The Obama administration is proposing a new regulation to address land-into-trust appeals in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Salazar v. Patchak.
In Patchak, the Supreme Court ruled that opponents can sue the Bureau of Indian Affairs for up to six years after the land is placed in trust. As a result, the administration says it is no longer necessary to wait 30 days for any appeals.
“Specifically, this rule deletes the 30-day waiting period for implementation of decisions to acquire land in trust after such decisions are final for the [Interior] Department,” a forthcoming notice in the Federal Register states.
“Following the Patchak decision, this 30-day waiting period is now unnecessary because parties may seek, to the extent it is available, judicial review of the Secretary’s decision … even after the land is acquired by the United States in trust,” the notice states.
Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn, the head of the BIA, said the new regulation will bring more clarity to the land-into-trust process. Tribes are invited to submit comments.
“The principal purpose of this proposed rule is to provide greater certainty to tribes in their ability to develop lands acquired in trust for purposes such as housing, schools and economic development,” Washburn said in a press release. “For such acquisitions, the proposed rule will create a ‘speak now or forever hold your peace moment’ in the land-into-trust process. If parties do not appeal the decision within the administrative appeal period, tribes will have the peace of mind to begin development without fear that the decision will be later overturned.”
Dan Bates / Herald file photo, 2009 Rob Fuller (left) and Andrew Eaton, both of Marysville, cast for sturgeon from the dock at Ebey Waterfront Park in Marysville in October 2009. Marysville has received a federal grant to help fund cleanup near the park.
Marysville is one of eight communities in the region receiving a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to assist with the Ebey waterfront marina land cleanup.
The $200,000 cleanup grant would be used to remediate the contaminated ground on the city-owned marina property at 1326 First St., just west of Ebey Waterfront Park.
The marina property contains waterfront chemicals and pollutants common to timber industry and marine operations that have existed since the late 1800s. Grant funds also will be used to conduct groundwater monitoring and support community involvement activities.
The grants help revitalize former industrial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use.
The EPA previously awarded the city a grant in May 2009 to clean up the Crown Pacific mill site at 60 State Ave. on the waterfront just east of State Avenue. The grant will be issued on Oct. 1, but hiring a consultant to develop a cleanup plan that meets approval of the state Department of Ecology and the EPA means that it could be 2015 before actual work starts, city officials said.
Long-term plans as identified in the city’s 2009 Downtown Master Plan would see Ebey waterfront redeveloped with trails, apartments or condominiums and some commercial development.
No specific plans have been decided for the marina site.
Raymond Foxworth, Indian Country Today Media Network
There is a thriving movement in Indian country focused on food sovereignty and increased control of local food systems. Like other assets in Indian country, Native food systems have been colonized, altered and, in some cases, destroyed. Today, many Native communities have taken an active role in reclaiming control of their local food system, taking a deeper examination of where food in their community comes from, looking at dollars that leave the reservation on food products, attempting to increase access to fresh and healthy foods, increase agricultural economic development activities for communities and individuals, and develop tribal policies that promote Native food sovereignty. Despite this thriving movement, however, a new federal law may potentially stall the progress of food systems work occurring in Indian country.
The Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law in January 2011 and is the most sweeping reform in U.S. food safety laws in more than 70 years. The Act will shift federal regulation from simply responding to food contamination to a more concentrated effort at prevention of food contamination in the U.S. food chain. No doubt this well-intentioned law is aimed at limiting instances of food-borne illnesses and disease and also is connected to domestic national security concerns.
For more than two years, the FDA has delayed implementation of this act, extending public comment on numerous occasions, with the most recent extension until September 16, 2013. While they have extended public comment, they have yet to engage or consult Native nations or communities.
The proposed federal regulations should raise concerns for Native nations that have developed agricultural enterprises and supportive infrastructure to support tribal individuals engaged in agricultural activities. The developing regulations of the law, albeit still vague and murky, signal increasing importance on labeling, traceability and food-handling standards, and also increased emphasis on potentially costly licensing and inspection. Language of the law also signals funding to increase the capacity of state regulatory agencies, but does not include capacity development language for tribes. Moreover, the law also calls for increased monitoring, inspection and regulation from state agencies, potentially infringing on tribal sovereignty for those Native nations engaged in agriculture production and distribution.
While the FDA has heard from some small scale farmers and producers, Indian Country has been virtually ignored in the development of these regulations. There is no doubt that food safety is an issue of concern for all Americans, including First Americans. But the creation of such sweeping federal legislation while bypassing normal channels of tribal consultation and input raises numerous concerns for tribes, organizations and individuals doing important work related to food sovereignty and food system control in Indian Country.
