Seventeen gray whales have stranded themselves along Washington’s shorelines in 2019, and experts are looking for answers. by
From Crosscut: “A stranded female Pacific gray whale washed up at Harborview Park near Everett last week. Officials towed it to decompose not far from a nearby island. (Photo courtesy of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)
“Who wouldn’t want a piece of baleen or a giant whale vertebra?” says John Calambokidis, a biologist with Cascadia Research Collective, from a 24-foot inflatable boat.
He’s off the coast of Whidbey Island, where six of his colleagues are conducting a necropsy of a gray whale that stranded itself at Harborview Park in Everett earlier this month. It’s a whale whose current location he doesn’t want to disclose. “We don’t want people to scavenge parts,” he says.
Calambokidis is part of the Northwest Marine Mammal Stranding Network, a 39-year-old coalition of scientists and volunteer networks coordinated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Cascadia team often performs necropsies on these animals, while groups like the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife transport them from peopled locations to shorelines where they can decompose naturally.
Consider Navy testing. See attached account from public meeting at Ft. Bragg, CA, with Navy concerning effects of their increased weapons testing.
Thanks to Quiet Skies (Lopez Island) for this report…
Concerned citizens take over Navy meeting
Public comment given on testing plans
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Kelci Parks At a meeting to take public comment on Navy testing and training set to start next year, 3rd District Supervisor John Haschak presented Navy officials with a letter of opposition on behalf of the Board of Supervisors.
By Kelci Parks | reporter@advocate-news.com | Fort Bragg Advocate News
May 9, 2019 at 10:36 am
Over 100 people showed up to Dana Gray Elementary School last Friday, May 3, to give their opinion on the environmental impacts of military testing and training planned off the Northwest coast beginning in the fall of next year.
Navy officials were posted at various stations around the noisy gymnasium ready to answer questions in a one-on-one open house style. A large portion of the attendees were upset at not only Navy testing and training in general, but also the format of the meeting. Navy representatives stood by the meeting’s format choice, saying it allowed for more direct, two-way communication.
Protests
Frustration built as individuals in a large group huddled around one of the stations and asked questions but were often redirected to experts at other stations. Complaints like, “this is a farce,” and “this format is designed to divide and conquer,” and “dog and pony show,” rang out from the crowd. At one point, some attendees broke out into song, singing “No More Genocide” by Holly Near.
What some thought should be simple questions about how many ocean animals will be affected by the training and testing or how much waste will be left at the bottom of the ocean from such exercises were redirected to other booths but the large crowd that had gathered around one station wanted to stay together.
Davina Liberty, local marine life advocate and professional mermaid, asked if the officials were aware of a situation in the U.K. where whales have been reported washing up dead on the beaches.
“They have been doing necropsies on these whales and they are finding that it is from military testing and it is under investigation. And at the same time they have humpback whales washing up on the East Coast of the United States. Are you aware of this and how can you promise it’s not going to happen here on the West Coast,” she asked.
The official’s answer, like so many other answers given, was lost in a sea of voices that echoed through the gymnasium venue.
John Haschak, vice-chair of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, presented the Navy officials with a letter of opposition on behalf of the board.
“This setup is the perfect setup to not hear the people’s voices,” he said while handing the letter over. “I can’t even hear you from this far away.”
When reached for comment on Tuesday, Navy Environmental Public Affairs Specialist Julianne Stanford said the Navy has no intentions of changing the format of the meetings meant to take public comments on projects.
“We understand a certain sector of the population prefers open mic-formatted meetings as an opportunity to protest,” she said via email. “The open house meeting format was chosen to best meet the objectives of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is to provide information to the public, answer questions and receive comments on a proposed action. We have often found that those who demand an open mic are not there to receive information, but rather to grandstand on topics that are beyond the scope of the project.”
According to her, some people complained that their ability to obtain information on the Navy’s activities was disrupted by members of the public who were there to protest.
Overview
The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is being completed to renew regulatory authorizations and reanalyze the potential effects from the Navy’s continuing activities in the Northwest.
The comment period for the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, which runs through June 12, is to allow the public an opportunity to review the Navy’s draft analysis and comment on that analysis and the proposed activities and mitigations to reduce potential effects.
According to officials at the meeting, although there are adjustments to the training and testing activities that are proposed to occur in the region in the future, very little is proposed to change in this particular area. The document can be found online at nwtteis.com. It describes how the Navy will be using in-air and in-water explosives, in-water electromagnetic devices, high-energy lasers and radar, as well as vessels and in-water devices. There are also sections covering possible entanglement from wires and cables, decelerators/parachutes and biodegradable polymer, as well as the likely ingestion of military expended materials like munitions.
At the Fort Bragg meeting, a total of 47 comments were received on the document to be analyzed and answered in the final draft. There were 30 written comments submitted, as well as 17 verbal comments that were recorded by a stenographer.
Comments
A total of eight similar public meetings have been held throughout the region to gather comments. The public can submit comments through June 12 on the project’s website at nwtteis.com or by mail to:
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest
Attention: NWTT Supplemental EIS/OEIS Project Manager
3730 N. Charles Porter Ave.
Building 385, Admin, Room 216
Oak Harbor, WA 98278-3500
All comments must be postmarked or received online by June 12 for consideration in the Final Supplemental EIS/OEIS.
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Kelci Parks
Kelci Parks has been reporting since 2011, starting out in Nevada at the Tonopah Times Bonanza and Goldfield News before moving on to the twice-weekly Pahrump Valley Times. She began reporting for the Fort Bragg Advocate-News and Mendocino Beacon in 2015.