Natural highs -—David Duffy

Exploring Bellingham’s belts of green

By David Duffy

Ilove theprotectedparcelsofurbanwildernessfound in Bellingham’s parks. Surrounded by the sloping foothills, stroked by the rolling waves of Bellingham Bay, andguardedbyasilentvolcano, thecityparksoffer me solitude, adventure and comfort. Spending hours and sometimes entire days in the urban parks has^ become a habitual pattern ofmy life. It is an addiction I highly recommend.

ThecityParksandRecreationDepartmentmaintains 20 urban escape areas, 10 of which are designated greenbelt areas, and more are on the way. In these places I contemplate my outdoor addiction.

Interweaving the developments of Bellingham, the greenbelt areas act as “buffer zones” against further development, existing housing areas and roads. They also arewildgame corridors, providingmigratingspace for deer, coyotes, small mammals, birds and fish that live in and around the city parks.

I enjoy these “pocket parks” that provide a quick fix for an afternoon of exploration, reading or a quiet conversation with a friend.

I talked recently with Tim Wahl, a 1976 Huxley College graduate, who works for the Parks and Recreation Department as a city park planner. Tim specializes in site design and “linear area space” -- places like greenbelts, open areas and non-motorized trail systems. Tim is a fellow addict.

“The identification of viewpoints, habitat areas and trails, alongwith the establishment ofpocket parks, is our main focus in working on the greenbelt projects,” Tim said from his office overlooking Cornwall Park.

With funding recently acquired by an overwhelming majorityinthe 1990Greenwaysreferendum, Timworks in conjunction with two other park planners to continue linking open spaces and existing parks in places like the Connelly Creek area, the Arroyo Park/Interurban Trail area, the Samlsh Hill area and the undeveloped space between Boulevard Park and downtown.

The $7 million acquired will be combined with state and federal grants to purchase these undeveloped habitatareas. Preservationisexpensive, butpeoplelike Tim Wahl and supporters of the Greenways make it possible for us to go on urban wilderness binges.

The same outdoor euphoria can achieved in the exploration ofthe city’s larger parks. Lake Padden and Whatcom Falls parks have excellent trail facilities for mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding.

As an addicted pioneer I have explored overgrown side trails of these larger parks. Most of the trails are impassible to mountain bikers and horseback riders. The everyday jogger or leisurely hiker passes these opportunities by without a second thought.

I find these niches most comforting. My addiction to the outdoors is not contained within city limits. When I am in need, these secret places offer a safe haven and solitude.

The creation ofgreenbelts and the exploration possibilities ofseldom-used trails, in large and small parks, offer fellowoutdoor addicts an opportunityto establish a new relationship with themselves, each other, and possibly with junkies like Tim Wahl or me. •

Whatcom Falls Park Gary Gray Photo

The histoiy of the ^vironmental Center

By Michael Bell

“In the early days of Huxley College, we used to have all our classes in a house on 21st. There we listened, talked and planned.

Then there was HERB. ”

— Lou Oliver, Class of 71

In the summer of 1989, I worked for one of Huxley's first graduates. We spent the hours talking about the days of Huxley old and Huxley new. I recall his weathered outlook and my clean insight; his reminiscence of Huxley was my introduction.

Lou enjoyed talking about the days when Huxley was condensed into a house on 21st. His stories described a student body on the cutting edge. The first students were different than today's, contrasting in number and style. “We were a small group of students, but our ideas were bigger than any department on campus.”

This ambition and spirit led to an unfamiliar air of student involvement. The students of the 1970-71 class initiated new activities, newsletters, and recycling projects, all under HERB -the Huxley Environmental Reference Bureau.

HERB was a student organization overseen by Huxley’s Community Affairs Committee. In the beginning, HERB was a referral service staffed by volunteers. Located in the kitchen of Huxley’s Mitchell House, these volunteers operated a small library and responded to phone calls about environmental concerns.

