September 2023
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Park district news, page 7 Dollars for Scholars, page 9 Meet the park ranger, page 12
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North Whatcom Ready to save lives ... County focal point for invasive crab hunt By Grace McCarthy Scientists are keeping a close eye on Drayton Harbor and north county waters after discovering a sizable population of juvenile European green crabs, indicating growth of the highly invasive species. In 2022, scientists found 313 European green crabs, about half of which were juveniles, said Allie Simpson, ecosystem project coordinator for the Northwest Straits Commission. Many of the juvenile crabs were found in a small creek between Dakota and California creeks last September and October. The crabs are considered one of the world’s worst invasive species and are known to destroy salmon habitats, such as eelgrass, and are a threat to shellfish and aquaculture industries. Scientists have found over 100 crabs in Drayton Harbor since this year’s trapping season began in the spring, Simpson said. Slightly more crabs have been caught compared to this time last year. Emily Grason, crab team program lead at Washington Sea Grant, said the warm fall last year allowed scientists to capture crabs later than usual. “In some cases, sites in Whatcom and Skagit were reporting the highest capture rates during the final capture efforts of the year,” Grason said. “Many groups weren’t ready to stop trapping because there were clearly crabs out there. You want to see the decline in capture rates before pulling your traps out of the water.” Those juvenile crabs made up the lion’s share of captured green crabs when trapping resumed after winter, Grason said. She added this could be a positive sign because it shows previous trapping has worked if more mature crabs are not being found. The Northwest Straits Commission, University of Washington’s Washington Sea Grant program and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, with help from other partners, are leading the fight against the spread of European green crabs in Drayton Harbor and across the (See Crabs, page 4)
s Among a number of interesting and informative displays at the fire district’s open house on August 12 was a demonstration of a device that performs CPR on patients. The well-attended event served over 300 lunches. Photo by Louise Mugar
Now on to the general election By Grace McCarthy Preliminary August 1 primary election results give insight into what is to come for the November 2023 general election, including the Whatcom County Executive race, where incumbent Satpal Sidhu and Dan Purdy were the top two finishers and will face each other in the general election. The two candidates who receive the most votes in each race in the August primary move onto the November 7 election. The following results were certified on August 15: Six candidates vied for the county executive seat in the primary. Sidhu, who is
finishing his first four-year term as executive, led the race with 34.8 percent. Dan Purdy, a first-time candidate with business leadership experience, followed in second place with 27.7 percent of the votes. State representative Alicia Rule received 17.6 percent, county council chair Barry Buchanan received 13.9 percent, Misty Flowers received 3.2 percent and Sukhwant Gill received 2.5 percent of votes. The Blaine school board race shows Ben Lazarus, former owner of Westwind Marine in Point Roberts, received 43.8 percent of the votes. Dean Berkeley, a former North (See Election, page 3)
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Inside Church ............................................... 6 Classifieds ......................................... 16 Coming Up ....................................... 15 Local stats ........................................ 14 Obituaries ......................................... 16 Opinion ............................................... 4 Sheriffs ............................................. 14 Tides ................................................. 13