Mike Mostyn

Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby

The ever-popular 2012 Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby, sponsored by the Gardiner Salmon Derby Association, will attract from 800 to 1,000 anglers this President’s Day weekend.

Luckily, there is a lot of room to fish for the out-of-towners and all the area anglers. Like last year, the derby includes 500 square miles of fishing and five weigh stations. And besides the fun of fishing, this giant derby also has a grand prize of $10,000 for the biggest fish.

The winter blackmouth classic is part of the Northwest Marine Trade Association’s “Northwest Salmon Derby Series.”

Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said this weekend’s derby could very well attract 1,000 anglers. “The derby gets a lot of people,” Menkal said. “Especially a lot of local people. It is a huge area for the derby.

“Last year they added the Port Angeles and Freshwater Bay area to the derby and they picked up a huge amount of people. “People in Port Angeles could fish at their favorite spots.

For more information, go to Salmon Derby details

Mr Matthew Gardner of the Gradner Report

Matthew Gardner has released The Gardner Report Q4 on his performance evaluations of Washington real  estate.  This quarterly report is exclusive to Windermere Real Estate but is made available here at no cost. His conclusion to our Q4 market is:

As has been the case for all of 2011, an increase in sales of Washington real estate does not mean an increase in prices. The value of transacted units in our market declined by 15.5 percent from a year ago, excluding the volatile San Juan County which saw a drop of 14.8 percent. Looking at the specific counties within our survey, there were two that exhibited price growth from December of 2010, these being Island (+7.1%) and Clallam (+4.5%). Counties that saw the greatest price declines included: Jefferson (-30.1%), Kittitas (-28%), Mason (-26.4%), Grays Harbor (-20.5%), and San Juan (-20%).

There are, I believe, two reasons why we have not yet seen the price stability in Washington real estate that we are all looking for. The first of these is that the sale of distressed homes continues to make up a very large percentage of all transactions and these homes sell for substantially lower than market price. In King County, for example, distressed transactions made up 40 percent of all sales in 2011. Additionally, with such low levels of supply, we have seen a pronounced change in the make-up of sales with a disproportionate percentage of homes selling in very affordable price ranges. Both of these factors are having negative effects on home prices.

I am keeping the housing market at a “C-“ grade this quarter and am unlikely to change this until we start to see more housing choices become available and the percentage of foreclosures start to decline.

To see all of Mr. Gardner’s report and his charts that make more graphical his analysis, click here to go to http://thesouthsounder.com/newsletters/Gardner_Report_Q4_f.pdf

MV Coho connects Olympic Peninsula drivers to Victoria BC, Canada

“It will be business as usual” says the new executives at Black Ball Ferry Line who acquired the link between Victoria BC, Canada and the Olympic Peninsula.  The 52-year-old company, which operates the MV Coho between Victoria and Port Angeles, has been purchased from the Oregon State University Foundation by the company’s executive management team.

Black Ball had been bequeathed to the foundation by former owner Lois Acheson in 2004 as part of a $21-million gift of her estate to establish an endowment in OSU’s college of veterinary medicine.

“The goal right now is to keep the course we have, the culture of the company intact and not try to change in too many respects,” said president and COO Ryan Burles, one of the five new owners. “The trustees at Oregon State did a great thing to keep it within the employees and maintain the legacy. It was Mrs. Acheson’s wish that the employees were taken care of.”

The Coho can accommodate 1,000 passengers and 120 vehicles on any one sailing. According to a 2006 study, it ferries more than 400,000 passengers and 120,000 vehicles and brings $123.7 million into the Victoria economy annually. The company employs more than 120 people and operates terminals in both Victoria BC and Port Angeles.

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Management+buys+Black+Ball+Ferry+Line/5974162/story.html#ixzz1jBmEm9jG

According to Rich Childers of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2011 appears to be a record year for the amount of crabs harvested by recreational crabbers in Puget Sound. An estimated 2.1 million pounds of crabs were taken in the summer season from July 1 to Labor Day, with additional harvest coming during the fall and winter.

Lots of people enjoyed a high rate of catch this year, Childers said. “We are seeing an abundance of crab, phenomenally high in some of the Puget Sound marine areas,” he said. “We’re seeing the same thing with shrimp. Something in the environment is favoring the survival of Dungeness crabs from larvae to adult.”

Crab season will close in all areas on Dec. 31, and anyone with a winter catch record card must report their catch by Feb. 1 — even if no crab were caught.

Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/dec/28/record-year-likely-for-puget-sound-sport/#ixzz1hwlPWoYx

For those of us who watch the Northwest economy and how it affects Washington real estate, Mr. Matthew Gardner and Windermere Real Estate has released “The Gardner Report” for Q3.

Mr Matthew Gardner of the Gradner Report

Mr. Gardner is a land use economist and principal with Gardner Economics and is considered by many to be one of the foremost real estate analysts in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to managing his consulting practice, Mr. Gardner is a member of the Pacific Real Estate Institute; chairs the Board of Trustees for the Washington State Center for Real Estate Research; the Urban Land Institutes Technical Assistance Panel; and represents the Master Builders Association as an in-house economist. He has appeared on CNN, NBC and NPR news services to discuss real estate issues and is regularly cited in the Wall Street Journal and all local media.

