Grapeview commissioner joins statewide discussion

Kirk Boxleitner | Sep 07, 20230

Port of Grapeview Commissioner Art Whitson has found several outlets at the port for his talents — particularly in the field of environmental issues — over the course of his decades spent working in commercial and government sectors.

So it’s not surprising the port will be sending him to a statewide discussion of environmental concerns with fellow Washington port officials.

On Sept. 21-22, Whitson will join the Washington Public Ports Association’s 2023 environmental seminar in Ruston, just north of Tacoma, where participating port representatives from throughout the state will be furnished a forum through which to share their environmental experiences, problems and solutions.

Whitson, a resident of the Mason Lake area, represents port District 1, which includes the area around Mason and Benson lakes. He retired after 37 years at Boeing, where he worked as an environmental engineer.

Whitson is a state-registered professional civil engineer, and he also worked for the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Transportation on state federal and state environmental management.

In keeping with his skills and interests, Whitson was appointed by the Mason County Board of Commissioners to fill an open slot on the Mason County Clean Water Advisory Committee. The committee establishes programs and projects to reduce nonpoint source pollution that threatens surface water quality in Mason County.

He’s one of the committee’s nine stakeholder members (and one of its three resident members) who advise Mason County commissioners and make recommendations for water quality work conducted within the county’s Clean Water District.

“Mason County, as well as Western Washington in general, focuses on saltwater quality to protect the shellfish industry,” Whitson said. “But it’s imperative that they also address fresh water, as there are 101 lakes in Mason County. Some of them are of significant size, such as Lake Cushman, Mason and Benson lakes, Spencer Lake, Trask Lake and a host of others.”

Whitson stressed that those lakes require no less consideration, because “they are the source of nutrient-loading that impacts the water quality in saltwater environments.”

Whitson pointed out that Benson Lake recently suffered a large algae bloom that turned the lake green, and while it turned out not to be the harmful variety cyanobacteria, a blue-green algae that can produce toxins that make people and animals sick, he noted that there was nonetheless a small cyanobacteria bloom in Mason Lake.

“It did not spread, thank goodness,” Whitson said. “But believe it or not, it’s very easy to lose a lake to toxins. Contamination from any source can quickly expand, to the point where it becomes uninhabitable to both humans and native fauna, which yields enormous consequences.”

The Port of Grapeview has issued a statement reiterating its commitment to the lakes within its borders to ensure they are kept clean by proactive measures.