It is important that Native communities begin to examine the FSMA and analyze the potential implications and costs for Native communities, businesses and producers. Moreover, tribes should also begin to provide public comment on the Act and also demand tribal consultation.
To learn more about the FMSA and potential implications for Native communities and producers, you can access a recorded webinar hosted by First Nations Development Institute at FirstNations.org/fnk. To learn more about the FSMA, you can visit Fda.gov/FSMA.
Raymond Foxworth, Navajo, is Senior Program Officer at First Nations Development Institute. Raymond oversees the Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (NAFSI), a program that works with Native nations and organizations on issues related to increasing Native food system control.
Now comes our season of daylight low tides, and the pleasure of beach walks. Volunteer naturalists with the Seattle Aquarium have kicked off a season of naturalist-led walks on beaches all over Puget Sound, beginning over Memorial Day weekend.
Alan Berner / The Seattle Times A -3.3 low tide draws beach explorers to Constellation Park in West Seattle on Saturday for one of the lowest of the year.
As spring waxes to summer, our season of daylight low tides is under way, revealing wonders of Puget Sound right at our feet.
Volunteer naturalists from the Seattle Aquarium over the Memorial Day weekend kicked off a series of low-tide beach walks offered all over the Puget Sound area. The walks will continue through July, and some of the best low tides are yet to come.
On Sunday, the Sound waters slid down the clean, gray sand at the aquatic reserve at the Constellation Park Marine Reserve at Alki. Clams jetted their silvery squirts, and jet-black crows strutted the tide flats, probing for tasty morsels. The pearly light and hush-shush of the tide made this stretch of beach feel far away from the bustle of Alki’s commercial strip, just around the point.
The signature scent of low tide — tangy saltwater and algae — and a cooling breeze off the water beckoned visitors to come under the spell of another world: the intertidal zone, usually out of our reach, but right there to explore during a -3.6 low tide.
Sea stars clung fiercely to the rocks, their soda-pop purple color contrasting with the bright-red shells of rock crabs. Their diminutive size belies pincer power 10 times the might of Dungeness crabs.
The smooth, curved gray collars of moon snail shell egg casings lay amid jade-green eel grass and heaps of nubby, bronze algae aptly named Turkish towel for its pot-scrubber texture.
Everywhere was the sound of children’s laughter as they peeked under rocks and into tide pools. Oliver Straley’s eyes got big as Craig “Mac” MacGowan, a retired Seattle teacher, put a nudibranch in Straley’s wetted palm.
He gently touched the shell-less mollusk with a wetted finger, then carefully replaced it on the clean, gray sand. “It was sort of slimy,” said Straley, 9. “Gooey and soft. It was cool!”
His sister Georgia, 10, was just as enthralled. “We saw sun stars and clam shells and moon snails,” she said. “I like finding different stuff that I wouldn’t normally see.”
That went for the adults, too.
“This place is so rich in life,” MacGowan said. “And we didn’t even touch a fraction of it. This is a rocky beach. But there’s also sand, mud, all of it’s different. There are more different types of animals on these beaches than there are people in Seattle. No matter where you go, it’s all good, you just have to get out and look at it.”
Volunteer naturalist Rebecca Gamboa said she has been leading walks on Seattle beaches for years, partly just to make sure she gets outside herself.
“We’ve had people come on walks say they’ve lived here 25 years and didn’t even know this existed,” Gamboa said. “I’ve met third- and fourth-graders who say it’s their first time at the beach.
“It’s a huge opportunity to see a whole new world.”
Low-tide walks with naturalists
Free beach walks occur during low tides throughout June and July at Richmond Beach Park, Carkeek Park, Golden Gardens Park, Constellation Park/South Alki, Lincoln Park, Seahurst Park and Des Moines Beach Park, and even Blake Island.
Look for trained, volunteer beach naturalists courtesy of the Seattle Aquarium in red hats at the beaches.
Gov. Jay Inslee announces that temporary I-5 spans should be in place over the Skagit River by mid-June, with permanent repairs complete this fall
Associated Press A collapsed section of the I-5 bridge over the Skagit River is seen in an aerial view Friday. Part of the bridge collapsed Thursday evening, sending cars and people into the water when a an oversized truck hit the span.
By Mike Baker and Manuel Valdes, Associated Press
SEATTLE — Federal investigators used 3-D laser scans Sunday to study what remained of a collapsed Washington state bridge as Gov. Jay Inslee announced temporary spans will be installed across the Skagit River within weeks — if plans go well.
