Hello from Brice Boland

Hello Surfrider members! My name is Brice Boland and I’ve recently been hired as the new Washington State Field Coordinator. Being an avid outdoor enthusiast and advocate I feel incredibly lucky to be working with the Surfrider Foundation. As a born and raised Idahoan I spent the bulk of my life fishing the Clearwater River, hiking in the Bitterroot Mountains of Northern Idaho, and skiing throughout the Northwest. Through it all I developed a deep appreciation for the environment. About six years ago this passion led me to take a position as a community organizer working on water contamination issues resulting from phosphate mining. As a result, I learned the basic tools and tactics to be a successful organizer. Since then, I have run campaigns for candidates and issues from rural Idaho to metropolitan Pittsburgh. I take with me the experience and dedication to work with chapters and individuals to advance Surfrider campaigns and programs. I am at your call so if you would like to speak with me please contact me with any questions or ideas. I look forward to working with you all, to supporting chapter initiatives, and to restoring and protecting our coasts so that we can all enjoy clean water, healthy beaches, and rich ocean ecosystems.

Looking Forward to Meeting You,

Brice Boland
(253) 442-3743
bboland@surfrider.org

New toll-free line to report marine debris

Photo by Stiv Wilson

State announces toll-free line to report marine debris on beaches

Washington State has a new toll-free reporting and information line – 1-855-WACOAST (1-855-922-6278) – to report marine debris on our coastal beaches.

People who call 1-855-WACOAST can:

·       Report oil and hazardous items to the National Response Center and Ecology by pressing “1.”
·       Report large floating debris items that might pose a boating or navigation hazard by pressing “2.”
·       Get instructions for reporting debris that is not large or hazardous.

The State is encouraging everyone visiting coastal beaches to remove and dispose of small debris items such as Styrofoam, plastic, bottles, other synthetic materials, glass and metal.

If an item appears to have sentimental value to those who owned it, NOAA requests that people move the item to a safe place and email the information to disasterdebreis@noaa.gov.

More about tsunami debris

• Widely scattered debris has been arriving intermittently along Pacific Northwest shorelines. For more information, go to: http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/japanfaqs.html#FAQs. 
• Surfrider Foundation: http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/tsunami-debris-coming-to-a-beach-near-you
• NOAA is actively collecting information about tsunami debris and asks the public to report debris sightings to disasterdebris@noaa.gov.