SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
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Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, July 13, 2016 VOL. 49, NO. 28 75¢ islandssounder.com
PARKS & TRAILS Inside this edition2016-17
Candidate forum coverage
See an otter, report it by Colleen Smith Armstrong Editor/Publisher
They are charming and carnivorous, and can let humans know about environmental decline. “Like other animals that feed on the top of the food chain, river otters tell us a lot about what’s happening,” said Joe Gaydos, chief scientist for the SeaDoc Society. “They inhabit marine water and fresh water and go on land, so they integrate information from all three places.” Citizens are being asked to take part in a state-wide project to track the trends of river otters. Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, as part of their Living Northwest conservation program, has invited the public to participate in the Otter Spotter program. The Green River flows from undeveloped Washington land through increasingly urbanized areas to become the Duwamish River – Seattle’s major industrial corridor since the early 1900s. The North American river otter calls the 65-mile waterway its home. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified the Lower Duwamish (the
final five miles of the river as it empties into the Puget Sound) as a Superfund site for environmental remediation. Studying the population trends of river otters and the toxins in their scat along the length of the river will help researchers gauge the level of pollution in the area. If you observe a river otter, report your sightings at http:// w w w. z o o. org / c ons e r v at i on / otterspotter#.V31-tZMrL8s to submit the online form. Sightings anywhere in the region will provide valuable data. Try to record the time of day, number of otters present, location of the sighting and behavior of the animals. And photos are welcome. The river otter is a member of the mustelid (weasel) family and is comfortable on both land and water. They can dive as deep as 60 feet to find crab and fish for dinner. The species is very sensitive to pollution and at the top of the food chain, which means they are indicator species for water quality and habitat. If their prey is gone, the otters are gone. The SeaDoc Society has done extensive research on the health of river otters in the Salish Sea. A
by Mandi Johnson Staff reporter
Wild river otters are an indicator species. 2007 study found that a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common disease agents known to infect river otters in the Northwest. It is transmitted from the fecal matter of feral and domestic cats. Feces deposited on land often travels to the ocean via fresh water, and river otters are likely exposed when they drink water running into the ocean or eat filter-feeding bivalves like mussels that can concentrate the infective form of this parasite. They are
Madison McNutt photo
also exposed to Leptospirosis, a disease that rats and mice carry. Gaydos says that while the Pacific Northwest has a robust population – and in the San Juans the river otter is considered a nuisance to boaters – more than 20 states are spending millions to bring back wild river otters. “The Otter Spotter program is a great opportunity for citizens to become involved in collecting meaningful data,” he said.
Campaign trail | Larsen talks jets, vets, delegates Mandi Johnson/staff photo
L: Rep. Rick Larsen at the Orcas July 4th parade.
by Mandi Johnson Staff reporter
Rick Larsen is running for re-election as congressmen for Washington’s Second District this November. The Sounder sat down with Larsen to discuss his views on hot topics and the issues that affect San Juan County. Gun control Larsen started by talking about the recent sit-in done by House of Representatives Democrats demanding gun control. “People want Congress to take action,” said Larsen, one of the nearly 170 politicians who participated in the protest. The sit-in began on June 22, led by former civil-rights activist, and
PUBLISHED BY THE JOURNAL OF THE SAN JUANS, ISLANDS’ SOUNDER, AND ISLANDS’ WEEKLY
current Georgia congressman, John Lewis, and lasted more than 24-hours. “This is a whole new book. It’s being written by advocates.” The sit-in came after a nightclub shooting in Orlando on June 12, where a shooter killed 49 people and injured 53 others. The weapons the gunman used held 30 bullets and 17 bullets respectively. Three days after the massacre, Senate Democrats held a 15-hour filibuster, followed by the Senate voting on on four different proposals which previously had bipartisan support. All four of the proposals failed. Democrats, irritated with the inability to make a resolution on gun control, held the rare sit-in to encourage the Senate to reform gun control. Larsen expressed frustration with four aspects of gun ownership which he feels need to be addressed. First, from 1994-2004 there was a ban on a gun magazines that were able to hold more than 10 bullets, he said we need to reinstate that ban. Secondly, if someone is on the no-fly list, they should not be able to purchase guns. Third, there should be universal background checks on gun purchasers.
Although there is a debate as to how many sales are made without background checks, private seller of firearms are not required by law to do so. The fourth and final aspect is to allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to properly research gun violence. In 1996, the National Rifle Association accused the CDC of promoting gun control, and Congress threatened to strip the organization of federal funding if they did not discontinue its research on gun violence. In 2013 and 2014, President Obama requested that $10 million dollars be allocated to the CDC to fund gun violence research, both times the Republican-controlled House rejected the request. “It’s not a matter of one’s ethnicity or one’s background,” said Larsen, when asked about the correlation between mental health and gun control. The United States Supreme Court has made it very clear that the second amendment is an individual right, he explained. “They [politicians against gun control] use that as an excuse to do nothing,” said Larsen. “The Supreme Court is leaving a lot of room
SEE LARSEN, PAGE 4
The five candidates running for the position of County Council District 1 each got a chance to share their opinions on topics plaguing San Juan County at one of three forums held by The League of Women Voters. The first of the forums was held on Tuesday, July 5 on Orcas. On Wednesday, July 6, the candidates held forums on San Juan and Lopez islands. Incumbent Bob Jarman is running against Sheryl Albritton, Frank Penwell, Bill Watson and Steve Wehrly. Albritton said she would provide true transparency, solid experience and empowering representation to the position. She described herself as “strong, hardworking and 100 percent representative.” Next came Jarman who said, “I want to continue working with them (Jamie Stephens and Rick Hughes) to conquer the big items we have ahead of us: the comprehensive plan and housing issue, I
SEE FORUM, PAGE 4
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