The Nisqually Land Trust is kicking off some Spring events to help local areas clean up their environment. Current CEO of the NLT grew up in our area, Jeanette Dorner. The Nisqually Land Trust is an independent, private, nongovernmental organization incorporated in 1989 and federally recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation in 1990. Join us…
Category: Ecology
Stream activist lament
Opinion By Don Russell [Acronyms defined at the end of the article] Derek and Janet, I am now 92 years old and don’t have much time left. I have witnessed, photo documented, water quantity and water quality monitored, written numerous papers on the condition of the CCSS watershed, prescribed the actions necessary to restore the…
Orca protection Gov. Inslee? You need more state water protection laws and some enforcement teeth
Along with the arguments about Clover Creek’s demise, the creek people of Pierce County have been lamenting the lack of laws, enforcement, or possibly downright laziness in the State Department of Ecology. At present, Washington State really has no legs to stand on to protect those orcas. As small as their numbers are already, this…
Dire warnings on our watershed – dialogue
Several members of the Chambers Clover Watershed Council have been exchanging some very concerning emails recently. Based on their experience, credentials, and length of service in the stewardship capacity, these are worth your interest. (Cindy Beckett, Don Russell and Kurt Reidinger) Starting with a reply to Ms. Beckett’s email in the previous article, “Destruction of…
Destruction of this creek has always been illegal
A message from Cindy Beckett, EPA Watershed Manager, WSU Master Watershed Steward: I really do wish that everyone would finally understand this….. no elected “official” on the county or executive level, nor anyone on Pierce County staff, has any authority whatsoever over this creek system. I really mean this! Authority falls onto both the State…
Friends of Spanaway Lake Annual Meeting Feb. 24
The Friends of Spanaway Lake is holding their annual meeting on February 24, 2022, at 7 p.m. at Sprinker Recreation Center and virtually over Zoom. They have posted the event on Facebook if you are looking for the connection link. This past year, the property owners with front footage on the lake voted to create…
A disaster called Clover Creek
Since 1853, when Washington became a Territory, Clover Creek has been diverted, dammed, dug up, relocated, culverted, drilled back into the ground and had vast amounts of pollutants dumped into it. The creek was named by Christopher Mahon who settled a Donation Land Claim there, where the Brookdale Golf Course was later sited. Their home…
Drainage is a catch word, FRED310 needs comments from Pioneer Valley neighbors
By Marianne Lincoln The summer of 2021 was one of the driest and hottest on record in Western Washington. This Winter, we were introduced to the term, atmospheric river, a huge swath of wet clouds ready to wring themselves out on a path thousands of miles long from the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Added…
Watershed Manager asks state to mandate water law
Letter from Cindy Beckett, EPA Certified Watershed Manager, to the Washington State Legislature Pierce County, Washington has very literally and permanently destroyed 60% of its water resources to date, the rest is on the chopping block now. That includes the recharge area to the people’s Sole Source Aquifer, our only Salmon bearing creek system that…
Does anyone in charge really understand ground water?
[Editor Note: These are recent letters between our Tacoma Pierce County Health Department Director and a local Watershed manager. GMA = Growth Management Act, SSA= Sole Source Aquifer, UGA=Urban Growth Boundary] Hello Dr Chen Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, some of the information that has been supplied to you is incorrect as I will…
Clover Creek is DEAD
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Native Plant Sale open for pre-orders
What is the Annual Native Plant Sale? A nonprofit sale run by the Pierce Conservation District – with a mission to get environmentally friendly native plants to our residents as easily and cheaply as possible! Our plants are bare root or plug stock, which means they do not come in pots or burlap bags (your…
Pierce Prairie Post 