Environment Archives - Page 2 of 19 - Gig Harbor Now | A hyperlocal nonprofit newspaper in Gig Harbor

Local case is first time tularemia, a rare infectious disease, spread from marine mammal to human

Sep 13, 2024 | By: Conor Wilson

Epidemiologists with the Kitsap Public Health District have co-authored a new report documenting the first recorded case of a human contracting the infectious disease tularemia from a marine mammal. The finding, published last month in the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality weekly report, details how a 32-year-old wildlife biologist from Kitsap County contracted

Phase IV purchase is ‘last piece of the puzzle’ for new conservation area

Sep 12, 2024 | By: Carolyn Bick

Since 2022, the city of Gig Harbor has worked to create a conservation area, called the txʷaalqəł Conservation Area, spanning 40.5 acres of land near the heart of downtown. The city’s recent purchase of property from two private landowners increased those 40.5 acres to just shy of 52 total acres. The city acquired the land

Owner of huge Crescent Valley forestland threatens logging, selloff to preserve dream of Canterwood-like development

Sep 11, 2024 | By: Ted Kenney

Unpaved peninsula: The Harbor’s hidden forests and fields Note: Growing up on the Gig Harbor Peninsula used to entail some familiarity with the woods. If you knew the routes, you could cross the peninsula on trails, sticking to fields and forests (and occasionally crossing a country road). That’s much harder today, yet undeveloped land remains

Mountain Construction is performing the park renovations.

Lawsuit alleges Kopachuck at risk of landslide from redevelopment

Sep 10, 2024 | By: Ed Friedrich

A neighbor whose home was damaged by a 2017 slide seeks to stop Kopachuck tree cutting until tests show it’s safe.

Boil water notice issued for for 1,900 homes

Sep 06, 2024 | By: Gig Harbor Now Staff

Washington Water is warning people in about 1,900 homes that use its Peacock Hill water system to boil their water (or use bottled water) before drinking it or using it for cooking. The utility found E.coli bacteria in a water sample collected Wednesday, Sept. 4, it announced Thursday evening. Washington Water said in an update

Gig Harbor needs more housing density, but where? Comp Plan update will help decide

Aug 28, 2024 | By: Conor Wilson

The state requires the city to accommodate the development of 892 units by 2044. A majority of those need to be affordable to people making below median incomes.

Gig Harbor Land Conservation Fund joins Great Peninsula Conservancy

Aug 28, 2024 | By: Vince Dice

The Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula Land Conservation Fund raised more than $100,000 and helped to preserve some 30 acres in the area in less than three years since it was founded. Now it’s joining a larger regional conservancy group, hoping to do even more while maintaining a focus on the Gig Harbor and Key

Meet the face behind Harbor WildWatch’s TikTok success

Aug 26, 2024 | By: Ronan Lynch

When the pandemic forced beaches to close, Harbor WildWatch Education Director Rachel Easton saw an opportunity. If people couldn’t visit the tides, she would bring the tides to them online. “We transitioned all of our school programs and public programs to be digital, but we weren’t getting much traction. Streaming on Facebook, we’d get a

Firefighters have stalled progress of blaze on Olympic Peninsula

Aug 22, 2024 | By: Conor Wilson

Firefighters appear to have a handle on the wildfire that ignited on the Olympic Peninsula last week, as cooler temperatures and light rainfall have aided the hundreds of personnel battling the blaze five miles west of Brinnon. The 2620 Road Fire, which ignited near Mt. Jupiter on Aug. 14, has remained at approximately 398 acres

Fire near Brinnon now estimated at 445 acres

Aug 16, 2024 | By: Conor Wilson

More than 100 firefighters are battling a wildfire in Jefferson County, five miles west of Brinnon. The 2620 Road Fire had burned 445 acres near Mt. Jupiter since igniting Wednesday evening, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Jan Glarum, director of Kitsap County Emergency Management,

Environment