Scene
Summer art fair features... art, of course, and a lot whole lot more PAGE 10
Island Scene
As I See It
Encampment 2014: they’re going to party like it’s 1859
The race is on in the August primary; here’s why I like Mike in the state’s 2nd Congressional District PAGE 7
PAGE 9
Journal
The 75¢ Wednesday, July 16, 2014 Vol. 107 Issue 29
of the San Juan Islands
www.sanjuanjournal.com
State ups ante on shoreline clearcut
Aircraft in the spotlight
DOE fines owners of former Mar Vista $79K By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
Journal file photo
The tarmac of Friday Harbor Airport and skies above will be abuzz with activity when the 5th annual Friday Harbor Fly-In and Community Open House kicks Saturday, July 26, beginning with a pancake breakfast, 8-10 a.m.
Larvae: key to Dungeness For SeaDoc, better understanding of population may rest with tiniest By Jacq Zier
Special to the Sounder/Journal
Dungeness crab is one of the most important fisheries in the Salish Sea. In Washington State alone, the fishery has an annual average value of about $20 million. Unfortunately there’s a little more work to do to better understand crab reproduction so we can make sure the population thrives while we serve up this delicious crustacean for dinner. Researchers from SeaDoc and the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory in California are looking for local Dungeness crab larvae, called megalopae, to better understand population dynamics and crab fishery cycles. Ultimately this will help us understand what oceanographic conditions are good for crab catching as well. The SeaDoc Society is looking for help from sharp-sighted beachgoers in finding Dungeness crab megalopae for this study. The tiny megalopae are 5-8
Contributed photo / Dr. Elizabeth L. Harvey
Larvae could be key to better understanding of Dungeness.
mm in length and look like a very small floating crab about the size of a pencil eraser. They might be spotted swarming near the surface of the water by people walking on beaches or docks. The making of megalopae begins when a female Dungeness crab releases a pheromone before she molts. Dungeness crabs can mate nearly year round, See DUNGENESS, Page 4
The cost of the waterfront clearcut at the former Mar Vista Resort could get quite a bit steeper. The state Department of Ecology announced July 9 that it has leveled $79,000 in fines against owners of the westside waterfront property, Orca Dreams, an incorporated entity formed by Dave Honeywell, for violating state water-quality rules and for cutting down about 80 trees without proper permits. “State law does allow for responsible waterfront development,” said Doug Allen, manager of Ecology’s Bellingham field office. “When the law is clearly violated, however, it’s our responsibility to take action, to protect shorelines and to be fair to property owners who abide by necessary permits.” The amount of the fine consists of two parts, according to Ecology spokeswoman Krista Kenner. The department fined Orca Dreams $55,000 for illegally cutting down 80 trees, along with removing other “significant” amounts of shoreline habitat, and a $24,000 water-quality penalty for starting work at the former Mar Vista Resort without first receiving coverage under the state’s construction stormwater general permit and for allowing discharge of polluting material, including logging slash, soil and organic debris into False Bay. Among the largest and shallowest bays on San Juan’s westside, False Bay is home to a biological preserve and protected marine area managed by the University of Washington. Orca Dreams will have 30 days
2011 Special Award; Second Place: General Excellence from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
to appeal either penalty from the date the fines were announced. Kenner said the Orca Dreams could have faced as much as $425,000 in fines due to the lack of permits and because of the extent of damage to the shoreline. Ecology opted not to impose a greater amount because the Honeywells obtained a general stormwater general permit in late December 2013, as the agency instructed in the wake of the clearcut, and have cooperated with Ecology’s investigation, she said. San Juan County authorities previously fined Honeywell and the contractor that clearcut a 1.25acre area of the shoreline, Allen Engel, a total of $3,000 for violating local land-use rules. See CLEARCUT, Page 4
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photo
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Kathryn Sherman Deborah photoHansen
Harvey Olsan
Lisa Botiller Mary Clure
Victoria Shaner
Kristen Slabaugh Marty Zier
Real Estate in the San Juan Islands
See inside for June’s real estate sales, listings and statistics.