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Section C • lyndentribune.com • Wednesday, May 8, 2013
WATER
Symposium May 3031 aims to sort out local water issues Theme: ‘Searching for Certainty in Uncertain Times’ BELLINGHAM — A twoday free symposium May 30-31 will focus on local water supply issues and the status of water supply in Whatcom County, including factors influencing water available for in-stream and out-of- stream uses. Each session of the symposium will have a moderated question-and-answer time. Regional and local experts and speakers will provide information on the laws regarding water use, perspectives on who and what is at risk if local water issues are not resolved, and other topics. The event is sponsored by the WRIA-1 Management Project, Whatcom Watersheds Information Network and Whatcom Farm Friends. It runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 30, and Friday, May 31, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The location is Fox Hall at Hampton Inn, 3985 Bennett Dr., along Interstate 5 at the Bakerview exit. To request the symposium program, send an email to watersupplysymposium@gmail. com. Space is limited. Attendance is free, but registration is required by May 17 to http:// events.constantcontact.com/ register/event?llr=kwqewhmab &oeidk=a07e75gdzvfe54dcbd6. News tends to focus on the relatively simple and easy-tounderstand issues, but water policy does not fit into that profile, said Henry Bierlink, executive director of Lynden-based Whatcom Farm Friends. “The way we wisely manage through these complex issues is among the most important challenges facing our county. Water availability directs our land use plans. It determines if we have a farming and a fisheries future here or not,” he said. The symposium is a great opportunity for the public, with
various water educators, to truly “dig into” the issues surrounding water use in Whatcom County, Bierlink said. The exact program continues to take shape. “There will be no better opportunity for you to become fully informed on our water challenges and their implications.” The program so far for day one includes: • Jay Manning, former state Department of Ecology director and chief of staff for Gov. Gregoire and now back in private law practice, talking about various aspects of water supply and water rights. • Craig MacConnell, former local Extension agent, and Rebecca Schlotterback, with the Watersheds Information Network, moderating panel discussions of how water is currently being used in Whatcom County. • A roundtable of legal perspectives involving attorneys Michael Mirande, Bill Clarke and Diana Bob. • Dr. Hart Hodges, from Western Washington University, guiding a broad range of discussion on “who and what is at risk” with regard to water supply. Representatives cover agriculture, environment, cultural heritage, fish, land development, rural real estate and more. The program so far for day two includes: • addresses by Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville, who worked extensively on water legislation previously as a state representative, and County Executive Jack Louws. • County Council members Carl Weimer and Bill Knutzen moderating sessions looking at solutions through case studies and what is already being done in Whatcom County. • State Rep. Vincent Buys also moderates a panel discussion expanding to regional solutions. • Jon Hutchings, now in water supply planning with the City of Bellingham, does a final session with participants on “The Fork in the Road.”
Growing of all sorts
In the summery warm weather of the past week, all manner of living things are springing into action. Leaves and blossoms are taking full shape on trees (bringing with them allergens for the susceptible), and flocks and herds are adding cute little ones. This was a bucolic scene of sheep and lambs romping amid blooming trees along Berthusen Road on Monday evening. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)
WSU Extension
Susan Kerr is new WSU livestock agent She brings a varied background in veterinary science and education, last 17 years in Klickitat County By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com
WHATCOM — Susan Kerr has been chosen the new Extension livestock and dairy specialist for northwest Washington. Based in the Northwest Research and Extension Center at Mount Vernon, Kerr began work on May 1. Her official title is WSU (Washington State University) Northwest Regional Livestock and Dairy Extension Specialist. Although Whatcom County had a
designated dairy agent years ago, this is a newly shaped position. Kerr will focus on educational outreach to sheep, goat, swine, beef and dairy producers in Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties, with some extension even beyond that. As to what she expects to be working on specifically, “I’ll have to learn the answer to that question from the livestock producers in northwest Washington,” Kerr said in an interview for the April online Whatcom Ag Monthly. “I assume some issues will be the same as most places in the country — how to deal with rising feed costs and other input prices, how to stay profitable, how to produce consistently highquality products, how to keep animals healthy. I’ll emphasize animal welfare at every opportunity and encourage people to develop agrosecurity plans
and stay within the law when it comes to using medications in food animals. Beyond that, we’ll see what the needs assessments say,” she said. Kerr grew up in a dairy cattle community in upstate New York between Syracuse and Ithaca. “My ancestors were affiliated with the dairy business. My grandfather was involved in milk marketing and my uncle ran a cheese factory. My grandmother was an architect (unusual for that time) and designed the cheese factory. My father liked to admire cows from afar; he became a surgeon.” As a girl she was horse-crazy and also had a cat. Wanting to become a veterinarian, Kerr went to Cornell University for an undergraduate degree in animal science and then veterinary school. She worked See Livestock on C4
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