The State of Our Island Environment

1
The State of Our Island Environment

• Presented to the
• Vashon-Maury Island Community Council (VMICC)
• by the
• VMICC Sustainable Practices Committee
• Earth Week, 2005

2
Our land
Overview - Topics

• Our species

• Forestry

• Agriculture

• Our water (quantity quality)

• Transportation

• Energy use

• Recycling and waste disposal

• Businesses

3
Overview - Questions

• Where have we been?

• Where are we now?

• Where are we headed?

• What are our challenges?

KEY POINT - Like our community itself, this
summary is a work in progress. All additional
input is both welcome and encouraged!
4
Our species (Baker/Gerstle,9/02 Pratt, 3/05)
Population of VMI (2000 Census) Full-time
residential, 2000 10,123 Residentialseasonal,
2000 11,115 Projected for
2025 13,562 Total built
out 21,300Land and housing prices continue
to increaseOptions for affordable housing
and low-impact development currently being
explored by - Vashon Household -
Sustainable Vashons Green Housing Group
5
Our Land (From VMI Forest Stewards)
Where have we been?
- Approximately 10,000 years ago, glacier
recedes - Start over! - Before human
habitation,VMI was covered by a highly
biodiverse ancient forest dominated by
towering firs, hemlocks. cedars, snags Forest
floor - Open, with orchids, other rare
flora, thick soils, downed logs Younger, more
open stands - Thick undergrowth, seedlings
of shade- tolerant species (hemlock, cedar)
Clearings - Alder, fireweed, salal,
thimbleberry, evergreen huckleberry - By
1920s, most of the forest cleared -
Farmland dominates landscape until after WWII
6
Our Land (From Forest Stewards, Land Trust,
WRIA9, IERE)
Where are we now?
Total area 23,566 acres (37 sq mi)
Forest 15,875 acres (67) Forests lt
5 acres 11 Forests 5-20 acres 38
Forests 20-50 acres 13 Forests gt 50
acres 6 Agricultural land 2,400 acres
(10)Protected land (2004) 4203 ac (18)KC
Current Use Taxation 3,433 acres Owned by KC,
VMI Park District 350 acres Land Trust owned
or stewarded 420 acres Vegetation
www.iere.org/Vashon/landuse.html Invasive plant
infestation - extensiveProportion of all KC
shoreline on VMI 50Proportion of VMI shoreline
armored 50
7
Our Land
Where are we headed?(Forest practices)
Sustainable, community-based forestry?
Conventional forestry?
Clearcuts on DNR and private lands
Agren Park thinning by Forest Stewards, 2004
8
Descriptions of Nearshore Habitat (Dennis Clark,
King County Dept. of Natural Resources Parks
KCDNRP)

• WRIA 9 Draft Salmon Habitat Plan
• - dnr.metrokc.gov/Wrias/9/index.htm
• - Public comments due by 4/25/05
• 2001-2002 King/Snohomish County
• Beach Seining Study
• - Carried out by Jim Brennan and
• Kollin Higgins (KCDNRP)
• - Fish from 14 different watersheds
• (WRIAs) found in waters of
• southern KC (VMI and mainland)
• - Terrestrial insects make up 50
• or more of juvenile Chinook diet
• 2003-2004 KC Shoreline Inventory
• - Effects of armoring on vegetation

9
Our Land
Challenges(for ecosystem protection)

• Educating landowners about
• options for protecting and
• enhancing ecosystem health
• Expanding community
• participation in ecosystem
• restoration projects
• Removal of invasive species
• Identification and protection
• of wetland, tidal and near-
• shore aquatic ecosystems
• Principal information sources
• - VMI Land Trust
• - VMI Forest Stewards
• - IERE (vegetation maps)

10
Agriculture (From Bob Gregson, 9/11/02)
Where are we now?

• Approximately six farms rely
• substantially on agricultural
• income - Roughly same as 15 years ago
• - Farms much smaller now
• (microfarms, a few acres each)

