tool goes here

New artificial reef for divers

Similar Stories

Similar stories:

Getting up close to the underwater world
Getting up close to the underwater world

ST. JOHN, U.S. Virgin Islands – Let’s call it Diving Lite.
Snorkeling, the colorful yet cautious cousin of scuba diving, is a way to see the sea without — glub, glub — going under. You don’t even have to know how to swim.
“I had a family of four the other day, and after I gave them the lesson and put them in the water, I discovered not one of them could swim. That is when I took them one by one and just dragged them with me so they could at least enjoy the fish of Bonaire,” says Renee Leach of Renee Snorkel Trips in Bonaire, a snorkel-friendly island in the southern Caribbean.
Scuba diving club to celebrate 50 years
Scuba diving club to celebrate 50 years

A local scuba diving club that has dedicated time each year to help clean up the Columbia River is celebrating its golden anniversary.
The Tri-Cities Atomic Ducks Dive Club will kick off its 50th anniversary party Saturday with a treasure hunt dive around 9 a.m. at Howard Amon Park, near the gazebo off Newton Street.
A potluck lunch will follow at 1 p.m.
Historic warship Olympia may be scrapped, sunk
Historic warship Olympia may be scrapped, sunk

PHILADELPHIA - The old warship has been part of Philadelphia's waterfront for 50 years and left lasting impressions on thousands of visitors who heard gripping stories of its role in the Spanish-American War.
Now the Olympia – named for Washington state’s capital and the last surviving vessel from that 1898 conflict – could face an ignoble end as an artificial reef off Cape May, N.J., if a new benefactor cannot be found.
The Independence Seaport Museum and the Navy have already checked with officials of New Jersey’s Artificial Reef Program on the possibility of sinking the ship, once a source of national pride.
‘Pier into the Night’
‘Pier into the Night’

Do you know what lurks beneath the pilings at Jerisich Dock? The people at Harbor WildWatch do, and they’re willing to share what they know with those who are interested enough to take a peek during the “Pier into the Night” program.
“It’s kind of like a sponge,” said Abigail Cummings of Purdy, gently touching a large sunflower star that was almost too big for the water-filled plastic container that confined it. “It’s squishy; it feels like moss.”
Rebecca Mullen, Harbor WildWatch’s Environmental Program director, was on hand to explain the sunflower star’s attributes to the fascinated onlookers on Aug. 24 in downtown Gig Harbor.
State parks system mulls future usage with four plans
State parks system mulls future usage with four plans

A representative from the Washington State Parks system was at Kopachuck Middle School last Thursday to discuss alternative approaches for managing the parks in the future.
Planner Nikki Fields gave a presentation of several different scenarios that are considered ways to improve the parks and attract visitors. State parks prepared the plans through an agency-wide system called Classification and Management Planning. Part of the CAMP process involves hosting community forums.
Fields said the parks system heard “loud and clear” how much the parks mean to citizens when they responded in droves to protest the possible closure of the parks due to state budget cuts last spring.

The News Tribune

Published: 03/19/0912:05 am

Comments (0)

Scuba divers have a new artificial diving reef to explore at Saltwater State Park near Des Moines.

The new reef was created by placing 12 8-foot-high rock mounds in place and leaning several concrete piles against the mounds. Two rows of rock perpendicular to the shore provide a pathway to help divers locate the reef.

The construction replaces an artificial reef that had been made of old tires placed at the site during the 1970s, said a State Parks news release.

Last summer, Army divers removed most of the tires from the site.

Mike Racine, president of the Washington Scuba Alliance, recently dove the new reef.

“In the past several years, the diving community has lost a number of good dive sites in Puget Sound,” he said in a statement. “We knew that getting this new reef built would require a lot of coordination with several agencies and organizations. State Parks did a great job of moving this project through the process. The cooperation among so many parties on the project was outstanding, and the result has exceeded our expectations.”

The reef design was the result of collaboration between the State Parks and Recreation Commission, state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists and Reid Middleton Inc.

The scuba alliance offered design ideas. The $231,935 construction project was completed by American Construction Inc. of Tacoma.

The park is located two miles south of Des Moines near Sea-Tac Airport. The 88-acre marine camping park includes 1,445 feet of saltwater shoreline on Puget Sound.

Comments

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service.

Comments are displayed newest first. If you would like to read a thread from beginning to end, select "Oldest first" from the drop down menu.