Community of species
More than 40 organizations, the largest community involvement yet, will participate in the 32nd annual Earth Day celebration
By Mikhael Romain
for the Emerald
The 32nd annual Earth Day Cel
ebration will litter the streets of
downtown Eugene from 11 a.m. to
5 p.m. Saturday. The celebration
will host a variety of events, from
Frank Merrill’s American Indian
opening blessing to musical enter
tainment to Earth Action Arenas
consisting of environmental dis
plays and interactive workshops
hosted by participating organiza
tions.
Steven Remington, president
and managing director of Down
town Events Management Inc .,
said there is a growing movement
among community members to
come downtown and celebrate
Earth. This year’s celebration
marks the largest community in
volvement to date, with more than
40 organizations participating.
“The celebration is becoming as
much about the community as it is
about the earth,” Remington said.
The festivities will take place
from Broadway to Willamette
Street and will provide a variety of
activities from education to enter
tainment. Eugene residents will
create puppets and masks of their
favorite animals to wear in the
“Procession of All Species,” an
artistic celebration to honor the
myriad forms of life. The Bloco
Amazinha, a Brazilian percussion
group, will lead the parade
through downtown.
BRING Recycling education co
ordinator Sarah Grimm said grow
ing momentum to celebrate Earth
is due to “more visible needs of
our earth, such as global warming
and necessary energy conserva
tion.” BRING Recycling will par
ticipate in Earth Action Arenas by
displaying recycled greeting cards
that can be planted and trans
formed into a garden.
“The basic message this year is
to get out there and learn,” Grimm
said.
The Eugene Water and Electric
Board, a sponsor of the celebra
tion, also plans to participate in
the Earth Action Arenas.
’ Dump
~ continued from page 3B
But the end result is the same
shoals that create one of the most
treacherous river-mouth passages
in the nation. Dredging, which be
gan more than a century ago, re
mains vital to the survival of up
river ports of Kalama, Longview,
Vancouver and Portland.
Dredge ships stick 30-inch di
ameter pipes into the river bottom
and vacuum clean a 6-mile-long
channel to depths ranging from 48
to 55 feet. The work begins anew
each June, and in a typical year it
yields enough sediment to fill
450,000 dump trucks.
"Our primary mission is to
* maintain navigation for all the
commerce coming into the river,"
said Eric Braun, a corps official
v who oversees the river-mouth
dredging. "And we feel we do a
good job at that."
In recent years, corps officials
have recognized the value of river
sands to Washington beaches.
They've focused their dumping in
a shallow "flush zone" that helps
the movement of sand northward.
Known as Site E, the turbulent
two-mile stretch of water has re
ceived the equivalent of 1.5 mil
lion dump-truck loads of sand in
the past four years.
Corps officials say these sedi
ments move north with currents to
help replenish sands on an eroding
submerged fan known as Peacock
Spit. But no one knows how much
sand eventually makes it to shore.
And in an area already infamous
for perilous seas, commercial crab
bers say Site E dumping has
mounded up the bottom, creating
navigational risks for them and
recreational boaters.
"Protection of mariners' lives has
to take precedence over other obli
gations," said Dale Beasley, of the
Columbia River Crab Fishermen's
Associations.
Corps officials say they still plan
to use Site E in the years ahead to
help flush sands north, but the
clash with the crabbers has in
creased pressure to open the new
deep-water site.
The site still needs an official
permit from the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), though
spokesman John Malek says the
agency has decided to approve it.
Corps officials hope the first load
of sand will hit the bottom
this summer.
But the deep-water site also
needs Washington permits. It faces
a tough review by the state Depart
ment of Ecology, which is expect
ed to rule on the permits later this
year. State geologists say little if
any of the sand dumped in deep
water is likely to move north and
wash up on Washington beaches.
The deep-water site also has
‘‘Our primary mission is to
maintain navigation for all
the commerce coming into
the river. And we feel we do
a good job of that.”
Eric Braun
Corps official
drawn scrutiny from state biolo
gists, who say the corps has not
complied with state laws to miti
gate the damage that dumping
causes to crabbing grounds and
other marine resources. That miti
gation typically involves efforts to
improve marine resources in areas
outside the dump zone.
Even with such efforts, they say,
the deep water site is a nutrient
rich area that should never be hit
with dredge sands.
"This is essential fish habitat of
the highest quality, and its conver
sion from a highly productive fine
grained bedlands rich in aquatic
life to a disturbed mound of coarse
sand would be a travesty to the en
vironment and the fisheries it sup
ports," wrote Robert Burkle, a state
Fish and Wildlife biologist, in a
Feb. 6 letter to the state Depart
ment of Ecology.
While state officials review the
deep-ocean permit, coastal com
munities are pressing the corps to
switch directions and get more
dredge sand up on the beach. No
one expects this to halt the coastal
erosion — but they hope to slow
the pace and ease the damage.
Corps officials say their annual
dredging budget — $4.6 million —
leaves little room for expensive
ventures in beach rescues.
But both downstream and up
stream ports have embraced the
idea, and their lobbying efforts yield
ed a $200,000 congressional appro
priation for a pilot project. Another
$300,000 in state money is expected.
© 2002, The Seattle Times.
Earth Day
Celebration Events
11 a.m. —
Opening blessing by Frank Merrill
11 a.m.-2 p.m. —
Free bike registration by the Eugene
Department of Transportation
11 a.m.-1:30p.m. —
Costume-making for the ‘Procession
of All Species’
11:30 a.m.—
Performance by the Edgewood
Evergreen Children's Choir
Spokesman John Mitchell said
EWEB will.have an informational
booth that will focus on renewable
energy sources and conservation,
and it will feature an interactive
display on solar heating and wind
power.
The Lane Regional Air Pollution
Authority will also have a booth to
educate the community and bring
a more holistic awareness to pre
venting pollution. The Toyota
Noon —
Performance by marimba group
Jenaguru
1 p.m. —
Address by Lane County
Commissioner Peter Sorenson
1:30 p.m, —
Performance by melodic rock band
Abandon Ship
2 p.m. —
‘Procession of AH Species’ begins on
Broadway between Olive and
Willamette streets
Prius, an environmentally con
scious car that combines a gas en
gine and electric motor, will be on
display to “represent positive al
ternatives and promote clean air,”
LRAPA public affairs manager Kim
Metzler said.
Environmental Law Alliance
•Worldwide spokeswoman Maggie
Keenan said participating in the
Earth Day celebration will help ed
ucate Eugene citizens about global
2:30 p.m. —
Performance by.The Young
Women’s Theater Collective,
a comedy group
3:30 —
Performance by reggae group
I’Chelle and the Circle of Light
Participants can win free
composting bins during during
drawings to be held at 1 p.m.,
3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Locally and globally created art will
be on display throughout the day.
environmental awareness. E-LAW
will have informational pamphlets
available at its booth.
“All of our work is done outside
the United States,” she said. “This
will be a good way to let people of
Eugene find out about what this
organization is doing around the
world.”
Mikhael Romain is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
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