• Land prices too high to support
• agriculture -The 900-pound gorilla! B.
  Gregson
• - Next best option Land leasing
• Farms protected by KC farm-
• land preservation program
• may be impractical to farm(!)
• - Too large for microfarms
• - Too small for mechanization
• - Cant be subdivided

11
Agriculture (From Bob Gregson, 9/11/02)
Challenges (and opportunities)

• Expanding options for micro-
• farming
• Expanded community
• participation in Community
• Supported Agriculture (CSA)
• arrangements
• If necessary, most of the food
• needed by VMI residents
• could be grown on hundreds of
• plots now occupied by lawns
• and pastures
• Organization leading the way
• Vashon Island Growers Assn.
• (VIGA) - 80 members strong!

12
Our Water (Gerstle 9/02 Pratt, 3/05)
Where are we now?

• Water budget
• Rainfall (in/yr) 35 (Maury) to 45 (Vashon)
• 2/3 runs off or lost to air (evapotransp.)
• 1/3 recharges ground water (sole source)
• Populations served by wells
• - Group A (? 15 hookups/well) 8,237
• - Group B ( lt15 hookups/well) 1,083
• - Individual systems 1,800 (802 wells)
• Source wells less than 25 deep
• (most vulnerable to contamination)
• - Group A 69
• - Other systems 50 - 75
• KC study Relative to 1989
• -Water levels similar
• -Nitrate levels appear higher
• -Lead levels lower, arsenic unchanged

13
Our Water
Where are we headed?

• Decreasing supply appears more
• likely than increasing supply,
• because of
• - Global warming (reduced precipitation)
• - Increased development
• Contamination likely to become
• more widespread with more
• development because of
• - Releases of synthetic chemicals
• (pesticides, highway runoff, roadsalt,
• detergents from washed cars, etc.)
• - Sewage output from failing septic
• systems and leaking sewage lines

• If you or your neighbors dont want it in
• your water, dont put it in/on the ground!

14
Transportation (Joe Yarkin, 9/02)
Where are we now? (As of 9/02)

• Roads
• - 5.88 miles of road per sq mi (217 mi)
• - Higher density than those typical of
• most rural areas in U.S. (2 mi/sq mi)
• Cars
• - More registered cars (12,000) than
• people on VMI
• - Emissions tests not required on VMI
• Buses
• - VMI served by two buses (118 119)
• - Western portion of Vashon unserved
• - South end of Vashon poorly served
• Bicycles - Lots of bikes no bike lanes
• Alternative cars - More hybrid,
• electric biodiesel cars every year

15
Transportation (VMICC Transportation Needs
Survey, 6/04)
Where are we now?

• VMI residents who commute
• off-island for work 48
• Percentage of off-island
• workers who commute by
• - Car 71
• - Bus 15
• - Van pool or car pool 27
• Percentage of off-island
• workers who would take bus if
• connections to ferry were more
• reliable (? 10 min) 52
• Percentage of islanders favoring
• a bridge to mainland 21

16
Energy Use
Where are we now?

• Comparisons with WA and USA (2002)
• (Inetitute for Environmental Research and
  Education)

• Shifts in commuting patterns (Ockinga, 2002)
• - 1993 46 worked on VMI
• - 2001 35 worked on VMI

17
Energy Use (Rita Schenck, IERE this morning!)
Where are we now?

• VMI use of electricity and natural
• gas may have declined from
• 2001 - 2004

• Contributing factors
• - Loss of SBC coffee roaster
• - Milder winters?

18
Energy Use (From IERE)
Where are we headed?

• Continuing increase in reliance on
• fossil fuels?
• OR

• Increasing reliance on renewable
• power?
• - Potential resources on VMI
• Solar 100 MW
• Wind 6-12 MW
• Tidal 1-6 MW
• Biomass 1-3 MW

• 75 of VMI residents
• - Favor moving to local renewables
• - Are willing to pay more for it
• Several demonstration projects
• PNW Economic Regions first demon-
• stration sustainable community - VMI!