The first few years of HERB were characterized by the development of a community recycling depot and a campus publication. The Huxley Humus. The Humus was the official newsletter of Huxley College; it consisted of articles and activities relevant to the Huxley community.

John Miles, dean of Huxley College, described the importance of the Humus in relation to the Huxley community: “We use to have parties, potlucks and events every week and the Humus was the backbone for coordinating and promoting these events.”

From 1971 to 1975 HERB expanded and began having growing pains. The primary functions of HERB (the iibrary, Humus, and recyciing project) were demanding more...HERB was having troubie meeting those demands.

— Joe Lyies, HERB Coordinator, 1979

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In 1976 HERB responded to the growing pains by moving to Room 518 of the Environmental Studies Building. Despite the roomier location, HERB remained financially insecure. In an effort to secure future funding, HERB joined the Associated Students (A.S.). The coordinators of HERB soon realized that there were many disadvantages with the new affiliation. HERB was exposed to an onslaught of bureaucracy and hierarchal confusion. In addition, HERB began to suffer an identity crisis: Did it belong to Huxley College or to the Associated Students? In 1977, the A.S. president questioned HERB’S identity and proposed a divorce from Huxley College.

Naturally, the proposal was met with resistance from the Huxley community. Many students and faculty stressed the historic ties and resented any proposed disassociation. Despite the cries from Huxley College, the financial strong-arm of the A.S. succeeded; in the 1979-80 academic year, HERB was renamed the “Environmental Center.”

The change was intended to be purely cosmetic. However it subtly changed the mandate of HERB. In its conception, HERB was to provide basic referrals and literature sources. As the 70's progressed, the structure shifted to an emphasis on event programming. The name change and eventual 1982 Viking Union relocation accelerated this transition. The period from 1979 to 1983 gave birth to many new environmental events on Western’s campus. These activities included a variety of workshops, speakers and fairs, such as Hunger Week, Run for the Earth and Marine Mammal Day.

During the same time period, the Huxley Humus was renamed the Monthly Planet. Like the Environmental Center (EC), the Monthly Planet adopted a broad approach that reached beyond the Huxley community.

Changes in name and location are easily recognized in the history of today’s Environmental Center. Less obvious are trends in opera-

tion and the influence of Huxley College. Throughout their 20year history, Huxley and the EC have always shared a complimentary relationship. For example, in the early 70’s, HERB created and managed the library. In turn, Huxley provided space and supplies.

Between 1971 and 1975, HERB also developed the telephone referral service. The Humus, and recycling project. The development of these projects attempted to compensate for Huxley’s lack of community outreach. In the early 80’s, the Environmental Center responded to Huxley’s reduced involvement in campus programming and began to pursue new activities.

In the mid-80’s, the Environmental Center activated several politically-oriented campaigns that were no longer a function of Huxley College. Kevin Majkut, activities adviser for the A.S., observed this relationship. “In 1984, when Huxley instituted their toxicology program, they inevitably reduced their emphasis on the humanities. The result was a lack of inspiration for student activism; in a subconscious way, the Environmental Center took over what Huxley once did.”

Nonetheless, the students of the Environmental Center have generally been products of Huxley College. The result of early Huxley influence and modern A.S. support has created a unique and effective organization. Throughout the last six years, the EC has been more active than ever. EC employees and volunteers have successfully fought for local, regional and global environmental protection.

This is the chaiienge: Create permanence in protection of the globai, regional and campus environments.

These efforts have included the development of an oil spill response team, organization of a local tuna boycott, and a proposal for a Puget Sound Marine Sanctuary. People from the Environmental Center have also fought against federal land management practices, local development issues and campus pollution. Some of the most visible campaigns have been directed at environmental impacts on campus, such as the successful battle against Styrofoam and the ongoing struggle against pesticides and bike bans.

But the battles have been short and the campaigns have been recycled. Despite its pleasant history, the Environmental Center has been moved and beaten with a bureaucratic stick.

