Black Diamond NOW

An Evening Of Jazz At Baker Street Books - 7 pm Friday September 2nd

Get your Labor Day weekend off to a great start with a visit to Baker Street Books this Friday for Jazz with the Milo Petersen Trio.  Bob Charles has been doing some remodeling/rearranging at the book store and has created an excellent venue for hosting jazz performers.  Though not advertised, I have it on good authority that Greta Metassa will be making a special guest appearance.  Great opportunity to make it a night out beginning with dinner at Mama Pasarellis, the Black Diamond Bakery or right across the street at Michael's Black Diamond Pizza & Deli.  Hope to see you there.

Lake Sawyer Boat Ramp Schedule Update - Good News For Labor Day Weekend Celebrants

Water Quality Trends In The Soos Creek Sub-Basin

As noted in prior posts, Covington Creek is the outlet stream from Lake Sawyer.  Covington Creek eventually drains into Soos Creek and then to the Green River near the Highway 18 bridge.  If we have good water quality here, principally low temperatures and high dissolved oxygen levels, then we have good potential for salmon runs upstream, through Lake Sawyer and then on to Ravensadale Creek.  Last winter, we did have coho salmon spotted spawning in Ravensdale Creek near the silica mine at Ravensdale.  That's good news. 

Now for the data.  King County and the State Dept. of Ecology (DOE) provide ongoing monitoring at key points in the watershed.  Although Covington Creek itself is not currently regularly monitored, Soos Creek upstream of the hatchery and just before Covington Creek dumps in, is regularly monitored.  This is what we find:

Minimum dissolved oxygen levels as established by DOE are indicated by the red line shown in the chart above.  The shaded boxes show the history range by month with the blue line showing last year (2010) data.  Clearly, Soos Creek upstream of the hatchery and Covington Creek are unable to support salmon runs in the July through October period.  Late year spawning only would seem possible in this watershed basin.  Looking at water temperatures, where colder is better, the same conclusions appear to be valid.

As it turns out, the salmon and steelhead hatchery located along Soos Creek just downstream of this sample point has a weir that does not let salmon pass through during these critical late summer salmon spawning months.  So what we get that do pass through are both late season spawners and a few natives and others that are released by the hatchery to spawn upstream later in the season.

Perhaps our biggest challenge to maintaining both high dissolved oxygen levels and low temperatures is to keep stream flows higher during summer months.  Our challenges:

1. The more that the Covington Water District pumps from wells located in the Lake Sawyer area and Covington Creek basin, the less water there will likely be in stream flows during this time of year.  Pumping from wells deplete groundwater.
2. The more stormwater runoff we have from impervious surfaces during winter months, the less groundwater recharge we have and the less flow there is likely to be in streams such as Covington Creek during these critical summer/fall periods.

What's the answer?  Not sure, but I do think that we should look very hard at Covington Water District policies as well as the potential for adopting Low Impact Development (LID) practices in our community.  More on LID practices in future posts.

 

Water Conservation - A PNW Success Story

Earlier this year, the Regional Water Quality Committee received a briefing from King County staff regarding water supply and demand balances for the region.  The above chart shows total population growth from 1975 through 2010 and contrasts this with regional water consumption.  Total current water consumption is actually significantly less today than it was in 1975.  On a per capita basis, major cities like Seattle have seen their water consumption fall from over 288 gallons per day (gpd) per household to an average of under 200 gpd - and this includes water used for landscape irrigation.  Excluding landscape irrigation, which peaks in summer months, many households now use 100 gpd or less.  I'll have to see how our community of Black Diamond is doing compared to these regional trends. 

Does this represent a success for conservation efforts?  One would think so with significant further conservation opportunity still available in the years ahead. Conservation, however, does create challenges for the water supply planners.  No City Public Works Director or regional planner wants to be the one who under-forecast water demand and led to shortages.  The following chart does a good job of outling this "planners" dilemma.

As population grows, planners' forecasts show increasing water demand - and every year, their forecasts for demand substantially overstate true demand.  Making policy decisions based on these "inflated" projections can prove to be very expensive for communities and the region.  The result, and I view this as good news, is that current water supplies, even excluding significant further conservation bonuses, are more than adequate to meet our region's needs well past 2060 - even with the worst potential impacts of climate change built in.

