Shore stewards offer training
Sustain the shorelines for generations
By ADAM STEWART Staff Reporter
Sunset last Wednesday over Saratoga Passage back dropped by the Olympic Mountains was taken from Lowell Point Road next to Camano Island State Park. PHOTO BY TIM WILCOX
As coordinator for Island County Shore Stewards, Scott Chase knows about near-shore environments.
As a homeowner on Camano Island, he feels a responsibility to share that knowledge.
“Everyone living on an island has an impact,” said Chase. “The Shore Stewards program provides homeowners a set of guidelines for dealing with issues on their property.”
Chase will cover many of the guidelines during his course, “Stewardship for Shoreline Properties,” at Sound Waters, a one-day public education event on Feb. 6 at Coupeville High School, 501 South Main Street.
The annual gathering is sponsored by Washington State University’s (WSU) Beach Watchers program.
This year’s theme is “Puget Sound Starts Here: Why Act? What Works.”
People respond to shoreline responsibility at their own pace, said Chase. When they become concerned about proper environmental practices on their property, Shore Stewards and Sound Waters events are opportunities for them to get accurate information.
Currently, there are 700 members in Island County and more than 2,000 Shore Stewards throughout eight counties in the Puget Sound region, including numerous Stanwood residents.
Topics of discussion during Chase’s presentation will include water conservation, septic drain fields, maintaining bluff stability, proper pruning techniques for trees on bluffs and what to plant along shorelines.
Those in attendance will participate in hands-on activities and will receive a free shoreline homeowner’s toolkit. Participants will also have the chance to become certified Island County Shore Stewards.
To start the event, Nathaniel Scholz, Ph.D., of National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will give the keynote address: “Stormwater, Salmon, and the Health of Puget Sound.”
More than 60 courses will be available to choose from for the rest of the day’s activities covering topics such as on alternative energy, stormwater runoff and ocean acidification. The classes are taught by university professors, authors, enthusiasts, private sector experts and county officials.
To register, visit www.beachwatcher.wsu.edu/soundwaters
or call WSU Extension at 360-679-7327. From Camano
Island, call 629-4522 ext. 7327.
