Tuesday, August 4, 2009

PLEASE HELP!!!!

Hey~

This is a very important and close to my heart posting..






Lime Kiln Lighthouse, west side of Friday Harbor......


The NOAA wants to ban private and commercial kayaking from the west side of the San Juan Island.. those who read my blog no that this is my hometown..

they are saying that the kayaking is a disturbance and a threat to the pods of Orcas that travel through the area.. which is total nonsense.. these whales and people have been coexisting for generations.. and I as I'm sure many of the locals feel proud to see these beautiful creatures swimming, breaching, spyhopping in our local waters. If you don't know much about Orcas they are very smart wonderful whales.. I believe there are 2 pods that come back yearly to the san juans.. J pod and K pod..

Did you know that they stay with there pods for life.. the biggest dorsel fin is the male of the pod.. My husband was out fishing one day, yes on the westside and in a very small boat... and K pod happened to be in the area, well they made an appearence where my hubby was fishing. He came home so excited, K-2 the big male in the pod had come over to see what he was doing they are very inquisitive creatures, he just swam around the boat and down underneath for a bit and moved on.. well Ron, (my hubby) said that he was so close to the boat he could have reached out and touched him and that when he swam under the boat he was so close that they made eye contact.. WOW what an experience that would have been.. Ron said that you know they are checking you out and that they are intellegent, you can see it in their eyes.

For those that have seen the movie Practical Magic with Sandra Bullock & Nicole Kidman, and many other great actors.. that movie was filmed on the west side of Friday harbor.. all the house scences where out at San Juan County Park which is a well known whale watching park.. so you can watch that movie and get a glimpse of our beautiful island.. ( the house was a set, really doesn't exist there)

so I'm posting this so that everyone who reads this will go to the petition site http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/save-the-west-side-of-san-juan-island-for-kayakers and sign it.. Crystal Seas Kayaking are sponsoring this petition and are also friends of mine.. they are looking for 50,000 signatures to keep the west side open to public and commercial kayaking.. Please sign, it doesn't matter that you have never been there or do not live in Washington!! It only takes a minute literally to sign!!!!

Another positive reason for signing this petition is a lot of kayakers come from all over to kayak these waters, which brings revenue to the Island and to local companies like Crystal Seas Kayaking, who are people doing what they love and wanting to share that with others. It would really be sad if kayakers could no longer kayak in one of the prettiest places on earth!!



Kayaking out by the Lime Kiln lighthouse, westside, Friday Harbor Washington

2 comments:

  1. Hi Sheri! I love a little activism in my day! So great that you made this post. I did a little more digging and found a news release that thought to be informative but also a bit contradictory to what NOAA is trying to accomplish. Here is the link to the news release www.nwr.noaa.gov/Newsroom/Current/upload/7-28-09.pdf.

    What is contradictory about this "recovery plan" is that it restricts vessels like small boats and kayaks but exempts commercial fishing vessels, cargo vessels, and research vessels. I can understand the exemption for research vessels but commercial fishing - come on. Kayakers know that they are in the water at their own risk and they cause very little disturbance to the surrounding environment - they have no fuel or damaging motors.

    I support exemption for kyakers and other small non-motorized vessels. It also sounds like during this hard economic crisis it would be rediculous to put this kind of strain on kayaking companies. I for one am tired of the "little guy" (for lack of a better term) getting kicked to the curb only to find out that larger money making intrests are protected.

    The whole recovery plan is worth taking a look at because NOAA is trying to help these animals, but I think that this part of the "plan" needs to be re-written. The document can be found at:

    Here are a few more ways to make your views count:

    "NOAA will consider and address all substantive comments received by October 27, 2009." The NW Regional Office will also be holding public meetings in the following locations:

    September 30, 2009 7-9 p.m. Seattle Aquarium
    October 5, 2009 7-9 p.m. The Grange Hall, Friday Harbor

    You can also email your comments to orca.plan@noaa.gov or call Lynne Barre at 206-526-4745.

    I want the whales to be protected and I applaud NOAA for attempting to do that. However,excluding the very group of people that probably care the most about the environment that they recreate in is really out of touch.

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  2. Hi Sheri. I signed your kayaking petition. I have fond memories of vacationing in the San Juans many years ago - when I was about 8. It is just a very pristine and beautiful part of our nation. My daughter lives in Bellingham, and I plan to be in the area soon. May plan a day trip to Friday Harbor - always a fun place. P.S. Love your jewelry!

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