With such a positive outlook, who might benefit most?  The simple answer - OUR FISHERIES!  Current water supplies include many "marginal" sources of supply. 

One quick example - wells currently used by the Covington Water District, including one located within 100 yards or less from Lake Sawyer. There is more than enough water available to meet the districts needs well into the future without pumping water from local wells.  Pumping from these wells reduces area groundwater levels and results in reduced seasonal water flows in Covington Creek and Soos Creek.  Reduced flows mean lower dissolved oxygen and higher temperatures - not good for fish. 

Another example - summer month seasonal flows in the Green River need not be managed as low as they are today by the City of Tacoma at the Howard Hanson Dam.  Keeping flows higher does nothing but help our fisheries as I am sure the tribes will attest.

Given the region's track record of success in conservation, it's time to rethink our current water management regimes and have more faith in the future of conservation.

A Tough Consumer Economy Ahead?

 

 

Data source: Mathew Yglesias blog 8/24/11 & Ezra Klein.

As you might note from the graphic shown above, the total of consumer debt and mortgage debt currently exceeds 90% of GDP.  It would seem clear that growth in this debt provided the "fuel" for the rapid growth rates in the economy during the boom years of the early 2000's.  When real estate values collapsed as they did in 2008, it's no wonder that  "Houston, we have a problem here".  No more mortgage "credit card".  Since consumers account for such a large part of our country's GDP, over two thirds, it's hard to be optimistic about GDP growth driven by consumer spending in the next several years.

In our son's book Year Of Plenty, released earlier this year, he makes the case for a simpler and less consumerist life style.  We had a fun conversation a couple of years ago, recounted in the book, about the implications of consumers reducing their consumption.  The conclusion - If we followed his lead, we would be "bringing down the world economy one beaney baby at a time".  What becomes clearer as you read the book, however, is that this is not an economic treatise, but one focused on living a full life.  Good read with excellent reviews.

I grew up always being taught to embrace the values of being frugal, to save rather than spend, to eschew debt and think long term.  Not exactly the personal ethic needed by our economy right now - or is it?

Footnote: The context for this post is strickly focused on personal values and choices and in no way should be interpreted as a commentary on federal budget and debt policy.  No teabagger here.

 

Fire District 44 - Construction Of New Prototype Fire Station Nearing Completion

As noted in previous posts, fire protection services for Black Diamond are provided under contract with Fire District 44.  Earlier this week I had the opportunity to inspect the new fire station nearing completion by the District with Chief Smith and Chief Barlow and District 44 Commissioner James Farrell all showing me around.  What an impressive facility now scheduled to open by the end of September.  For those interested, it's located at the intersection SE 400th and 180th on Muckleshoot Tribal land - head south on SR 169 to Krain Corner, turn right (west) and make your way to 180th.  This new station replaces an existing station located in an old school house and was financed by bond issues passed in the 2008 time frame by those within the District.  After touring the facility, I can't believe the complexity of services and capability needed, including Emergency Management Services where calls currently account for upward of 2/3 of total district calls - averaging at least one call per day.

Assuming that growth now planned for Black Diamond materializes, new fire protection services will be required to meet Level Of Service (LOS) standards, including perhaps two new fire stations  and associated equipment and personnel.  In my experience, standarization is an important element if we are to keep the costs of adding new capacity within reason.  From what I can see, the new station provides this needed "template".  No need to reinvent the wheel here. 

Though the above facility was permitted through the Muckleshoot Tribe and not King County (a blessing from all whom I talked to), the basic design can be used for any future facilities that we might need in our community without need to start from scratch.  This saves lots of money! 