Sunday’s announcement comes a day after the chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board called last week’s I-5 bridge collapse a wake-up call to the state of safety of the nation’s infrastructure and the Saturday destruction of a highway overpass in Missouri that was struck by a cargo train.
The I-5 collapse, caused by a semi-truck carrying an oversize load striking the bridge, fractured one of the major trade and travel corridors on the West Coast. The interstate connects the state with Canada, which is about an hour north of Mount Vernon, where the bridge buckled.
After the collapse, semi-trucks, travel buses and cars clogged local bridges as traffic was diverted through the small cities around the bridge. But overall, traffic was flowing as well as expected during the holiday weekend.
“We’re going to get this project done as fast as humanly possible,” Inslee, a Democrat, said Sunday. “There are no more important issue right now to the economy of the state of Washington than getting this bridge up and running.”
Inslee said he hopes the temporary spans, each with two lanes for northbound and southbound traffic, will be finished in about three weeks’ time or about mid-June. The spans will be pre-built and trucked to Mount Vernon.
The state plan also calls for a permanent span to be built and competed by autumn, officials said.
Officials say there are remaining inspections to the spans left standing to make sure they are safe to use.
The federal government is expected to cover 100 percent of the costs of the temporary bridge and 90 percent the replacement, said state Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson.
The temporary span would be able to carry regular-sized cargos as well as cars. The speed limit would be lower than the 60 miles per hour allowed previously.
Barges arrived this weekend at the river with equipment ready to remove the mangled steel, pavement and cars in the water.
On Thursday, a semi-truck carrying an oversize load clipped a steel truss, starting the collapse of the span and sending cars and people into the cold river waters, authorities said. The three people in the cars survived with non-life threatening injuries.
An investigation by The Associated Press suggests similar accidents could happen elsewhere. Thousands of bridges around the U.S. are kept standing by engineering design, rather than sheer size or redundant protections. Such spans may be one freak accident or mistake away from collapse.
Bridge regulators call them “fracture critical” bridges, because if a single, vital component is compromised, they can crumple.
NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Hersman said such bridges and other kinds of bridges around the nation should be looked at.
“The wake-up call is really to focus on how important our infrastructure is to our nation, certainly for our commerce and keeping communities vibrant and connected,” she said Sunday, adding that when important decisions are made about infrastructure, safety should have “a seat at the table.”
Hersman said on Sunday said the bridge had withstood other over height collisions with vehicles in the past, with the most recent reported collision happening last October. She said evidence of other collisions can be seen in the spans still standing over the water.
Hersman also said a second truck with a similar cargo was traveling behind the truck involved in the collision. She said investigators are inspecting that cargo and truck to take measurements. The truck involved in the collision has also been moved off the highway on-ramp where it has been parked since Thursday.
Hersman also said investigators have traveled to Alberta, Canada to inspect the trucking company’s records.
The NTSB head also said that if the truck had been on the left lane of the southbound lanes, it likely would have cleared the bridge without a collision, but added that more precise measurements need to be taken. The bridge’s height clearance varies across it.
“We know the company was required to establish that they could clear the entire route,” Hersman said.
The truck’s cargo from Canada was headed to Alaska. Its plan was to load the cargo onto a barge in Vancouver, Wash., about 275 miles south of the border crossing. Hersman said she didn’t know why the plan called to use a port a couple of hundred miles away from other ports.
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Associated Press Donna Gordon Blankinship contributed to this report.
BUSINESS JOURNAL PHOTO | Karen D The reception desk at the Tulalip Resort and Casino, with Shaelei Lucas (left) and Laureen Guzman. Twenty percent of the resort’s business – excluding the casino – comes out of Canada, but most of the casino business comes from Marysville, Everett and Seattle, areas that still have access to the Tulalip, albeit a route that could be clogged with traffic now.
Rachel Lerman, Puget Sound Business Journal
The Tulalip Resort and Casino and The Outlet Shoppes at Burlington, two of the biggest tourism and retail destinations in northwestern Washington, scrambled to spread the word of alternate driving routes and hoped for the best as they headed into the Memorial Day weekend knowing I-5 had been severed by the Skagit River bridge collapse.
“It’s gonna impact us to a degree out of Canada for sure,” said Ken Kettler, president and chief operating officer of the Tulalip Resort and Casino.
Kettler said 20 percent of the resort’s business – excluding the casino – comes out of Canada, but most of the casino business comes from Marysville, Everett and Seattle, areas that still have access to the Tulalip, albeit a route that could be clogged with traffic now.
