The News Tribune from Tacoma, Washington • 14

B6 TUESDAY MARCH 2 2004 THE NEWS TRIBUNE How to make whale-watching better for the whale? accelerating some distance away might exceed that of slow-moving boats rumbling alongside the whales Ford said "I think there is a need for ongoing consideration of this issue and experimentation with different boats" he said More federal officers might be seen on the water this year than at any previous time said Brad Vinish assistant agent in charge for NOAA Fisheries in Seattle The agency enforces the Marine Mammal Protection Act which prohibits of whales generally considered anything that forces a change in an animal's behavior The last citation issued on the whether boats should stay on a parallel course with the whales or race ahead and turn off the motor Technically given appropriate distances both actions are in compliance "It's quite a complex said John Ford a killer whale expert with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans "It depends on the number of boats the kind of boats the size of boats" Some Canadian operators coming down from Victoria in high-speed infla tables prefer to get far ahead and sit quietly as the whales pass by The screaming noise of boats Act and listed as "endangered" in Canada While scientists say toxic chemicals in the water have harmed the whales some suggest that intense whale-watching might also be causing problems by disturbing their feeding and social interaction Officials on both sides of the border have already agreed on a basic set of guidelines that are handed out to boaters "We give people the Kari Koski coordinator of the boater education program SoundWatch "When that doesn't work we can hand it over to enforcement" But there is debate about Barre a marine mammal specialist with NO A A Fisheries of our groups are trying to keep informed and head down the same road in terms of recovery actions and management efforts" Barre told The Sun of Bremerton During summer months dozens of commercial whalewatching boats and private craft follow killer whales in US and Canadian waters near the San Juan Islands from morning through night A recent decline in the orca population has heightened concerns about the whales now designated as "depleted" under the Marine Mammal Protection RrattlP Continued from B1 David Bramc fatally shot his wife and killed himself last April No criminal charges were filed but city officials agreed to a civil investigation into what state Attorney General Christine Gregoire called a "troubling administrative culture" in the police department The investigation is focused on 32 current and former city employees not all of whom worked in the police department Nearly all have been interviewed Lamoreaux said but he declined to say how many interviews remain Eight members of Local 26 have refused to talk to State Patrol investigators until their contract dispute is settled Langford said When the investigation began then-State Patrol Chief Ronal Scrpas said he expected it would be completed in two months or so Lamoreaux said State Patrol officials hope to have "those parts '1 Sfc-V shore populations of orcas might fill the gap if southern residents went extinct "I think the federal government has to use tortured logic not to list the said Fred Felleman director of the Friday Harbor-based Orca Conservancy one group that filed the lawsuit that led to Lasnik's ruling Because southern residents don't breed with other killer whales they are genetically distinct and thus meet the threshold for Endangered Species Act protection Felleman said statement Bill Thomas vice president for administrative services said the college will spend about $38 million of the proceeds from the sale of the radio station to pay off the debt on its television broadcast facility on South 19th Street It will use the other $12 million to replenish reserve funds and buy equipment he said Susan Harmon managing director of Public Radio Capital lauded the college's decision to seek another public radio buyer for KBTC She said the decision will benefit South Sound listeners and KEXP "It really gets this format out to a new Harmon said David Wickerc 253-274-7341 david wkknKFmailtrihnrLcom 0 12 MONTH CD Marine Fisheries Service ruled the southern residents did not warrant Endangered Species Act protectum because they were not a "significant population Federal officials said they based their decision on the best available science but environmentalists cried foul saying NMFS relied on a species classification that dates back to the mid-1700s Last December US District Judge Robert Lasnik of Seattle ordered NMFS to reconsider its decision rejecting the notion that transient off scenes for talented musicians Mara said Tb celebrate its South Sound debut the station will broadcast live from Tacoma's Java Jive on March 12 and Kitchen on March 13 Mara said unclear whether the station will maintain any studio facilities in Tacoma Bates decided to sell KBTC to concentrate its broadcast programs and raise money The college has dropped its radio broadcasting program but increased offerings in audio and sound technology and other areas "Selling the station allows us to better focus on training students in our public television operation as well as on the overall education mission of the said Bates interim President Lilbum Horton Jr in a prepared FIRST Pacific Federal Other torn and HIGHER HELDS available IIMOt SayMil ta my py AmmmI YMSifltomaiit CD mm4 by FDfC MayiflMkmi EMywMdmml pmymwy 253 2702 Tacoma Mai US side of the border was in 1996 when a Gig Harbor float' plane owner taxied his aircraft up to a pod of killer whales In 2002 Canadian authorities cited a US I whale-watch operator for follow- ing a pod of killer whales too closely That was one of 10 cita- tions Canada has issued since' 1995 The "southern residents" that swim in waters off Washington state include 84 whales that make up three pods That's down from a historical high of more than 120 in the I960 before the whales were captured in large