Bottom line - this 50 year facility located on about 2 1/2 acres will end up costing about $3.2 million.  This is considerably less than comparable facilities recently completed in, for example, the City of Auburn, where costs were perhaps more than double this amount for equivalent capacity.  One of the reasons for this is the fact that Fire District 44 has chosen to do this project on basically a "design-build" basis.  Yes, state law does require that there be a general contractor and that prevailing wages be paid on any publicly financed project, but Fire District 44 has found a way to meet this need while maintaining the basics of a design-build project framework.  From what I understand, this is only the second such facility in the state to accomplish this, with another facility in the Spokane area leading the charge.  Believe me, being in the design-build-operate business for many years for water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, I understand the benefits of this approach with savings to the public often ranging from 20% to 40% or more.  At least compared to comparable new city of Auburn facilities, it appears that savings here may well exceed 50% or more.

My compliments to Fire District 44 and their foresight to build a facility that can last 50 years or more while tightly managing expenditures to community affordable levels.  We look forward to this same common sense approach to providing future services to our community.

"Stick built" construction actually proved to be less expensive than a steel based structure - and yes, a sprinker system is required regardless of whether the structure is stick built or steel.  A fire station with a sprinkler system for fire suppression - hmmm, but required by current county, city and tribal building codes.  The above picture shows the inside and roof of the 3 bays where fire trucks can be parked.  They are all drive through - no backing up needed.  Once again, keeping ongoing operating costs to the barest minimum has been a consistent design objective.

P.S. - In Black Diamond we currently pay a levy rate of about $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed real estate value for fire protection facilities.  Maple Valley currently pays about double this amount.  We have the opportunity in our community to both improve LOS and keep our costs under control.

Following is a wide angle lens view taken by Chief Smith.

Local Business Focus - Foothills Fireplace & Grills

If you drive SR 169 through Black Diamond you cannot miss the sign for Foothills Fireplace & Grills as well as Xstreme Board Sports - two specialty stores we have here in town.  Although this is the warmest time of the year, fall will soon be upon us followed by a cool (not cold we hope) winter.  Is there anything better during the winter with dark clouds overhead than snuggling up around a fireplace and reading a good book, watching a movie or playing a game of killer scrabble?  Yes, it's time to begin planning ahead while we enjoy our current weather.

In our 1950's era home, we still have a fireplace that burns wood.  It's not efficient, pollutes the air and is expensive given the need to keep buying cords of wood or fireplace logs.  So, it's time for us to explore the potential for adding a fireplace gas insert.  Our need served as a good excuse for me to visit Richard at his Foothills Fireplace & Grills store last week.  When I pulled in, two of our Black Diamond Police officers were just loading into their squad car one of Richard's grills that he had donated to their K-9 fund raising event held last Friday.  Talk about community friendly.  I knew I was at the right place.  Richard's selection of fireplace insert and grilling options is very extensive.  If you have a need, please stop by and support our local businesses.

For more information go to Foothills Fireplace & Grills.

Phosphorus - Enemy Of Our Lakes But Essential To Our Farmers?

 
Phosphorus remains one of the essential elements for maintaining the long term health of civilization.  Ask most any farmer (organic or not) and they will tell you that they use fertilizer and/or compost containing phosphorus to maintain crop yields at sustainable levels.  Fertilizer typically contains nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.  Nitrogen is obtained from the air while potassium and phosphorus are both mined.  World supplies of potassium will last many generations while phosphorus is now becoming scarce.  The U.S. is the second largest world wide producer of phosphorus, with China #1, but U.S. supplies may run out within the decade and remaining world supplies not too long thereafter.  For more on world phosphorus supplies, follow this link to Some More Phosphorus Phacts. 

For some time I have been supporting a ban on the use of phosphorus in turf fertilizers.  Why?  Simply because native soils typically contain enough phosphorus to support the growth of healthy lawns without the need to supplement fertilizer with phosphorus.  Soils testing in our community supports this notion - we don't need to use phosphorus in our fertilizers to maintain healthy lawns - and in this way we reduce the risk of runoff into our streams and into Lake Sawyer, which is phosphorus impaired.  Limiting phosphorus in the lake is essential to it's long term health - it acts to "fertilize" algae growth which causes toxic blooms and depletes oxygen from the water, killing fish.  Too much phosphorus and we have a dead lake.  For more on this subject, see Phosphorus In Fertilizer - Or Not? 