The Q3 Gardner Report concludes:

“We continue to see modest employment growth in Washington State, but improvements are certainly not equal across the counties. Continued contraction in the government sector and construction are acting as anchors by restraining any significant improvement. In as much as I still contend that Washington State does, and will continue to, fare better than the nation as a whole, uncertainty appears to have permeated all businesses. The Federal Government now appears to be understanding the importance that real estate has in our economic growth. There are numerous proposals being proposed in Congress and the Senate relative to stabilizing our housing market. Although they are not a panacea, I am glad to see that they are starting to understand how important it is.”

“The housing market continues to demonstrate modest signs of stability, but financing and appraisals are still acting as impediments. Inventory levels saw a modest increase this summer, but are starting to exhibit their traditional seasonal decline—and are still considerably down from historic averages. Pending sales remain well above figures seen a year ago and closed transactions are also trending higher.”

To download the entire report, go to http://www.thesouthsounder.com/newsletters/Gardner_Report_Q3.pdf

SHELTON — U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., are floating a proposal to add roughly 130,000 acres to wilderness areas to the Olympic National Forest.  Their staffs were in Shelton Friday for public feedback before drafting a bill to accomplish that goal.

How do you feel about adding 130,000 acres to the Olympic National Forest?

The plan would take existing federal forest land surrounding the Olympic National Park and tighten the managerial restrictions however much of these forest would be left in its current condition. Logging would be eliminated and hiking would remain.

These forests have numerous U.S. Forest Service roads already earmarked for closure, which would still take place. Some forest service roads would remain intact — the only ones that would allow mountain bikes and motorized vehicles. However, hikers might have longer walks into the wilderness from where they can park vehicles.

As part of the 130,000 acres are five segments of land totaling about 20,000 acres targeted to become “preserves.” In these areas, if the private owners were to sell to the federal government, the government would manage the land in a manner less restrictive than as an official wilderness.

About 400 Olympic Peninsula residents from various groups made the original proposal. So far, the original proposal has been trimmed after some initial feedback by the tribes and other agencies and groups, said Kristine Reeves, Kitsap and Olympic Peninsula director on Murray’s staff.

Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/dec/04/plan-considered-to-expand-olympic-national-area/#ixzz1fgl4I8fD

Come to Shelton's Christmas Town Parade - Saturday night December 3

Tonight, bring your Christmas spirit and the whole family to Shelton’s annual “Christmas Town” Parade happening Saturday, December 3 at 5pm in downtown Shelton.

This time-honored tradition promises live music, marching bands and dance routines, festively-decorated cars, prancing horses, shiny fire trucks and many more entries created by local schools, businesses and organizations.

Come early and stake out your spot on Railroad Avenue as this event is popular and extremely well-attended. Bring a lawn chair and dress warmly – hot cocoa in a thermos would also be a treat. See you there! Photo credit: Cooper Studios

The Department of Natural Resources announced on December 1, it will reopen two campgrounds west of Belfair in Tahuya State Forest — Camp Spilman and Kammenga.

Budget cuts closed the campgrounds two years ago but received grant funding from the Non-highway and Off-road Vehicle Activities program.  The new funding will help pay for enforcement, maintenance and staffing. Crews from the Mission Creek Corrections Center will help maintain the facilities and trails and will installing small bridges where needed.

This is an area made popular with off-road trail riding.  See a video made last year.

Visitors can start camping Jan. 6 at the Tahuya River Horse Camp on a first-come, first-served basis.  Click here to download a map of the park

The Olympic Peninsula Rain Shadow did it again!

A fall storm, not unlike any other on the Olympic Peninsula, hit us November 16 and 17.  It poured in Seattle, caused power outages in Tacoma but less than 50 miles as the crow flies on Discovery Bay in Sequim, the day was clear. Again, we experienced the effects we call the “Olympic Rainshadow”

It stormed in Seattle but in the Olympic Rainshadow, the sky was clear - courtesy of http://www.olympicrainshadow.com

The Olympic Rain Shadow is a small region northwest of Seattle which experiences significantly dryer and brighter weather than surrounding locations. WHY? The Olympic Mountain range, home of the Olympic National Park protects communities directly east and northeast and depending upon the direction of the weather, get much less rainfall and in some cases even more sunny days.

That was the case yesterday.  The storm tracked from the WSW and areas of Sequim had a sunny day, albeit with a bit of wind.  To explore more on this frequent natural phenomenon, go to http://www.olympicrainshadow.com/.

At the Big Bend on Hood Canal near Shelton, snaggle-nosed chum salmon take over the fishing spotlight about this time each year.  Between the Coho and winter steelhead runs, I can report the Chum have arrived right on time.

State Fish and Wildlife Department checked at the Hoodsport Hatchery on Hood Canal one day last week and counted 23 beach fishermen with 76 chums.  That’s hard-to-beat salmon fishing, particularly considering you don’t need a boat. These fish are in good shape and plentiful but they won’t stay that way very long.

The tribal beach fishery started on the Olympic Peninsula Nov. 14, according to a state spokesman at the hatchery, running Monday, Wednesday and Friday at least through the end of the month. Sport fishing is concentrated along the hatchery stream channel, using steelhead-type gear, and since it’s necessary to keep firm control of hooked fish, thicker line is better than light. Fly fishermen score as well, working surrounding water.

This area of Hood Canal also has a handicapped fishing platform for wheelchair-bound anglers, best at high tide. Call the hatchery’s recorded fishing line for current conditions, at 360-877-5222.