numbers for display at marine parks of the investigation that authorized or allowed to continue on" wrapped up within a matter of weeks But he cautioned the investigation could take longer once his investigators talk to members of Local 26 Whatever they have to say could lead to further interviews he explained Suite Patrol investigators put in 2600 hours on the issue between Dec 3 and Feb IS including 518 overtime hours Lamoreaux said The city has a $200000 contract with the agency for the investigation but the patrol is charging only for overtime hours per diem travel costs and other expenses such as transcription fees Lamoreaux said The city was billed just over $I6JXX) for work it did at the end of last year Patrol officials haven't completed their expense reports for January but early estimates set that bill around $9000 or so Lamoreaux said Bills for February are still being compiled Kris Sherman: 2S3-SV7-M59 riishrimen tFmail Irihnrt am Replace Your Well Throw In The i Kitchen Sink 1 NmiS fvoupn A acMafffE "aassw ragataaft -jfe Orca stress: As first step Canada US agree on basic guidelines for boats Tw Ahocmiid Pms BREMERTON and Canadian officials are trying to agree on ways whale-watching boats can lighten the stress load on orcas swimming in Puget Sound and nearby waters Informal talks involving biologists educators and enforcement officers have hinged on which boat maneuvers disturb the whales the most and how various noises affect them said Lynne Orcas Continued from B1 the orcas' main source of food as well as accumulations of PCBs and other toxic chemicals in the water and stress from whalewatching boats and other vessels The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission a nine-member citizens panel that sets policy for the Department of Fish and Wildlife is expected to take action on proposal at KBTC Continued from B1 in the business to serve said Torn Mara executive director of the nonprofit Friends of KEXP "We're not in business to return profits to Bates announced in 2002 it was negotiating the sale of KBTC to Public Radio Capital The company helps broker the sale of publicly owned radio stations with the goal of diversifying programming on the airwaves PRC will buy KBTC which broadcasts on 91 7 FM and convert its call letters to KXOT PRC will contract with KEXP to provide the same programming cur Radios Continued from B1 The warning system that uses weather radios had been talked about as the only effective system in the area but neither the state nor Pierce County had been able to afford it The small upper Nisqually communities are too close to the mountain to install a sensor-based warning and siren system used for the Puyallup River valley according to Jody Woodcock spokeswoman for Pierce County Emergency Management For a similar sensor system for upper Nisqually communities a monitor would have to be placed too dose to the source of a possible lahar to be effective In fact it would be so close it would pick up harmless vibrations and normal glacial melts as possible la-hars creating many false alarms Woodcock said The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio is a nationwide network of stations broadcasting 24-hour weather information The network also broadcasts National Weather Service warnings watches forecasts and other information Such a weather radio system for the El be-Ash ford area communities became realistic after the National Weather Service partnered with South Sound Broadcasting which built a radio tower on Capital Peak near Olympia in 2002 The weather agency installed a transmitter on the tower last summer said Ted Buehner warning coordinator meteorologist for the Weather Service Radio waves from regular stations often do not reach the upper Nisqually foothills communities and neither do cellular phone signals The NOAA radios cost about $30 apiece Regular AMFM radios cannot pick up the network's high-frequency broadcasts And private broadcasting companies FOR INSURANCE CALL- its April 1-3 meeting in Spokane A state listing would trigger a recovery plan that would guide efforts to protect the killer whales Southern resident orcas are listed as "depleted" under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act which also requires a recovery plan for the species Rocky Beach a Fish and Wildlife spokesman said the agency would also work closely with Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials in Canada where the orca is listed as endangered In June 2002 the US National rently broadcast on the Seattle station rather than sticking with the "classic format of KBTC EXP's programming currently cannot be heard on the air in the South Sound KEXP was named the best radio station in Seattle last year by readers of The Seattle Weekly It broadcasts programs devoted to such diverse styles as rockabilly world pop country and reggae Mara said the station does not use play lists relying instead on its disc jockeys to play diverse music while answering the phones and operating equipment "I like to say we have the hardest-working DJs in the he said The station also promotes local artists and expects to tap the Tacoma and Olympia music are not required to send emergency signals on their frequencies except for monthly test and national emergency messages Emergency alert signals broadcast over the network in Ashford and Elbe would be like the system used for tornado warnings in the Midwest and hurricane warnings on the East Coast Last month the fire district sent out notices to property owners within the district telling them to stop by the fire station in Ashford to pick up the radios said fire commissioner Steve Miller So far residents have picked up more than 200 radios he said And the National Wbather Service in Seattle has been testing the system weekly Every Wednesday sometime between 1 1 am and 1 pm the agency sends out an emergency alert signal which activates the weather radios The beeps are followed by an announcement that it is a test "It's 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