The resort is using social media to make sure people have directions for alternate routes, Kettler said, and it may have to increase marketing in areas to the south if the northward impact grows bigger than they expect.
At The Outlet Shoppes at Burlington, Memorial Day is the kickoff to the summer shopping season, and the first of three major sales during the summer.
Mall managers are working with the Mt. Vernon Chamber of Commerce to help inform and reassure potential customers. Canadians should know that they can drive to the mall without passing the bridge collapse, which is south of the mall, said Gina Slechta, vice president of marketing for Horizon Group Properties, which owns the mall. And people in Mt. Vernon and surrounding areas can take alternate routes, Slechta said.
SPOKANE — The vice chairman of the Spokane Tribe has resigned under pressure from tribal members.
The Spokesman-Review reported that Rodney W. Abrahamson resigned Thursday.
Abrahamson had been convicted of five misdemeanors after he illegally killed two bison north of Yellowstone National Park in February. Montana wildlife agents say he lied about his identity and claimed to be a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, which has treaty rights to hunt bison.
The Spokane Tribe’s constitution said council members cannot remain in office if convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving dishonesty. Abrahamson was convicted of obstruction as a result of providing a false identity.
After he refused to resign, some tribal members launched a recall effort.
A special election will be held in June to select his replacement.
Memorial Day is the day set aside to honor men and women who have fallen while serving in the U.S. military.
Its origins date back to the Civil War, when it was known as Decoration Day. The solemn holiday has been observed on the last Monday in May since 1971.
Here are some of the events occurring in Snohomish County in honor of the holiday:
Edmonds: The Edmonds Memorial Cemetery is hosting a Memorial Day Observance at 11 a.m. Monday between 100th Avenue W and 15th Street SW. The one-hour event is set to feature a presentation by Tom Hallums, member of the VFW Post No. 8870 and a Korean War veteran. Program includes refreshments, a rifle salute and self-guided tours of the cemetery. Seating is limited and people are encouraged to bring their own folding chairs. For more information, contact Dale Hoggins, Cemetery Board member at 425-776-1543.
Everett: Flowers will be placed at gravesites by the Snohomish County Centeral Memorial Committee at 11 a.m. Monday at Evergreen Cemetery, 4504 Broadway, Everett. This year’s service is dedicated to Vietnam veterans. A luncheon is planned from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at Fleet Reserve Association Branch 170, 6802 Beverly Blvd., Everett. Meatloaf is on the menu. Cost $5.
Everett: Pearl Harbor survivor Ray Wans plans to give a speech about his experience at 11 a.m. today at the Grace Lutheran Church, 8401 Holly Drive. The event serves as a Memorial Day remembrance and a barbecue follows the service.
Everett: The Flying Heritage Collection plans to host its second annual Tankfest Northwest at 10 a.m. Monday at Paine Field, 3407 109th St. SW. There will be tanks, artillery, treats and activities for children. Cost is $12 for adults and $8 for youth. Veterans enter free.
Lynnwood: 11 a.m. Monday, Lynnwood Veterans Park at 44th Avenue W and 194th Street SW. There will be bagpipes music and a flag ceremony. Event organized by the VFW Post No. 1040. More information at 425-774-7416
Marysville: American Legion Post 178 of Marysville is hosting its annual Memorial Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday, Marysville cemetery, 8801 State Ave. with speakers and honor guard. After the service, the legion hosts an open house with a light lunch from noon to 2 p.m. at 119 Cedar Ave, in Marysville. Both events are free. There will be also a display of 230 veteran’s burial flags done by legion members, cemetery staff and community partners all weekend. For more information, call the cemetery at 360-659-5762, 360-722-7825 or go to americanlegion178wa.cfsites.org.
Mukilteo: A brief Memorial Day ceremony is planned for 11 a.m. Monday at Pioneer Cemetery, 513 Webster St.
A selection of patriotic music will be performed by the MPC Brass under the direction of Rob Coe. Members of VFW Post 2100, under the command of Donald Wischmann, will present and retire the colors. Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine is scheduled to offer remarks. Master of ceremonies Christopher Summitt, an expert on the history of the cemetery, will dress as pioneer Jacob Fowler, one the first people to be buried in the cemetery in 1892. The free event is sponsored by the Mukilteo Historical Society.
Stanwood: Frank H. Hancock American Legion Post 92 plans to hold its Memorial Day Observance at 11 a.m. Monday at Anderson Cemetery, 7370-7816 Pioneer Highway, Stanwood.
