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Ask any person living in the greater Puget Sound area to list 10 things that make our area special. Puget Sound waters and beaches are sure to be in the top three mentioned. Unfortunately, our waters are facing a grave and urgent threat; the proliferation of commercial Geoduck farming operations on private tidelands, and tidelands owned by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. These operations are frequently self-regulated, and are allowed to spread across our tidelands without benefit of Environmental Impact Studies. As they spread like a cancer across our beautiful Puget Sound beaches, no one really knows for sure what the long term impact and potential devastation will be.
Concerned neighbors on the Key Peninsula have joined together to form the "Mayo Cove Shoreline Association." (MCSA)This association is committed to working together with our state and local goverments to stop the reckless commercialization and destruction of our pristine Puget Sound Beaches.
The photo above shows a small spit located at the opening to picturesque Mayo Cove on the Key Peninsula. At extreme low tides, this spit is just feet from Penrose Point State Park recreational swimming beaches. At high tides, waterskiiers and kayakers are very active near this spit. This is the location where Taylor Shellfish Farms has applied for a Substantial Shoreline Permit with the intention of contructng an Industrial Geoduck Operation approximately 360 feet by 600 feet. We believe that this Industrial Aquaculture Operation will pose a serious threat to the environment and surrounding wildlife. The PVC pipe forest, preditor exclusion nets, rubber bands, large expanse netting, and rebar anchors will pose a very real and serious danger to swimmers, waterskiiers, kayakers, and boaters who visit Penrose State Point Park and Mayo Cove for recreational purposes.
The MCSA does NOT oppose Aquaculture Operations. We DO oppose locating these industrial operations in residential and recreational areas such as Mayo Cove. We DO oppose conducting Industrial Aquaculture Operations without the benefits of an Environmental Impact Study that has been conducted by an impartial party, independent of the Shellfish Industry.
We believe that high intensity commercial/industrial beach farming has historically been conducted in a manner that forces changes in the environment that are highly damaging. We are asking for a moratorium on all Geoduck Farming until an Environmental Impact Study has been completed.
The sign shown in the photo above has become the symbol of our educational outreach to the Key Peninsula community. These signs are placed on private property, only. Property owners who agree to place these signs on their land share our concerns about the future of our beautiful Key Peninsula beaches. Please contact us if you would like a sign to be displayed on your property.
Penrose Point State park is a 152 acre marine and camping park with two miles of saltwater frontage on Mayo Cove and Case Inlet. Park attendance in 2005 was 149,754. The park has 2.5 miles of hiking trails, overnight camping, and boat moorage. Activities include crabbing, clamming,diving, fishing, bird watching, swimming, boating and wildlife viewing. The park's wildlife include seals, otter salmon, shellfish, ducks, eagles, geese, herons, osprey, deer and bear. Penrose is truly a treasure to all. The industrial Geoduck Operation, (Pierce County Permit SD-15-06), a few hundred yards from the Park's main viewing area has the potential to destroy this community treasure. March 28, 2006 Honorable Judge William McPhee upheld a cease and desist order to stop an Industrial Geoduck Operation in Pierce County because it violated the heart of the Shoreline Management Act and Several Pierce County Codes. Primarily, (1) to protect and manage private and public shorelinesof the state, (2) protect public rights of navigation, land, vegitation, and wildlife. Clearly, Penrose Point State Park is a sensitive vegitation and wildlife habitat. Mayo Cove is small and has a delicate ecosystem. Will Pierce County approve geoduck commercial farming Application SD-15-06 in definace of the Pierce County Superior Court ruling? If they do, it will trigger expenditure of our hard earned tax dollars in legal fees. To see a complete court ruling visit the link below.
Case Law Pertaining to Proposed Mayo Cove Geoduck Farm Site
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The Mayo Cove Shoreline Association is a Non-profit Corporation made up of members from all over the United States who are concerned about the uncontrolled growth of the Geoduck Farming Industry, and it's impact on our shorelines. To find out how you can become a member and support our cause, click on the page, "What Can You Do?"
Our organization works in concert with many other similar groups throughout the greater Puget Sound area. One of the groups that we have worked closely with is PROTECT ZANGLE COVE, located near Olympia, Washington. Their website contains a very complete collection of articles which have been published in recent years on the subject of Industrial Geoduck Operations, and the concerns associated with them. Clink on the link below to have a look at this excellent and informative website.
Protect Zangle Cove
Since our inception, the Mayo Cove Shoreline Association has recieved almost daily letters and emails from citizens who are frightened that they may wake up one day to find a Geoduck Farm on or near their own beaches. Many have asked "Won't I see some kind of sign posted along the road so that I know of a pending Geoduck Farm permit application?" The answer should be, "yes", but unfortunately it is, "maybe not." We have seen for ourselves that often the sign is posted in a hidden location that is inaccessible and not viewable by those immediate neighbors who will be most heavily impacted. It is unfortunate, but that is just one way that the Shellfish farms are trying to get the farms in place without public input.
The County requires that the surrounding property owners be informed. In case of the Geoduck Farm now threatening Mayo Cove and Penrose Point State Park, (application SD15-06), only residents within 200 feet of the farm were required to be notified. Since the property where the geoduck farm is being located is a family compound, this severely limited the number of local residents who will be highly impacted from being notified.
As a result of this tactic, our community missed the window of opportunity for public input to Pierce County. However, our letters are still being accepted and included in the Pierce County Planning Department file, and if this permit is allowed to proceed, we will be able to appeal and present our case to the county. That is why we have joined togother to raise the funds for our legal battle, and to support other Puget Sound Communities facing the same type of shoreline destruction.
Do your part to help save the spectacular beaches of Puget Sound and the wildlife that claim these shorelines as their home. Read the pages of this site, and accept our invitation to get involved!
Thank you for visiting our website.
-Mayo Cove Shoreline Association
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