Although it is essential that we do all we can to limit the potential for phosphorus in stormwater runoff in our community draining to the lake, the potential future scarcity of phosphorus for agricultural uses is cause for some concern.  Being dependent on China for the supply of fertilizer used in U.S. agriculture  is not a happy thought.  This is one industry (agriculture) in which our country has a significant competitive advantage.  To lose that advantage to inflating fertilizer prices would not be a good thing for our economy.

What alternatives do we have?  For our home garden we have the ability to use our own composted waste and rotate our crops.  This provides more than enough nutrients for our vegetables to grow without risking runoff and pollution of the lake.  But what about farmers with many more acres to enrich?  It remains unclear that even organic growing methods can do without the addition of phosphorus.  As a result, the recent article in Science Daily caught my attention entitled Mining Poultry Manure For Phosphorus.  This may make some long term sense as a source of phosphorus without the need to transport the entire manure biomass long distances.  Interesting.

Phosphorus extracted from poultry litter.

Adding a chicken coop at home is looking better all the time.  For more on this, see an earlier post To Coop Or Not To Coop.

On The Lookout For Transport - Need Your Input

Judy and I are on the lookout for new transportation in the months ahead and could use your help in sorting out where we should focus our energies - and $$.  I will admit to being a child of the 60's and to reading Tom Wolfe's book Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test many times.  Ken Kesey (author of the seminal book One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest that served to launch Jack Nicholson's film career) led his band of Merry Pranksters on an epic journey across the U.S - so well chronicled by Tom Wolfe. 

Sounds like fun to me, even to this day. 

The only book that I can find to come even close to equaling this is Blue Highways written by William Least-Heat Moon.  If you haven't read either of these books, they're a fun summer escape.

Has anyone been to Experience Music Project at the Seattle Center recently - Jimmy Hendrix, The Who, Bob Dylan, they're all there.

Looks like a bit too much maintenance and watering to me.  What about this?

Or should we just settle for a Prius or Leaf and turn up the music really loud? 

Your thoughts?

A History Of Cinnabar Mining At Jellum

Above is a picture of Cinnabar taken from the Royal Reward Mine at Jellum that operated during the late 1950's.  When two of our readers commented on my recent Hiking To Jellum post that Cinnabar was once mined there, I was intrigued to learn more.  My first question was - what in the world is Cinnabar?  As it turns out, Cinnabar is the common ore of mercury.  To produce mercury, the ore is ground up and then heated in a type of "still" where the mercury evaporates, separating from the sulfate or sulfide, and is collected in tubing as it cools.  I'm not sure what the yield typically is but in the history of the Royal Reward Mine at Jellum, we are told that just 20 flasks of mercury were produced.  A flask is the equivalent of 36 kilograms (about 80 lbs) of mercury.  Apparently a high arsenic content in the ore, poor distribution and a tough glacial overburden made mining the Royal Reward mine particularly challenging.

My next mystery was why is this area called Jellum?  Not sure that I have a definitive answer but what we call Jellum today is actually a peninsula on the south side of the Green River about half way between Kanaskat Palmer State Park to the east and the Green River Gorge Resort to the west.  On some maps, this area is referred to as the Walter A. Jellum Area.  We know that the Cinnabar mine was called the Royal Reward mine but beyond that there is little information that I could find regarding Walter A. Jellum - except that he is referenced in a number of articles re coal mining in Russia.  I can only speculate that a Walter A. Jellum owned the Royal Reward Mine and ended up selling this land as open space to Washington State Parks in the late 1960's or 70's.

If anyone has further knowledge or insight about Jellum, please let us know.  Isn't our local history and it's mysteries interesting?  Don't forget to take the hike.  It's well worth it.

A Successful "Rock The Green" Event At Kanaskat Palmer State Park

Many thanks to all of the volunteers and contributors to the Middle Green River Coalitions (MGRC) Rock The Green fund raising event held this last Saturday at Kanaskat Palmer State Park.  The music was great, all provided by local bands and groups including Justin Grennan, Night Train, Plateau, Inside Out and Backwards, Max Renshaw and Howling Rain.  Our local music scene here is far stronger than I would have imagined.

