No shucking way

Oyster operation opposition organizes

A local group, Clallam Freedom Alliance, is shell-shocked by the Jamestown Tribe's planned management takeover of the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge ("the Spit" to locals). The Tribe’s plan to manage the refuge includes farming non-native oysters, which will be sold to restaurants and consumers and exported to other countries. Clallam Freedom Alliance has contacted US Fish and Wildlife and plans to meet with their regional director soon to discuss the fate of the wildlife refuge.

The Alliance meets regularly to cover topics like area wells going dry, the oaths taken by local elected officials, and even Supreme Court decisions. However, after learning about the Jamestown Tribe’s plan to manage public lands, the Alliance took on another important issue: the tremendously popular Dungeness Spit being overseen by a sovereign nation for private financial gain.

The Jamestown Tribe plans a 50-acre commercial oyster farming operation within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

Concerns about the Tribe's 50-acre oyster farming operation within the Refuge are not new, but the discovery that management of the entire National Wildlife Refuge will be handed over to the Tribe has reignited the debate. In a letter to Jamestown S'Klallam tribal members, CEO Ron Allen says that the Tribe’s management of the beloved natural attraction north of Sequim will begin this year (the letter has since been removed from the Tribe’s website but is available here). Nowhere in Allen's letter is co-management with any County, State, or Federal Agency discussed.

In 2021, when the Tribe first gained permits to start seeding acres of oyster beds in Dungeness Bay with a non-native species, a flurry of letters hit local newspapers.  Don Lundine's letter to the Sequim Gazette stated that the Army Corps of Engineers admitted: "This private endeavor will negatively impact fish and wildlife use and their populations, benthos, sediment dynamics, eelgrass, and present an undesirable visual impact for the visiting public." 

Lundine said that the Army Corps "also summarized that the applicant will benefit from financial gain, and community jobs ‘may’ be realized, which outweighed the project’s detrimental effects." Lundine argued that the word "may" was an absurd job forecast.  He also said, "Refuge means, in part, to protect and save from harm and intrusion. Oyster farming isn’t that."

Dungeness resident Don Myers pointed out that 2021 was the year plastic bags were banned in Washington, but up to 80,000 plastic bags of oyster spat (larvae) would be submerged in the Refuge as part of the farming process. Environmental groups worry that bags anchored to the ground will reduce bird foraging areas, prevent new growth of native eelgrass, and disrupt the natural habitat on the seabed. They also say there have been instances of wildlife becoming trapped under the plastic mesh bags.

An article by Environmental Health News said, “This plastic is a type of PFAS, the group of chemicals also known as ‘forever chemicals’, able to contaminate the water that the filter-feeding oysters will ingest. This chemical could then move up the food chain to unsuspecting consumers.” 

Synthetic particulates entering our waterways was a concern raised during the Towne Road issue. The once-anonymous Dungeness Levee Trail Advocates (DLTA), an effort first suggested by the Jamestown Tribe to halt the completion of Towne Road, said that rubber tire particulates (called 6PPD-quinone) are deadly to aquatic organisms.

Additionally, a Portland, Oregon-based nongovernmental organization that works closely with tribes contacted Clallam County with the same concerns about synthetic contaminants.

An excerpt from Bonneville Environmental Foundation’s letter to Clallam County.

These special interest groups nearly derailed Towne Road’s completion, and their concerns were upheld by the Jamestown Tribe, which demanded that the County design a stormwater mitigation system that exceeded any agency’s requirements — a costly first for a county road in Washington State.

In 2021, activists warned that the proposed farming site in Dungeness Bay could damage eelgrass beds which provide habitat for forage fish. In turn, forage fish provide food for salmon, a treaty-protected resource for the Jamestown Tribe. Salmon are also a food source for the dwindling southern resident Orca whale population. Three years ago, a local group called "Protect the Peninsula's Future" circulated photographs of what industrial oyster farming could look like on the eelgrass beds of Dungeness Bay.

Industrial oyster beds.

Diverse marine species regularly rest and feed in the Refuge, and some are threatened or endangered, so certain rules are currently in place to prevent humans from interfering with wildlife. The landward side of the spit, where the oyster farming operation would be, is currently off-limits to human activity, while pets, bicycles, jogging, kite flying, frisbees, flying machines, and ball-playing are prohibited anywhere in the Refuge.

Wildlife enthusiasts say that commercial oyster farming vessels would disrupt Dungeness Bay’s fragile ecosystem. Noise pollution from workers, boats, and equipment may cause marine animal health issues and potential abandonment of foraging and nesting sites. They argue that if jogging and frisbees disturb wildlife, commercial vessels and combustion engines will, too.

