Kitsap County received four grants from the Washington State Department of Ecology to build green stormwater retrofit projects in Manchester, Illahee, Silverdale and in some county parks. The grant funds will be combined with funds from the Kitsap County Surface and Stormwater Management utility.

These green stormwater projects will use native plants, healthy soils and permeable pavement to manage stormwater on properties in a cleaner, more natural way. They will result in healthier water in area streams and Puget Sound.

The Department of Ecology grants total $2.8 million and will be used for projects costing about $5.3 million. read more »

Garden Vision LLC, in collaboration with Glenwood Gardens, is offering a garden-oriented educational briefing on June 2 at noon at Glenwood Gardens. “Sustainable Landscapes to Save the World” is the topic of this one-hour presentation by Kate Easton, founder of Garden Vision.

Based on a recent research paper Easton wrote and her 20 years of experience as a professional horticulturist and landscape designer, the presentation will explain how anyone can easily apply sustainability principles in their landscapes in three areas: design, implementation and hygiene. read more »

When the Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1970, our environmental problems were easy to see: factories belched black smoke, leaded gasoline fouled our air and water, and rivers were so polluted they actually caught fire.

Today, 42 years later, much has been accomplished. Our air is clearer, our rivers are cleaner and aquatic life is thriving in our streams and estuaries.

We have made so much progress that the remaining issues are literally microscopic, measured in parts per trillion. Today, science is the key to establishing if a problem exists and how to respond.

However, the Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) seems to want to move forward without it. read more »

In 1942, the completion of Grand Coulee Dam was hailed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Seventy years later, most of us aren’t aware of what that dam or the others on the Columbia River continue to do for us.

To commemorate Grand Coulee’s completion, the Bonneville Power Administration commissioned legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie to write songs praising the dam that harnessed the mighty Columbia River.

Guthrie toured the region from the Bonneville Dam to Grand Coulee, and within a month he had written 26 songs, the most famous of which is “Roll On Columbia.” read more »

Kitsap County will host two open houses to present the findings of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and Capital Facilities Plan relating to the recent Central Growth Management Hearings Board decision regarding the 2006 Comprehensive Plan.

In September 2011, the Hearings Board (Case No. 07-3-0019c) rendered a decision that Kitsap County must re-examine its Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) expanded during the 2006 Comprehensive Plan update process. read more »

An article by the Associated Press

PULLMAN, Wash. - A new study has found that the value of certified organic crops to farmers rose 16 percent in 2010, to a total of $244.6 million.

The study was conducted by the Washington State University Center for Sustaining Agriculture.

It also found that the amount of certified organic crop acreage and the number of certified organic farms in Washington state decreased.

Eastern Washington accounted for 76 percent of organic farm sales in 2010, the most recent year available. read more »

There are dams that should come down and those that shouldn’t.

Demolishing the two dams on the Elwha River west of Port Angeles is a good thing and, hopefully the salmon and steelhead will return in record numbers. The dams were built in the early 1900s to bring electricity to the Olympic Peninsula at a time when salmon and steelhead were plentiful in other Pacific Northwest rivers.

On the Elwha River, the issue was clear: Two barriers were blocking salmon from moving upstream. The care with which the demolition was planned, studied and implemented is a credit to all involved, and now fish can swim up to the high mountain tributaries in the Olympics to spawn and start the lifecycle over again. read more »

It was part science fair, part home show and, in a way, part group employment interview.

About 75 Bremerton High School students participated in Energy Week held April 18-20. They were divided into teams tasked with designing a “home of the future” that uses alternate sources of energy such as solar, wind and geotherman; and marketing their model to prospective investors — community members who volunteered to judge the student presentations. read more »

The 42nd Earth Day marked its anniversary on Sunday April 22 … and the weather cooperated with a warm sun-filled weekend worth celebrating here in the Northwest!

The annual Sinclair Earth Day Environmental Cleanup volunteer crews met again at the Port Orchard site on April 21. The Bremerton site took a leave — first time in 17 years — and will convene again for Coastweeks 2012 in September. read more »