC, A-11

Voted yet?

In Clallam County’s Nov. 3 General Election, 8,185 ballots have been submitted out of 47,481 (17.24 percent) as of Tuesday, Oct. 27. There are several ballot drops in Clallam County. Sequim’s is in the Sequim Village Shopping Center in the JCPenney’s parking lot.

Port Angeles has ballot drop boxes at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St. Curbside ballot drop boxes require no postage and are open 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. on Election Day. For more information, call the elections office at 417-2217. Look for General Election results in the Nov. 4 print edition of the Sequim Gazette and online at www.sequimgazette.com.

Future of reuse site, park is up for discussion

by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

Scott Chichester, owner of Chi’s Farm, an organic farm nestled in the heart of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, harvests a variety of lush greens that, like all his crops, responded well to drip irrigation. In anticipation of the the drought Chichester watered 95 percent of his farm via drip irrigation and seeks to continue to adapt and use water conservative methods moving into future, sustainable farming within the area. Sequim Gazette photo by Alana Linderoth

more money toward leasing water from proved beneficial among local farmers farmers and large-scale irrigators as early working to buffer threats imposed by the drought. as January to help prepare, she said.

Anticipating a short irrigation season

Early preparation

See DROUGHT, A-9

Both proactive and early planning

As the first areas to have a Master Site Plan designed specifically for them, the layout of Carrie Blake Park and the abutting Water Reuse Demonstration Site are up for discussion.

While developing a Master Site Plan for the park and nearby water reuse site the key elements under evaluation include access, parking, connectivity and future uses, said Joe Irvin, City of Sequim parks manager and assistant to the city manager.

“This is the first realistic attempt at preparing a Master Site Plan for flagship community parks,”

See WATER SITE, A-2

Open House: Site planning of Carrie Blake Park & Water Reuse Demonstration Site When: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 2 Where: Sequim Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St. More info: Contact Joe Irvin, parks manager and assistant to the city manager, at 582-2457.

City to ban wireless Wi-Fi, cell towers Sequim’s Fire District 3 picks Public hearing slated for Nov. 9

by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

Any and all plans to implement Wi-Fi or cell phone towers within the Sequim city limits are on hold.

The Sequim City Council approved a six-month moratorium on wireless communication support towers on Oct. 26 via a 5-1 vote with councilor Dennis Smith opposed and Ken Hays absent.

The moratorium went into immediate effect and includes all zones except public facility zones, according to Ordinance 2015-018.

“New technology allows this, but appropriate consideration needs to be made for safety so they don’t become ‘wi-fry’ towers,”

Orr for new assistant chief Sequim Gazette staff

ORR

See TOWERS, A-6

Clallam County Fire District 3’s leadership team announced this week that Dan Orr of Santa Maria, Calif., will serve as its newest assistant chief.

He replaces retired Assistant Fire Chief Roger Moeder and will take on a new title as the Assistant Chief of Risk Reduction and Planning beginning Dec. 1.

See FIRE CHIEF, A-6

Sports B-5 • Schools B-8 • Arts & Entertainment B-1 • Opinion A-12 • Obituaries A-11 • Classifieds C-1 • Crossword Section C

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Drought From page A-1

Katie Adolphsen of Adolphsen Farms LLC, feeds a herd of hungry, awaiting cows. Katie’s father Gene has farmed for more than 30 years within the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, mostly focusing on beef cattle, hay, straw, oats and barley wheat, as well as cauliflower and spinach for seeds. Sequim Gazette photo by Alana Linderoth

to bale and put up a normal amount of hay, leaving only hay for their livestock. Additionally, to help with pasture management in the midst of a dry year, the Clarks opted to sell some calves.

“We’ll see the impacts of that two years from now,” Holly Clark said.

Maintaining the river In working with the Washington Water Trust, the Clarks don’t irrigate during the later part of irrigation season and instead rely on their deep, third aquifer well. This year, however, they decided to draw water from their well even earlier than normal despite the costs of running the powerful pump (about $1,500/month) because of low river flows.

“We started using the well early July,” Holly Clark said.

Use of the well causes community-wide benefits because the less water diverted from the Dungeness River and its tributaries, the more water available to sustain river flows for spawning salmon and other farmers dependent on irrigation, she explained.

Also helping to keep sustain the river flows, Smith and the water users association asked the community to conserve water during the irrigation season.

“It was very successful,” Smith said.

Community water conservation efforts likely allowed irrigators another

couple of weeks worth of water use without many restrictions, he said.

However, by the last four to six weeks of the irrigation season, irrigators relied on a spreadsheet to the manage the daily amount of water being diverged.

Using the spreadsheet in conjunction with the daily flow of the Dungeness River, irrigators were able to individually calculate how much water they could withdraw that day and could therefore plan, Smith said.

“The system seemed to work pretty good,” he said, noting how heavily dependent “commercial agriculture is on the river and ability to irrigate.”

Collaborative effort Public water conservation measures and water management practices implemented by farmers weren’t the only efforts being done to maintain river flows. Smith also turns his gratitude toward the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe and their work within the river to ensure fish passage.

“I really appreciate the amount of time they spent working in the river this year,” he said.

Officials with the tribe were successful in procuring a drought grant through the Department of Ecology. The grant helped buy supplies, equipment and manpower needed to maintain adequate fish passage within the Dungeness River and surrounding waterways.

