Flying boats make for rare sight as Washington clears island of derelict vessels by helicopter
OLYMPIA, Wash, June 5, (AP): As the owner of a marina, Kate Gervais is used to seeing boats in the water. But for the last couple of days, she's been seeing them in the air. The Washington Department of Natural Resources this week used one of its firefighting helicopters to haul abandoned boats off an uninhabited island in the southernmost reaches of Puget Sound, where the vessels had come to rest after drifting with the currents, and fly them to the mainland to be deconstructed later.
With 14 vessels removed, it was the agency's largest operation of its kind, officials said. "It was a very, very weird sight,' said Gervais, who owns Boston Harbor Marina, just north of Olympia. "The sail boat with the mast was the weirdest one to see.' A boat removal by helicopter is typically done by a private pilot, but for this operation, which was funded by a federal grant, the DNR opted to use one of its firefighting helicopters. It was cheaper and helped stretch the $1 million NOAA grant, said Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove.
The state agency opts to airlift boats when towing them would disrupt the marine bed or surrounding environment too much. The aquatic lands where the boats land often include kelp beds, which are critical for supporting the forage fish that salmon rely on. Vessels for this operation where found in hard-to-reach coves, at the tree line or in mud that rendered an airlift a better option, agency staff said.
Since the boat removal program began in 2002, the department has hauled out more than 1,200 derelict vessels. There are at least 300 more out there, with more found all the time, Upthegrove said. "It's a real challenge impacting the Puget Sound when people essentially dump their old boats into the water because they don't want to deal with disposing of them," he said. "That burden then falls on all of us.'
The federal grant allowed the state to clean up boats on Squaxin Island, an uninhabited island that is of particular cultural importance to the Squaxin Island Tribe. The tribe's people once shared vast lands in western Washington state, but following the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, the island - 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) long and half a mile (800 meters) wide - was the main area reserved for them, according to the tribe's website.
Eventually, the tribe's members moved off the island, but they continue to use it for fishing, hunting, shellfish gathering and camping. "The Squaxin Island Tribe is very enthusiastic about this opportunity to work with DNR to clean-up derelict vessels on tribal lands,' said Daniel Kuntz, the tribe's policy and program manager. "Maintaining clean beaches and water are essential to the Squaxin Island culture to ensure gathering access for future generations.'
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Arab Times
2 days ago
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These are 5 things the UN does that you may not have known
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"The things that are not on the radar of anyone, that nobody sees every day, that's what we do everywhere, in more than 150 countries,' said Diene Keita, executive director for programs at the U.N.'s population agency. Here are five things the U.N. does that you may not have known: U.N. agencies facilitate programs worldwide focused on women, tied to education, financial literacy, employment opportunities and more. Among the most sensitive services provided are those for victims of gender-based violence. In Chad, the U.N. Population Fund operates several rehabilitation programs for women and girls recovering from that trauma. One of them, Halima Yakoy Adam, was taken at age 15 to a Boko Haram training camp in Nigeria, where she and several other girls were forced to become suicide bombers. Adam managed to escape with severe injuries, while the others died in blasts. 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Arab Times
12-06-2025
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Kuwait mourns victims of Air India crash
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Charred bodies lay on the ground and parts of the fuselage were scattered around the site. Indian army teams were assisting civil authorities to clear debris and help treat the injured. A video on social media showed the jet slowly descending as if it were landing. As soon as it disappeared out of view behind rows of houses, a giant fireball filled the sky. The AP was able to verify the video by matching up the flight path of the plane from the runway with the crash site and the nearby residential area. At the crash site, the tail cone of the aircraft with damaged stabilizer fins still attached to it was lodged near the top of one of the buildings. In a social media post, Modi called the crash 'heartbreaking beyond words' and said 'my thoughts are with everyone affected.' City police chief G.S. Malik told the AP that the dead could include both passengers and those on the ground. 'Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,' he said. 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Arab Times
11-06-2025
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Coast Guard suspends search for plane that crashed into the ocean off San Diego and killed 6
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