This is the challenge: Create permanence in protection of the global, regional and campus environments. Students are at Western and in the Environmental Center for a short time. They must learn to hit hard while they are still in the ring. •

Michael is the current EC coordinator.

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Faculty makes environmental studies work

Dean John Miles (center, end of table) addresses Huxley faculty meeting. Gary Gray Photo

V Compiled and written by Al Skoczenski and Sara Olason

Iike alarge family, the facultyofHuxley College includes old-timers and newarrivals,* ^ allwith stories to share. Professor Ming-HoYu, who came toWesternin 1969 and helped set up the Huxley program, falls into the former category.

“I have seen Huxley College from kindergarten to its adult stage,” he says. “The quality of our students has improved tremendously, particularly in the last several years. Students today are more eager to learn.”

Professor Ruth Weiner, who came to Huxleyin 1974 and served as the second dean ofthe college, recalls that some students of the 70's considered Huxley an “academic scam” --aplacewhere theythought theycouldlatch onto an easydegree. She, too, sees students of today as more serious about education.

Whether veterans with 20-year hindsight, or fresh faces in the crowd, Huxley’s faculty members are notable for being accessible to students. The emphasis is on interdisciplinarybreadthaswellasonspecializeddepth: Facultymemberscomplement each other’s areas ofexpertise and, when they don’t know all the answers, will point students in the right direction.

Followingis an introduction to HuxleyCollege faculty, including: JimAlbers, David Clarke, Michael Frome, Ernst Gayden, Jack Hardy, Wayne Landis, Christine Maguire, Robin Matthews, Dick Mayer, John Miles, Lynn Robbins, Thomas Storch, Bill Summers, Bert Webber, Ruth Weiner and Ming-Ho Yu.

Jim Albers teaches classes on the history of the concept of nature, methodologies for developing alternate futures, and issues relating to population and environment. His present'research includes identifying social policies which will result in possible mitigation of consequences of the greenhouse effect. He has an extensive background in physics and keeps ties with members of Western’s physics department.

David Clarke’s background encompasses engineering, moral sciences, political science and many other interests. Students recognize his dry sense of humor and energetic teaching style. David started the political science-environmental studies graduate program, and teaches courses in introductory environmental studies and environmental ethics.

Michael Frome fills many roles for aspiring environmental communicators. He is a tough critic for student writers, encouraging adviser of the Planet and Huxley Hotline, and honest mentor. With many years of experience as editor, columnist and author, he is a seasoned veteran of the hard-knock school ofjournalism and has plenty of stories to tell. As instructor of courses in environmental journalism and conservation history, he espouses thorough researching, expressing a point of view and writing from the heart.

Ernst Gayden visited Western in 1969 and talked to the dean about starting an environmental planning program. After finishing a commitment at the University of Washington the following year, Ernst began at Huxley, refining the program as well as teaching. Since then he has concentrated on teaching human ecology and applied human ecology (environmental design and planning, appropriate technology and alternative futures).

Ernst leads students on winter quarter explorations in and around Morelia, Michoacan, for first-hand studies of human ecology in Mexico. His view of Huxley’s goal? “To make students employable; in other words, knowledge and skills together. That’s quite a task when you realize that we only have two years of a student’s college career. But I think we have been amazingly successful.”

Jack Hardy teaches courses in toxicology, global climate change and environmental studies. He is recognized internationally for his expertise on the biology and chemistry of the aquatic surface microlayer. Jack taught at the American University in Beirut, so he knows the Middle East region, and was much quoted during the Persian GulfWar. His recent article in Natural History shows a scientist writing in language anyone can understand.

Wayne Landis conducts research and teaching in environmental toxicology and population biology, and administers the Institute of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Wayne serves on the editorial board of the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Interests include identification of enzymes capable of degrading organophosphates, developing new methods of evaluating environmental toxicology using birds and marine organisms, and establishing interspecies structure-activity models.