“We felt we had some pretty good results in providing fish passage,” Scott Ch it w o o d , Ja m e s t o w n S’Klallam tribe natural resources department director, said. “For example, we had evidence that the pink salmon made it all the way up to the basin to where they normally would.”

The forecasted number of pink salmon estimated to return to the Dungeness River (originally expected to be 1-1.3 million) was concerning given the low river flows, but only a “fraction” of the pink salmon thought to return throughout the Salish Sea, including the Dungeness River, actually did, Chitwood said.

Still, given the relatively large number of salmon that Reach Alana Linderoth at did return to the Dungeness River, if few flood conditions alinderoth@sequimgazette. occur, Chitwood anticipates com. an “enormous fry produc-

5A1445346

the results and found the drip lines to be very useful on certain crops like potatoes and squash,” Mc Manus-Huber said. “They’re a good quality and reusable so now we’ll be able to continue to use them.”

The dry and early growing season did provide a first for Nash’s Organic Produce, in that they were able to harvest all their grain crops prior to September’s moisture, McManus-Huber said.

“O verall, our plan seemed to work this year so we’ll be carrying our experience with us moving into next year,” she said. “We were pleasantly surprised that the water kept flowing this season, but here’s hoping.”

Echoing Smith and McManus-Huber, owners of Clark Farms, Tom and Holly Clark, also made adjustments in response to the drought.

“This year caused us to switch gears,” Holly Clark said. “Adapting and changing farming practices for changing weather are all things farmers are savvy to, but this year just made the decision for us.”

Nudged by the drought, the Clarks decided to rely more heavily on their construction business in order to buy equipment, like a round baler, to better equip themselves for future farming in what seems to a shifting climate, she said.

Like Smith, the drought hindered the Clarks’ ability

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with little to no snowpack available to maintain the Dungeness River’s typical flow, Ben Smith, president of the Dungeness River Agricultural Water Users Association and co-owner of Maple View Farm, participated in this year’s dry-year leasing program offered by the Washington Water Trust.

Using funds from the Washington Department of Ecology, the nonprofit t a sked wit h ma na ging water, paid willing farmers the costs associated with not irrigating during the late season.

The usual irrigation season spans from April 15Sept. 15.

Smith plans to use the money from the program to source hay to help account for the feed he wasn’t able to grow locally to support his dairy operation.

Taking precautionar y measures, Smith also saved hay from the previous year and opted to grow a different variety of corn known for maturing quicker, but with the trade-off of a lower yield.

Although Smith believes the early and proactive steps he took early in the year helped to lessen the impacts of the drought, the drought’s effect still will reflect on the farm’s bottom line.

Smith estimates his corn yield is down about 5-10 percent and having gotten one less cutting of hay, he guesses his hay production volume at about 75-80 percent of normal. The lack of hay leaves Smith with less hay to sell to the community, let alone support his own dairy.

“We’ll be doing some number crunching this winter to help plan for next year and assess what worked,” he said. “The drought could have had huge impacts, but a whole bunch of little aspects came together to lessen what could have been terrible.”

Things like a rainy spring and the early onset of most crops helped to offset some of the impacts of no snowpack, followed by little precipitation, Smith said.

And, although the drought caused lower yields among some crops, other did well.

“Our grain yields were great,” Smith said.

Fruit trees also tended to thrive.

“Apples do well in dry, warm areas,” Jim House, Olympic Orchard Society president, said. “And things like scab (a fungus that infects apples) doesn’t do well during dry years, like it does when it’s damp and cool.”

Like Smith, those at Nash’s Organic Produce, another longtime SequimDungeness farming operation, made an early effort to combat the possible problems related to drought.

“We were anticipating not having irrigation by late July, early August so we made decisions early on in the year based on our assumptions” Patty McManus-Huber, co-owner of Nash’s Organic Produce, said. “I wouldn’t say we weren’t impacted, but we were lucky and we planned early.”

Because farming always is vulnerable to factors, like weather, a percentage of the annual crop loss is expected, McManus-Huber said, “but that’s why we have a diverse farm.”

Beyond distancing themselves from mono-crops, farmers at Nash’s choose to plant water-reliant vegetables in fields with well access and made precautionary agreements with neighboring landowners to use their wells if need be, McManus-Huber said.

Farm owner Nash Huber also invested a lot in drip lines.

“We were impressed with

tions this January, February and March.”

No numbers have been confirmed, but Chitwood estimates about 400 chinook salmon also returned to river. Of those, more than 100 adults were collected using a weir in the lower stretch of the river and provided 281,000 eggs for the 2015 hatchery brood-stock program, he said.

They also use the weir capture program to move some adult salmon to transport beyond the extremely low flowing areas. “ T he h atcher y cre w tagged all those fish and it’s not clear at this point whether that was successful or not, but we’ll sort that out with some post-season analysis and see if the tagged fish actually stayed higher up in the system, which was what the intent was,” Chitwood said.

While local farmers and managers of the area’s natural resources spend the next couple of months confirming numbers, yields and evaluating their response to the drought, state climatologist Nick Bond with the Office of the Washington State Climatologist, suggests “the odds are strongly tilted toward another toasty winter.”

“It bears noting that is unlikely to be as extreme as last winter but it’s possible,” he said. “We probably have about a 10-15 percent chance of having a winter as warm as the last one with El Niño rearing its ugly head in the tropic Pacific and it’s of the magnitude and type that is strongly associated with warmer than normal temperates in this area.”

“The bottom line is we need to be prepared for reduced snowpack at the end of next winter,” he said.

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