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, 2004

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!
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Our species (From Martin Baker and John
Gerstle,9/02)
Population of VMI in 1997 10,500 gt Increase
since 1980 40.5 gt Increase since 1990
12Population forecast for 2011 11,000
People per sq mi in 1994 276 People per
sq mi in 1997 284Total built-out population
for VMI might eventually reach 21,300
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,
Martin Baker Libby McLarty)
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 (2003) 3,661 ac (16 )KC
Current Use Taxation 3,170 acres (13) Owned by
KC, Vashon Park District 83 acres Land Trust
owned or stewarded 408 acresProportion of all
KC shoreline on VMI 50Proportion of VMI
shoreline armored 50Invasive plant
infestation - extensive
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Our Land
Where are we headed?(Forest practices)
Sustainable, community-based forestry?
Conventional forestry?
8
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

9
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

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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

11
Our Water (From John Gerstle, 9/14/02)
Where are we now?

• Most water used on VMI is
• derived--either directly or
• indirectly--from ground water
• Water systems on VMI
• - Group A (100-2000 people) 7
• - Group B ( lt 100 people) 98
• - Individual systems 3,000
• 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

12
Our Water
Where are we headed?

• Decreasing supply appears more
• likely than increasing supply,
• due to
• - Global warming (reduced precip)
• - Increased development
• Contamination likely to become
• more widespread with more
• development without greater
• awareness of need to reduce
• - 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!

13
Transportation (From Joe Yarkin, 9/14/02)
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
• - Registered cars (12,000) outnumber
• 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 - Numbers of hybrid,

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Energy Use (Rob Harmon, Joe Yarkin Lee Ockinga,
9/14/02)
Where are we now?

• Comparisons with WA and USA (2002)

• Shifts in commuting patterns
• - 1993 46 worked on VMI
• - 2001 35 worked on VMI

15
Energy Use (From Rob Harmon, 9/14/02)
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
• - Several demonstration projects on
• VMI (e.g., IERE, Beal greenhouses)

16
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)

17
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!
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Where do we go from here?
Robert Lamm (Chicago)
Our Challenges (and some proposed solutions)
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Our Challenges (and some proposed solutions)
Land Use

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

• Establishing balance between needs of
  motorized vehicles and needs for silence on
  trails and beaches - Open discussion among
  trail users - Vehicle-free day designations?

• Expanding awareness of proposed land-use
  changes (i.e ., white signs) - Add a regularly
  updated map to King Countys Vashon
  webpage, showing locations and details for
  every proposed change

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

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Our Challenges (and some proposed solutions)
Sustainable Business

• Maximizing economic diversity on VMI

• 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

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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

22
Resources - Online (Sustainability organizations
on VMI)

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

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

• 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//)

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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?
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Ongoing Projects of the VMICC Sustainable
Practices Committee
- Alternative monetary systems- Expansion of
recycling activities- Reduction of paper waste
at coffee shops and other businesses-
Community/school gardens to provide food for
schools- Construction of green housing-
Completion of land-owners guide- Guidelines for
low-impact devel- opment and forestry
activities- Suggestions for minimizing 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)- Planning for future of public lands-
Water conservation- Expansion of sustainable
business practices
Come join us! (First Thursday of every month,
Land Trust Building, 730-900 pm)