Festival provides access to recreation, history and music
By Gale Fiege, the Herald
DARRINGTON — People headed out to the woods or the North Cascades for Memorial Day weekend are encouraged to stop by Darrington Day.
The free annual event celebrates the area’s history, culture and outdoor activities with live music, tours and exhibits. Darrington Day is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Make your first stop at the information booth in front of the Darrington IGA grocery store, 1090 Seeman St., just off Highway 530. There, you can pick up maps, schedules and information about hiking trails.
Ask about the opening of the Old Sauk Trail, which offers a 1.3-mile stroll on a wheelchair-accessible trail through the lush forest along the Sauk River. A ribbon-cutting for the new trail is set for 10 a.m. Another ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. celebrates the completion of a refurbished shed that protects five ancient Sauk-Suiattle dugout canoes. The shed is located across the highway from Forest Service’s Darrington Ranger District office, 1405 Emens Ave. N.
History is big in Darrington. People can take the self-guided history and trivia tour around town and see the Forest Fire Lookout display at the Cascade Senior Center, 1115 Darrington St. Watch a slideshow about the Green Mountain Forest Fire Lookout, which is 80 years old this summer. In addition, the Forest Fire Lookout Association plans to display models of lookouts throughout the country and be on hand to talk about restoring the nearby North Mountain Lookout.
Adventure Cascades, a new outdoors guide business along the highway, plans an open house at 1055 Seeman St. People can enter a raffle to win a rafting trip for two. Mountain Loop Books and Coffee, 1085 Darrington St., has author Eric Erickson scheduled until 2 p.m. to sign his book, “Mile Post, a History of the Arlington-Darrington Branch of The Northern Pacific Railway, 1899 to 2009.”
From noon to late in the afternoon, people can enjoy live music in Old School Park, 1026 Alvord St, while browsing booths with work by local artists. Whitehorse Musicians Guild and the Darrington Bluegrass Association offer traditional local bluegrass, and several folk, blues and classic rock bands are scheduled.
This is a Call to Action for a Non-Hierarchical Occupation of Monsanto Everywhere
Source: Occupy-monsanto.com
5/25, 2 p.m. EST, Everywhere.
Seattle info: It’s time to take back our food. It’s time to March Against Monsanto! Schedule:
– 11:00 am Rally at Westlake Park
– 12:30 pm March to Gates Foundation
– 1:15 pm Rally at Gates Foundation
– 1:45 pm Continue March to Seattle Center
– 2:00 pm Disperse at Seattle Center & Folklife
Whether you like it or not, chances are Monsanto contaminated the food you ate today with chemicals and unlabeled GMOs. Monsanto controls much of the world’s food supply at the expense of food democracy worldwide. This site is dedicated to empowering citizens of the world to take action against Monsanto & it’s enablers like the FDA, USDA, EPA, GMA, BIO, and the processed food companies that use Monsanto’s products.
We urge you to help organize and attend the closest March Against Monsanto taking place on Saturday, May 25, 2013!
Why do we march?
Research studies have shown that Monsanto’s genetically-modified foods can lead to serious health conditions such as the development of cancer tumors, infertility and birth defects.
In the United States, the FDA, the agency tasked with ensuring food safety for the population, is steered by ex-Monsanto executives, and we feel that’s a questionable conflict of interests and explains the lack of government-lead research on the long-term effects of GMO products.
Recently, the U.S. Congress and president collectively passed the nicknamed “Monsanto Protection Act” that, among other things, bans courts from halting the sale of Monsanto’s genetically-modified seeds.
For too long, Monsanto has been the benefactor of corporate subsidies and political favoritism. Organic and small farmers suffer losses while Monsanto continues to forge its monopoly over the world’s food supply, including exclusive patenting rights over seeds and genetic makeup.
Monsanto’s GMO seeds are harmful to the environment; for example, scientists have indicated they have caused colony collapse among the world’s bee population.
What are solutions we advocate?
Voting with your dollar by buying organic and boycotting Monsanto-owned companies that use GMOs in their products.
Labeling of GMOs so that consumers can make those informed decisions easier.
Repealing relevant provisions of the US’s “Monsanto Protection Act.”
Calling for further scientific research on the health effects of GMOs.
Holding Monsanto executives and Monsanto-supporting politicians accountable through direct communication, grassroots journalism, social media, etc.
Continuing to inform the public about Monsanto’s secrets.
Taking to the streets to show the world and Monsanto that we won’t take these injustices quietly.
We will not stand for cronyism. We will not stand for poison.
That’s why we March Against Monsanto.