Christine Maguire worked as a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, specializing in northern spotted owl ecology, before coming to Huxley in 1990. She teaches courses in environmental systems, biometrics and introductory environmental science. Research interests include wildlife habitat relationships, animal responses to environmental disturbances and wildlife associations with landscape mosaics.

Robin Matthews teaches courses in stream ecology, limnology, lake management, environmental pollution, aquatic toxicology and conflict resolution. Lake Whatcom is a laboratory for Robin and her students.

Research interests include aquatic community interactions, lake management and aquatic toxicology. Before coming to Western, Robin was an environmental scientist with the Savannah River Laboratory (Dupont), and an environmental consultant.

Dick Mayer came to Huxley in 1978 and served as dean until 1985. Dick teaches large introductory courses in environmental science, a water quality lab and advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in aquatic chemistry. His interests include drinking-water quality studies, water chemistry, watershed management, groundwater contamination and pesticide transport.

John Miles has been at Huxley since 1970 and has been dean since 1985. Despite administrative responsibilities and outside demands (as a member of the Washington Forest Practices Board, trustee of the National Parks and Conservation Association, and chairman of the North Cascades Institute), he teaches courses regularly -- in environmental education and the history of conservation.

He is a busy man, but students know him as an accessible friend, not as a distant dean. John is an accomplished outdoorsman, a climber, backpacker and telemark skier. His current projects include books on adventure education, wilderness education, and a study ofmanagement issues in the North Cascades mountain region.

Lynn Robbins, trained as an anthropologist, worked for four years for the National Park Service before coming to Western. L>Tin teaches courses in human ecology, social and environmental impact assessment and multinational corporations. Overflowing energy and humor make Lynn’s lectures enjoyed by students, even in early morning hours. His research interests include social impacts of energy resources development on Native Americans. Lynn has served as a consultant for several federal agencies and Native American tribes.

Tom Storch arrived in 1990 as director of the Institute for Watershed Studies, headquartered on the floor above the Huxley office. He teaches classes in limnology, aquatic microbiology and algal

ecology. Interests include algal physiology, freshwater macrophytes, lake management and water quality studies.

Tom has been involved in coordinating efforts by Western and Whatcom County to set up a regional geographic information system, which can correlate and analyze complex data about land areas. The system would aid in projects from basic research to establishing boundaries for urban growth. (The proposal for the joint agreement was to be introduced to the county council in mid-May.)

Bill Summers came to Huxley in 1972. He teaches courses in oceanography, marine ecology, fisheries, coastal management and environmental impact assessment. Bill is on speaking terms with squid: His interests include squid population ecology and cultivation, as well as artificial reef ecology, aquatic surface film communities and use of coastal resources.

Bill’s first appointment was halftime at Huxley and half-time as director of the Shannon Point Marine Center, near Anacortes. In 1976, after several years of setting up the program at Shannon Point, Bill stepped out of the directorship to become a full-time Huxley faculty member.

Bert Webber is one of the oldtimers; despite his youthful looks, he has been at Hurfey since 1970. He is a naturalized American, a native of British Columbia and an expert on what he calls the Salish Sea. Bert teaches courses in ecosystems, estuaries, sampling design and data analysis. His research interests include the assessment, inventory and valuation of estuarine habitats; marine and estuarine water quality problems; and the life cycle, reproductive cycle and habitat requirements of Pandalid shrimp.

Ruth Weiner recently spent two years working at the Center for Nuclear Waste Analysis in Washington, D.C. She teaches courses in environmental pollution, energy resources and current environmental issues. Her research interests include atmospheric dispersion of pollutants, management of radioactive waste, air pollution control policy and legislation, radioactive waste control policy and legislation, siting of energy facilities and environmental risk analysis. She believes the graduate program at Huxley has helped improve its scholarly image.

Ming-Ho Yu, whose research on fluoride has spanned 20 years, is currently vice president of the International Society for Fluoride Research. He teaches classes in environmental physiology and chemistry, an environmental biochemistry laboratory, principles of nutrition, a food chemistry laboratory, nutrition and health, and nutritional biochemistry. Research interests include biological effects of environmental pollutants, such as fluoride and heavy metals on higher plants.

