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Department of Ecology Press Release - October 28, 2005
05-265
OLYMPIA - The Puget Sound Restoration Fund will be honored with an Environmental Excellence Award by the Department of Ecology (Ecology) Saturday, Oct. 29, at Henderson Inlet in Olympia. The award will be presented at noon as part of an event celebrating the first harvest at a South Sound shellfish farm in Henderson Bay near Olympia.
Betsy Peabody, the founder of the group, Mark Fischer and Dan Barth, key leaders of the Henderson Inlet community shellfish farm, and the many volunteers who have helped with this farm will be specifically recognized for their contributions.
"The Puget Sound Restoration Fund has done a tremendous job of helping people connect their actions with clean water and spotlighting that people can make a difference," said Dick Wallace, southwest regional director for Ecology, who will present the award. "Their work in the Henderson watershed has helped to protect and restore a critical marine environment."
The Restoration Fund has established community shellfish farms in Henderson Inlet and Drayton Harbor in areas that have been closed to shellfish harvest due to past pollution. Community volunteers help with seeding, tending and harvesting the shellfish beds, and in cleaning up sources of pollution to the beds.
"These shellfish beds are powerful learning tools - they are visible examples of how water quality can be improved and marine habitat restored," said Ecology's Christine Hempleman, who nominated the group for the award. "They provide a hands-on connection between people, their actions and water quality."
In addition to the community shellfish farms, the Restoration Fund is actively involved in restoring native species. The group has worked with volunteers and landowners to reseed 5 million native Olympia oysters at 70 sites, is partnering with the University of Washington and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to restore the northern abalone, and has been involved in eel grass restorations.
"We are honored to receive this recognition from Ecology," said Betsy Peabody, founder of the Restoration Fund. "We are committed to restoring resources in local communities where we can see them, use them and enjoy them. Here in Henderson Inlet, we are celebrating our first harvest of community-grown oysters, thanks to the generosity of many people throughout the community. To harvest oysters in the future, we need to work collaboratively to improve water quality."
The Environmental Excellence Award is the state's highest award for recognizing environmental stewardship. The department issues the award to individuals, businesses and organizations that have shown leadership, innovation or extraordinary service in protecting, improving or cleaning up the environment.
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Ecology contact: Glenn Kuper, public information manager, 360-407-6848 or 360-791-3177, cell.
Puget Sound Restoration Fund contact: Betsy Peabody, 206-909-3946 or Tristan Peter-Contesse, 206-909-1072.
Puget Sound Restoration Fund Web site: http://www.restorationfund.org/
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