19
Solid Waste Disposal and Recycling (Regina Mays
and Mark Buscher KC, 9/14/02)
Where are we now?

• Composition of disposed waste on VMI
• (1999/2000) 5,614 tons in 2001

• Composition of recyclables on VMI (2001)

20
Solid Waste Disposal and Recycling (Regina Mays
and Mark Buscher KC, 9/14/02)
Where are we headed?

• Transfer station expected to last for
• at least the next 50 years
• All garbage is now trucked to the
• Cedar Hills Landfill (Maple Valley)
• Cedar Hills expected to be full by
• 2012
• After Cedar Hills is filled, garbage
• will be exported to another county
• or State for disposal

gt Reduce, Re-use and Recycle!
21
Where do we go from here?
Robert Lamm (Chicago)
Our Challenges (and some proposed solutions)
22
Our Challenges (and some proposed solutions)
Land Use

• Maintaining access to trails - Open discussion
  among walkers, equestrians, bicyclists,
  landowners - Swedish custom
  Allemansratten

• Controlling use of motorized vehicles on
  trails and beaches

• Expanding awareness of proposed land-use
  changes (i.e ., white signs) - Vashon Mapping
  Project - a regularly updated map of all
  proposed land-use changes - Posted on
  King Countys Vashon webpage -
  Printed quarterly in both island
  newspapers

• Dealing with that other B word that no
• one dares to utter BULKHEADS!

23
Our Challenges (and some proposed solutions)
Sustainable Business

• Maximizing economic diversity on VMI
  (e.g., Vashon Household)

• Deciding what kinds of businesses we do
  want on VMI--and then encouraging them to
  come! --gt (Whats wrong with Subway??)

• Providing mechanisms for constructive
  community input on land-use decisions--even
  private ones--that might affect others

24
Our Biggest Challenges (in my personal
opinion...)

• Getting our community more involved in
  shaping its future

Science may have found a cure for most evils
but it has found no remedy for the worst of
them all--the apathy of human beings.
Hellen Keller

• Convincing community members to live
  according to their stated principles

Be the change you want to see in the
world. Mohandas Gandhi

• Maximizing economic diversity

• Use of disaster preparedness to promote
  sustainability

25
Resources - Online (Sustainability organizations
on VMI)

• VMI Community Council (http//www.vmicc.org/
  )

• VMI Land Trust (http//www.vashonlandtrust.o
  rg/)

• Vashon Forest Stewards (http//www.forestste
  wards.org/)

• Vashon Park District (http//www.vashonparkdist
  rict.org/index.html)

• Institute for Environmental Research and
  Education (IERE) (http//www.iere.org/)

• Sustainable Vashon (http//www.sustainablevash
  on.org/)

• Vashon Island Pet Protectors (VIPP)
  (htpp//www.vipp.org)

• And lots more! - See Vashon Pages
  (http//www.vashonpages.com//)

26
Resources - Online

• King Countys Vashon-Maury Island web
  page (http//dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/watersheds/
  puget/vashon-maury-island.htm)

• Basin steward program- KC satellite office on
  VMI- Surface water management- Ground water
  management- Wastewater management- Salmon
  watcher program- Beach and nearshore
  environment- Forestry programs- Agriculture
  Protection of agricultural land
  Promoting the sale of ag products- Results from
  1999-2000 soil sampling projectgt
  Consider using this site as focus for info
  on VMI sustainability?

27
Ongoing Projects of the VMICC Sustainable
Practices Committee

• 2005 All-Cascadia Bioregional Conference
  (at Island Earthfair)- Regularly updated map of
  proposed land-use changes (Vashon Mapping
  Project)- Alternative monetary systems-
  Expansion of recycling activities-
  Community/school gardens to provide food for
  schools- Completion of land-owners guide-
  Guidelines for low-impact devel- opment and
  forestry activities- Suggestions for minmizing
  environ- mental impacts of individual
  lifestyle choices- The Vashon Supply Network
  (revival of small stores around VMI)- The
  Colvos Conservancy (partner- ship with Olalla
  Land Trust)- Expansion of sustainable business
  practices

Come join us! (First Thursday of every month,
Land Trust Building, 730-900 pm)