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Journal
The 75¢ Wednesday, August 7, 2013 Vol. 106 Issue 32
of the San Juan Islands
NOAA stands by ESA listing
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Skeptics score in clash over coal By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
By Steve Wehrly Journal reporter
One year to the day after the Pacific Legal Foundation petitioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on behalf of a group of California farmers to remove Endangered Species Act protection from local resident killer whales, NOAA rejected the delisting petition. The NOAA Fisheries Service statement said there was no new information to change its 2005 decision to protect Puget Sound killer whales, a closely knit clan of three pods, called J, K and L, which together number 82 animals, according to the most recent survey by San Juan Island’s Center for Whale Research. “Our determination that the southern resident killer whale population constitutes a distinct population segment under the Endangered Species Act and previous conclusion that the DPS is in danger of extinction and should retain endangered status all support our finding that the petitioned action to delist the southern resident killer whale DPS is not warranted,” the fisheries service said in its announcement. In announcing the decision, NOAA spokesman Brian Gorman said the Southern resident killer whales have been determined to be a distinct population group, with its own See Listing, Page 5
Journal file photo
Critics of a proposed coal export facility at Cherry Point call for broad review of the project at a environmental impact statement “scoping” meeting in Friday Harbor in early November. Last week, they got their wish.
New owner, new plans for Jeri’s mall
See Coal, Page 4
Scott Boden, owner of Jeri’s Mall, talks over new plans for the venerable shopping center at 260 Spring Street with tenant Richard Swanson of Discovery Kayaks.
By Steve Wehrly Journal reporter
A shopping fixture on Spring Street for 40 years, Jeri’s Spring Street Center, often referred to as Jeri’s Mall, was purchased in February by local entrepreneur and philanthropist Scott Boden for $877,000 from the Lawson family trust. Originally from the midwest, Boden founded Enerdyne Technologies in 1984, sold the company in 1998 and moved with
State and federal regulators last week announced that environmental impacts of what would be the largest coal export facility on the West Coast will undergo large-scale review that extends well beyond the site of the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point. In a joint press release issued July 31, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington state Department of Ecology and Whatcom County said the scope of the GPT environmental impact statement will include “direct effects at the site and evaluate a broad range of indirect and cumulative impacts likely to occur within and beyond Washington.” Critics of the project were quick to applaud the decision. “We are pleased to see that the Gateway Pacific Scoping Report included issues that are critical to islanders including marine traffic, human health, green house gasses, and the cumulative impacts of regional coal exports,” said Stephanie Buffum, executive director of Friends of the San Juans. “We appreciate the leadership of Department of Ecology and the governor for looking at the longterm health
Journal photo / Steve Wehrly
his family to San Juan Island in 2004. He has already invested in local residential property and says he will continue to look for good opportunities to invest in property and buildings on San Juan Island. For right now, he’s immersed in
improving and refurbishing the retail building, which features the second-most frontage on Spring Street, trailing only King’s Market. Constructed in 1973, the building was originally intended to be See Mall, Page 2
2011 Special Award; Second Place: General Excellence from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
Round ‘Em Up
1st Annual Barn Animal photo contest. Enter online at www. sanjuanjournal.com. Voting closes Aug. 7 at midnight. Winner announced Aug. 14. Vote early, vote often.