The City Hall Saloon & Eatery from Cumberland provided the food, leaving none of us hungry.  Excellent food, I encourage you to stop by the Saloon.  Thanks to the micro brews provided by Mac & Jack's, Snoqualmie Brewing, Scuttlebutt Brewing and Georgetown Brewing Co. the beer garden remained full nearly all day.

Special thanks to our event sponsors Emerald Downs, Mutual of Enumclaw, Mosby Farm and TRM Wood Products.  Other contributors and participants included KPS Health Plans, Wabash Nursery, the City Hall Saloon, REI, SHADOW, King County Noxious Weed Program, EarthCorps, Eternal Advanced Hybrid Water Heating Systems and many more.  Without your generous support and participation, the event could not have happened.

Lisa Parsons took lots of great pictures and has them now posted on the MGRC website.  Thanks again to all who came and made the event such a big success.  We even had Smokey The Bear join us.

Black Diamond Labor Day Parade - Monday Sept. 5

The Labor Day Parade in Black Diamond on Monday Sept. 5 is an absolute "must do" event.  Put it on your calendar.  The parade begins at 10:00 am followed by a car show and vendor booths spread around the Elementary School playfields that give you an opportunity to connect with many of our local artists and artisans.  I have had the opportunity to both watch and walk in the parade in the past and find it to be unique fun for our community.  Hope to see you there.

A History Of Biking In Black Diamond

The above photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, Photo Coll. 291.205, shows a bike sitting along the side of the road that connected Sumner to Buckley circa 1896. Although materials used to make today's bicycles have changed dramatically, how much the basics remain the same.  Back then, it was getting from here to there.  Today, it's all about testing yourself on demanding trails.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, PH. Col. 867.35, circa 1899.  This shows a bike path constructed way back then that circled Lake Washington.  The Burk-Gilman Trail comes to us many years later.

Ben Hur Bikes circa 1896.  Sounds like good logic - just buy a bike as you would a horse.

Black Diamond's future - Bicyclists' and naturalist's hub.

Music In Camp - Circa 1907 & 2011

The above advertisement is courtesy of University of Washington Libraries ADV0267 circa 1907 and shows that enjoying music while camping is not a new phenomenon.  It's just that we take it to a different level these days.  Fast forward to this Saturday's August 13 Rock The Green event held at Kanaskat Palmer State Park.  This day we had 6 bands live and they certainly did "Rock".  The event was a fund raiser for the Middle Green River Coalition (MGRC) to support the conservation and environmental restoration efforts of our organization along the Middle Green, from Kanaskat Palmer to Flaming Geyser State Park.  Needless to say, the beer garden was quite popular and the food provided by the Cumberland City Hall Saloon & Eatery was outstanding.  And the music - nothing beats live rock.

The above picture of Bernie McKinney, lead singer for the local band Howling Rain, captures what music today at the campground looks like.  It was awesome.

More on this event in later posts as we recognize the many contributors to the event's very big success.  Music then and now is a bit different.  Not only can you enjoy the amped up vibes today but you can take a nature hike with MGRC experts as many families did throughout the day.

The above picture shows Courtney Feeney on the right leading another family nature hike on Saturday.

Weather Perspectives

I have heard so many people complain about the weather this summer.  Although I understand, perspective is sometimes required.

1. I spent most of Wednesday trying to get our Middle Green River Coalition set up with the ability to accept credit cards for this Saturday's Rock The Green event planned at Kanaskat Palmer State Park - please join us.  Although I met with eventual success, I now have less hair and what is left is far greyer and clearly not bleached by the sun.  Common sense and banks are truly an oxymoron.  But, the people I had to deal with were all based in Arizona.  When I inquired about their weather - 120 plus during the day and at least 90 at night.  Now talk about complaints!  When I offered that it was 75 here, I was asked which airline best serves us.  Hmmm!
2. Our company currently has a construction crew working on a project in Georgia.  Have you ever had to work in 90% humidity with temps in the upper 90's?  Would make Jenny Craig proud and hot yoga enthusiasts absolutely ecstactic.
3. Thursday morning is Finance Committee meeting time so I rode my bike to and from the meeting - didn't even break out into a sweat.
4. Think about all of the water and $$ you are saving from not having to water your lawn.  Water district budgeters are not so happy with this.  The salmon will thank us though.
5. Think about all of the sunscreen you don't have to purchase, let alone how "greasy" you won't feel.

