Willapa Bay: Oysterville Sea Farms Court Decision May be Appealed by Pacific County

Intensification or Expansion?

What guidance will Pacific County's commissioners give the prosecutor? What guidance will Pacific County residents give the commissioners?

The Chinook Observer writes on the recent court decision in Pacific County over whether Dan Driscoll and his Oysterville Sea Farms operation are in violation of county regulations. These violations were reportedly driven from family tensions between Mr. Driscoll and his estranged uncle Dick Sheldon and son Brian (proponents of spraying imidacloprid neurotoxins and the herbicide imazamox on Willapa Bay shellfish beds), using their political influence to "motivate" Pacific County to begin an action against Mr. Driscoll. As reported by OPB in 2013:

In April 2012, for example, Barnett Kalikow, an Olympia-based attorney who represents Sheldon, pressured County Prosecutor David Burke and commissioners to take action against Driscoll, hinting that if they didn’t, their own careers could be at risk. “If the prosecutor fails in his duty, we have a number of options, ranging from extraordinary writs to recall petitions or both … . Any interference, abetting, advising, or pressuring the prosecutor to ignore or violate this statute may subject the commissioner himself to criminal sanction,” Kalikow wrote.

The OPB article continues, noting:

In June 2011, Sheldon filed a complaint with the county, pointing out that Driscoll was violating his agreement with the county by selling items such as jam and pasta sauce that went beyond the limited inventory the county had approved.

Get involved - elections are coming and commissioners, or those choosing to run against them, should hear (emails below)
Currently, Pacific County's prosecutor is seeking guidance from the commissioners on whether to appeal the decision. In the 2013 OPB article, Faith Taylor-Edred is quoted as saying:

Taylor-Eldred said, “Get involved in the process. When there’s a public hearing, they have to show up and voice their opinions.”

Good advice then, better advice now. Terms for Commissioner Frank Wolf (fwolfe@co.pacific.wa.us)  and Steve Rogers (srogers@co.pacific.wa.us) end in 2016. Lisa Ayers' (layers@co.pacific.wa.us) term runs through 2018.

Center for Food Safety Writes on the Dangers of Imidacloprid in Aquatic Systems

The Center for Food Safety has released a report on the dangers of imidacloprid (one of the neonicotinoid pesticides tied to honey bee colony collapse) to the aquatic ecosystem's species. Those species include invertebrates and birds. Some Willapa Bay shellfish growers continue to press the Department of Ecology to allow spraying of this pesticide - along with the herbicide imazamox - directly onto shellfish beds. It's time to stop.