Likewise, the Jamestown Tribe also has concerns about human activity disrupting nature.  In a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers criticizing Clallam County's plan to monitor stormwater, the Tribe's Natural Resources Director Hansi Hals wrote, "Since the restoration project, wildlife observations are frequent, particularly of waterfowl and songbirds.  On the same day, Virginia Rail, Sora Rail and American Bittern were all observed!  The study of road generated pollutants' negative interactions with aquatic species and best management strategies is emerging."

A commercial oyster farming vessel in Penn Cove off Whidbey Island.

In a letter to County Commissioners, the Tribe wanted Towne Road to remain closed so the roadbed could serve as an "outdoor classroom."  The Refuge could also be considered an outdoor classroom since school children take field trips to the Spit to learn about the region's marine ecosystem.  The Refuge also attracts visitors from worldwide who want to learn about the northwest’s flora and fauna.

The proposed oyster farming location could negatively impact the experience of 100,000 visitors who come to the Refuge annually and, in turn, boost the region’s economy. Tourists may be turned off by the visual pollution of up to 80,000 plastic mesh bags, and they may not enjoy the noise that boats and workers make or the reduction in wildlife that has been driven away. 

Locals say if, according to the Tribe, a 0.6-mile stretch of roadway needs to be closed to serve as an outdoor classroom, then the Tribe’s 50-acre oyster farm in a wildlife refuge should also be scrutinized.

Three years ago, oyster farming opponents appealed to Hilary Franz, the Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands, to deny the lease sought by the Jamestown Tribe. The lease was approved, but the scope of work is still being negotiated. However, Franz is now leaving her elected position. Currently, State Senator Kevin Van de Wege is running for land commissioner. He's been endorsed by the Jamestown Tribe, which has already contributed $4,800 to his campaign.  

Van de Wege has found a loyal supporter in the Jamestown Tribe while rising up the ranks. They have donated over $11,000 for his state representative, state senator, and land commissioner races. If Van de Wege wins the land commissioner seat, the Tribe could have someone in Olympia who favors the Tribe’s role in managing and commercially farming the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge.

With Towne Road finally nearing completion, county residents hesitate to partner with the Jamestown Tribe again. From the onset of the Dungeness Floodplain Restoration Project, the Tribe wanted Towne Road terminated, but the project was designed, engineered, constructed, and funded to keep the road connecting Dungeness to Sequim as it had for over a century. 

In 2022, when the Tribe sabotaged the project by removing the old dike before the new levee was constructed, the goal of closing Towne Road was achieved. This resulted in an astounding financial cost to Clallam County Taxpayers and compromised the safety and well-being of Dungeness residents.  Money allocated to reopen Towne Road was funneled to the Tribe, effectively defunding the road’s completion for over two years. 

Residents never imagined that the County’s partnership with the Tribe would result in the closure and attempted confiscation of a public road. Two and a half years later, people wonder if the Tribe will put public interests ahead of its own when managing the Refuge. While transparency in federal agencies like USFW is required by law, sovereign nations like the Jamestown Tribe have no obligation to open their records for public viewing.

The Jamestown Tribe already has four other shellfish projects, and activists say that one of the nation’s most revered and pristine refuges is not the appropriate location for a fifth. With over 250 species of birds, 41 species of land mammals, and eight species of marine mammals, President Woodrow Wilson established the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge over a century ago to provide a “refuge, preserve and breeding ground for native birds and prohibit any disturbance of the birds within the reserve." President Wilson wanted the public to have a wildlife refuge, not a commercial aquaculture operation. 

This month, the Clallam Freedom Alliance, led by Sequim resident Rose Marschall, opened dialogue with both the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Director in Falls Church, Virginia, and the Regional Director in Portland, Oregon. Marschall has asked that the finalization of the agreement between USFW and the Jamestown Tribe be postponed until her group has reviewed it and a meeting is held to discuss management details.

If you want to learn more about the Clallam Freedom Alliance’s investigation into the Jamestown Tribe’s management and commercial oyster operations in the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, contact Marschall at rosemarschall@gmail.com. You can also sign the Alliance’s petition, which calls for postponing the Refuge’s handover to the Jamestown Tribe, by clicking here.

Clallam County Watchdog wishes to thank subscriber Diane Hood and we value her willingness to share the research she has collected since 2021. Her involvement in local issues enriches and inspires the Watchdog community.