What more could you want in these economic times?

Hiking To Jellum

On a beautful sunny day last weekend, we had the opportunity to hike again to Jellum and into the Green River Gorge.  The last time I did this hike was back in January and it's amazing the changes from winter to summer.  There is so much more vegetative growth now making it harder to find and follow trails at times.  The river too is transformed.  All of the big rocks that you see in the foreground are covered and not visible during peak winter flows.  The white that you see above on these boulders is actually what it looks like once water recedes and the slime that grows dies off.  Interesting - I wonder what the make-up of this slime or film that covers rocks when submerged consists of, and what causes it to turn white.

Getting to Jellum can be a bit of a challenge, particularly the first time.  Much of the property getting to the trail is private property and should be respected.  The route that we take was shown to us initially by Lisa Parsons, co-founder of the Middle Green River Coalition, and she knows all the trails.  Our somewhat round-about way to get there was to first park in the old cemetary lot just like we are going to Franklin.  Next, walk east along the roadway, across the one lane bridge that spans the Green River Gorge and past the Resort.  This road bends uphill eventually coming to a Y.  Heading right would take you to Enumclaw.  Heading left at the Y takes you to Cumberland.  Head toward Cumberland, again walking along the roadway.  Virtually all of the property that you have passed to this point is private property and owned by the Resort.  Still heading northeast toward Cumberland, you will eventually reach a fence line.  As you face the fence line, all of the property on your right and the east side of the fence line is private property and posted.  Climb up to the fence and stay on the left side.  Hike north along the fence along a very crude trail hugging the fence line until the fence eventually ends.  You will encounter a trail a hundred yards or so along the way and a hole in the fence at this point.  Don't follow this trail - it will take you back to the Resort.  Stay along the fence line on the left side and eventually the fence ends.  A bit of a trail can be seen at this point and if you follow this straight ahead, you will soon find yourself on a much more clearly defined trail.  Head east (right) on this trail and you are now finally on your way to Jellum.  This trail parallels the ridge that runs along the Green River and is very pretty. 

After a couple of miles you will eventually find yourself at what looks to be campsite area.  A trail from here begins heading downhill (to the left) and eventually to the river.  Once you get there, you will see that it's well worth it.  On our trip early this year, we headed further east along a trail to finally get down to the river.  This time, however, we decided to make our own trail down to the river and headed west to the area shown above with all of these rocks and boulders.  Not easy going but fun getting down there and very beautiful. 

After this long dialogue trying to give trail directions, it's clear that I need to work on my GPS skills and do some mapping.  A good challenge and goal for the coming year.  Perhaps we as the Middle Green River Coalition can soon publish some usable trail maps.  Some more pictures from Jellum.

Interesting overhang/cave.

Anybody know what these plants are?  They kind of look like white aspargus growing in a very shaded part of the forest floor.

David Woodford identified the above plant as Indian Pipe and provided the following link to Indian Pipe.  Thanks David.

 

Lake Sawyer Views - Circa 1948

The above photo and those that follow are again courtesy of Peggy Hawkins circa 1948.  The peninsula shown above appears to be the location of the current boat launch.  It's amazing how much taller the trees are around the lake now compared to back then.  Nature - and thanks also to all of the trees left as the lake was developed.

You don't see many row boats any more.  The boat launch area again appears to be seen on the shoreline to the left.

Pretty picture, but I'm not sure where this photo could have been taken.  Any ideas?