“Huxley is one of the very few colleges in this nation that is totally devoted to environmental studies,” he says. “I think our reputation is probably the tops in the nation. Our graduates are in high demand.” #

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Working to save marine life

By Heather Harnischfeger-Smith Illustrations by Sean Seamas McWhinny

For thousands ofyears, salmon, seals, whales and birds knew that Puget Sound was a great place to live. In the last 50 years, flocks of people and industries have migrated to Puget Sound, too. I am one of those people.

ni never forget my first visit to Puget Sound

on a clear spring day 10 years ago. The Olympic Mountains rose to the west and Mount Rainier to the east as we zipped along in a Boston Whaler packed with mooching rods and buckets full of plug-cut herring. Catch for the morning: three King Salmon, each weighing between 10 and 20 pounds.

The Sound felt remote and alive as we watched birds and seals in the kelp beds corralled by a five-knot tide rip.

Now, 10 years later, I catch a few less fish and see a few more boats. It gives me cause for wonder.

As people and industry try to live with plants and animals. I’m glad a group of my fellow Huxley students and our professors are working with state and federal agencies to find that balance between humem use and protection of these prolific waters. Their fulcrum is the North Puget Sound Marine Sanctuary Proposal (NPSMS).

“Did you know that the world’s biggest octopus [Octupus dojlemi) and the world’s biggest barnacle (Megabalenus californicus) live here?’’ asked Huxley Professor Bert Webber as he sat on the edge ofhis chair in his office. Webber works on one of the advisory committees for the proposal.

“No,’’ I replied. “Did you know that one of the largest herring spawning areas is right off Cherry Point?” I asked in return.

Yes. Clupea harengus," he replied with a grin. (I should know better than to species-name

drop In the company of a veterain marine biologist like Bert Webber.)

Last winter, after reading about the long-term impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and other spills in the Persian Gulf, I worried about the future of Northwest waters. I also worried about the future ofthe big octopus and the big barnacle and the herring emd all of the other marine creatures. That’s when I met Huxley student Brandy Reed. She introduced me to the sanctuary proposal.

I learned the proposal wasn’t created by one agency or by some ad-hoc committee in Washington, D.C. It was developed by people who lived, worked, studied and played on the Sound.

In Washington, the sanctuary process began in 1988 when Sen. Brock Adams and then Rep. Mike Lowry directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a sanctuary proposal for Northern Puget Sound. During that time, the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority Management Plan was also being developed to provide for habitat supporting the survival and enhancement offlsh and wildlife.

I also learned that people like Brandy, who spent many summers on San Jucm Island as an interpretive ranger at Lime Kiln State Park, worked on the proposal. Brandy’s work and her time at Huxley have integrated the wildlife of Puget Sound with her life. Her work and studies were recognized by the Garden Club of America, which awarded her a $3,500 scholarship.

Throughout the development of the proposal. Brandy conducted educational workshops in Bellingham. More than 300 people attended the workshops throughout Puget Sound.

Brandy told me the purpose of the sanctuary is to promote the sustainability of the waters of Northern Puget Sound for conservation management, research and resource protection. It includes the waters surrounding the San Juan Islands, north to the Canadian border and south to the tip ofWhidbey Island.

Bert furrows his brow and frowns when he hears these waters called Puget Sound.

“The first thing to be accomplished with the sanctuary is to name

these waters. Look on any navigation chart. The waters in question are not in Puget Sound,” Bert said. ‘‘These waters are more closely connected to Canadian waters than to Puget Sound.”

Bert hopes to see the airea naimed the Salish Sea and NOAA is considering the idea. In the March newsletter of the Friends of the San Juans, people were asked to submit their ideas for naming these waters; 1*11 cast my vote for the Salish Sea.

Bert recalled the first time he was caught uttering the words ‘‘Puget Sound” in the proposed area. About 15 years ago, a tugboat captain informed him that North Puget Sound doesn’t exist. The captain was right.

