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Press Release
For Immediate Publication
June 28, 2004
The Hood Canal Coalition and the Sierra Club are
delighted to announce that the Cascade Chapter
of Sierra Club has voted to formally join the
Hood Canal Coalition as a member organization.
Since the Sierra Club has a “one club” policy,
when any Chapter joins another organization, the
entire Sierra Club becomes a member.
The Sierra Club is America’s oldest, largest,
and most influential grassroots environmental
organization. Inspired by nature, the club
works together with others to protect our
communities and the planet. The Cascade Chapter
is the body within the Club that organizes and
supports grassroots conservation efforts within
Washington State.
The Hood Canal Coalition is a local grassroots
citizens group with nearly 2400 individual
members and 55 supporting organizations. Its
purpose is to defend Hood Canal the surrounding
environment and the Hood Canal Bridge from a
planned industrial port facility. If approved,
huge ships and barges would transit the Hood
Canal Bridge and load gravel at the port.
The so-called pit to pier project includes a
massive 1100-foot long pier, 9 stories tall with
a 900-foot moorage. The largest barges would be
an acre in size – larger than any ever operated
in Puget Sound. The ships would be
approximately 750-feet long, capable of hauling
60,000 tons of gravel.
Pollution of Hood Canal would be a direct
consequence of this undesirable and irrational
project. Potential collisions and traffic jams
at the Hood Canal Bridge would threaten the
lifeline to the Olympic Peninsula.
The Sierra Club and the Hood Canal Coalition
firmly oppose the pit to pier project and the
proposed 690-acre mining district that would
feed gravel to the ships and barges.
Hood Canal Coalition member John Fabian says
“This combination of a major national
organization and a local citizens group will
provide the strength and vitality needed for the
lengthy struggle that will ensure the health and
security of Hood Canal and our vital
transportation system.”
Becky Stanley of the Sierra Club has said “We
recognize the many elements of danger that a
huge industrial complex can have upon a precious
natural treasure like Hood Canal. We are
determined to fully participate in the defense
of the Canal and its watershed.”
For additional information, please contact:
John Fabian, Hood Canal Coalition
fabianj@olympus.net
360.437.7911
Becky Stanley, Cascade Chapter, Sierra Club
beckett@nwlink.com
206.721.3890 |
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