John Henry No. 1 Mine - Fact Sheet

As reported earlier, Pacific Coast Coal Co. is planning to resume mining operations at the John Henry Mine.  The Federal Office of Surface Mining is responsible for the permit process and ongoing oversight of operations.  The State Department of Ecology has issued an NPDES discharge permit with established water quality standards and monitoring requirements.  For those not aware, the mine is located outside of the Black Diamond City limits and accordingly we have no role/say in the permit process.  However, the City is monitoring water quality at two points downstream of the mine at Ginder Creek and Mud Lake Creek right where these two streams cross SR169.  Based on information provided by David Morris, General Manager for Pacific Coast Coal Co., following is a summary of their current plans:

• Remaining Coal Reserves - 450,000 tons (1,900,000 tons mined 1986-97)
• Planned Annual Production - 85,000 ton (250,000 tons per year peak 1986-97)
• Average Truck Traffic - 8 trucks per day (30 trucks per day peak 1986-97)
• Peak Truck Traffic - 30 trucks per day
• Truck Routing - SR169 north to Seattle or Kent Kangley Road
• Minining Timing - Five years production
• Reclamation Plan Pit 2 - Completely filled from Spoil Pile 3 North (SP3N) and Spoil Pile 3 South (SP3S).  These two spoil piles are the big hills you see as you drive by the intersection of SR169 and Roberts Drive.  As a result, there will be a significant change in the visible landscape in this area - they will be graded to the approximate original contours.
• Reclamation Plan Pit 1 - Backfilled around the perimeter of the final cut lake.  It's my understanding that this lake (Pit 1) is currently about 300' deep.  Final lake depth will average closer to 100'.
• Reclamation Timing - During ongoing mining plus one additional year - a total project schedule of 6 years.
• Employment - 25 to 30 equipment operators, mechanics, etc.
• Blasting - Average once per week.
• Markets - Cement plants in British Columbia and Seattle.

Pacific Coast Coal Co. hopes to begin mining operations in October.

Rock The Green - Saturday August 13 At Kanaskat-Palmer State Park

Rock The Green!  One more reminder of the fun event scheduled for this Saturday, August 13, from noon til 8 pm.  There is live music with 5 bands on tap, including Enumclaw celebrity Justin Grennan as headliner.  Admission is free.  In addition to the music, we are excited to have a silent auction as a fund raiser for the Middle Green River Coalition and all of the great conservation work performed by this non-profit organization. In addition a beer garden is planned, food provided by the Cumberland City Hall Saloon and Eatery.  Event sponsorship includes Mosby Farms (our CSA and supplier of veggies to the event), Emerald Downs, Mutual of Enumclaw, TRM Wood Products, The City Hall Saloon & Eatery, Eternal Advanced Hybrid Water Heating, SHADOW, KPS Health Plans and Wabash Nursery.  Among the brews on tap will be Mac & Jacks, Snoqualimie Falls Brewing Co., Scuttlebutt Brewing Co and Georgetown Brewing Co. - all worthy of a taste.  Among the bands featured, in addition to headliner Justin Grennan scheduled to perform at 7 pm, are Night Train, Plateau, Inside Out and Backwards, Max Renshaw and Howling Rain.

This is a real family event with many educational activities planned for children.  Come early, opening at noon, and stay late until closing at 8 pm. 

Cannon Mine Trestle - Then & Now

The above photo is courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, circa 1915 and shows the railroad trestle constructed across the Green River to serve the Cannon Coal Mine.  Please note the structure on either end of the trestle.  Fast forward to today, photo taken last week of the trestle now being used to transport water from the City of Black Diamond's springs located on the south side of the Green River.  Same river crossing.

Although not easily seen in these photos, the structure at either end of the trestle looks nearly identical today compared to the one constructed in the early 1900's.  Some engineering principles just don't change.

This is a really beautiful part of the Green River.  Following is a picture of the outfall from the springs as it enters into the Green.  So much water flowing.  No wonder the forefathers of Black Diamond identified these springs early on and secured them for the City as our primary source of potable water.  They got it right - so pure is the water.

Following are more photos of the Green River, just 5 miles from downtown Black Diamond.  If any community in the State of Washington has more spectacular natural areas conserved for the future and located right in our backyard, I'd sure like to know where it is.  I remain convinced that these natural areas conserved for the long term and our ready access to them, will serve to be a critical economic asset as our community grows into the future.

On this day, I made it from the spectacular views from the top of Franklin Hill down to the Green River and back - a view captured by the following photo.  See the river below at photo center.