I remember the first time I was corrected by my husband Sandy, who is a navigator. He’s never at a loss for words when it comes to reminding people that the Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Archipeligo are not part of Puget Sound.

Bert cited the name confusion as an indication of the need to better understand these waters. Ideally, he’d like to see the sanctuary as a management tool for the protection of biodiversity here. Bert has worked with NOAA for about 10 years on the Padilla Bay Estuary on Fidalgo Island.

‘‘We have abalone and urchin fisheries here which are unregulated. I’d like to see seabird nesting areas, nurseries and kelp forests studied and protected,” he said. Bert isn’t the only professor working on the sustainability of these inland waters.

Huxley professors Bill Summers and Lynn Robbins joined the sanctuary project during winter quarter. Lynn just returned from the Kenai Penninsula in Prince William Sound, where he met with natives and others to see how their lives were affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill two years ago.

Robbins and Summers encouraged a group of students in their class to develop an environmental impact assessment, whose purpose was to learn how the fishing industry, the oil industry and others felt about the sanctuary proposal. A group of students, including David Heikes, Mike Johnson and Iain Wingard, completed the assessment last March. It’s available at the Huxley, Wilson and Bellingham Public libraries.

Because the North Puget Sound Sanctuary would include territorial waters of Washington, the proposal requires support from Gov. Booth Gardner and the state Department of Ecology (DOE). If the proposal becomes reality, the sanctuary will be administered by NOAA as part of the National Marine Sanctuary Program.

In 1972, Congress passed the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act. The act authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to designate certain areas as national marine sanctuaries to promote management of their special ecological, historical, recreational and aesthetic resources.

Since the program began, eight national marine sanctuaries have been designated. They include nearshore coral reefs in the Florida Keys and open ocean areas of the Cordell bank and Farallone and Channel Islands in California to Fagatele Bay in American Samoa. The size of the sanctuaries ranges from one-quarter of a mile to more than 2,600 square nautiCcd miles.

Each sanctuary is managed and regulated by NOAA with regard to its location and the specific nature of its resources.

Bert pointed out one question is that NOAA doesn’t know how it wants to intrude in the regulation of state waters, even though it should have money and stciff to administer the sanctuary.

Here’s where Huxley students learned through hands-on experience that an environmental project like a sanctuairy proposal is more than an exercise in conservation. It’s a lesson in politics.

Each sanctuary is managed and regulated by NOAA with regard to its location and the specific nature of its resources.

Recommendations from the Huxley assessment combine provisions of the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority (now administered by the state DOE) with the sanctuary proposal. NOAA’s role should provide additional enforcement of existing laws, according to Fred Felleman, director of the American Oceans Campaign, a conservation group involved in the proposal.

In August 1990, Congress passed the Federal Oil Pollution Act (OPA). OPA gives states such as Washington the authority to enforce financial responsibility requirements for oil transport in state waters.

Here in Washington, the legislature just passed a spill-prevention bill based on findings of the Alaska Oil Spill Commission and a similar British Columbicin Task Force.

One of the most important findings of the task force was, ‘‘The state cannot rely on industry selfregulation or the U.S. Coast Guard and the EPA to fully protect the state’s waters.”

The oil industry is taking an active role in development of oil spill response plans. Industry participation in the sanctuary proposal will help.

NOAA will decide what to do with the proposal at the end ofAugust. It needs a foundation of support from the state before it decides. If passed, public hearings will be conducted in the fall.

For Huxley students and faculty who worked on the project, the sanctuary not only means protection of the inland marine waters of northwest Washington, but the satisfaction of knowing that each one, in his or her own way, helped to make a difference.

For me, well, I heard the blackmouth are biting in one of my favorite fishing spots near here. So, in the words of Taj Mahal, ‘‘I’m a goin’ fishin’ , Mama’s goin’ fishin’ and de baby’s goin’ fishin’ too.” •