Muddy mess raises awareness, money for water-quality issues

By Ángel González
Seattle Times July 15, 2007
BOW, Skagit County — The mud is dirty, stinky and it sticks to your clothes and shoes. But it's also fun — and a good way for clean-water advocates to spread the word about threats to Puget Sound. On Saturday, some 127 runners stampeded through the wet, squishy landscape, leaving deep footprints and loose shoes amid the oysters in a shellfish farm near Bow. Some barely made it beyond the starting line before falling down in the mud plain revealed by the morning low tide, while most waded slowly through the unfamiliar surface. "It's something natural instead of man-made," said Cindy Power, 38, of Burlington, who described herself as an on-and-off runner. Saturday was her first time taking part in the annual Samish Bay Bivalve Bash and Low Tide Mud Run, in its fifth year. Some of the estimated 1,500 participants came from afar to seriously run, like Margaret Devries, 60, from Abbotsford, B.C. Most came to cheer them on or watch their friends fall. The event's purpose was to raise money for the Skagit Conservation Education Alliance, which focuses on water-quality issues, and to spread the word about how to protect Puget Sound and its shorelines. The damage caused by the area's rapid urbanization has put a strain not only on nature but also on local economic activities such as shellfish farms, advocates say. Poor water quality threatens the local efforts of Taylor Shellfish Farms, the event's host and main sponsor, said public-affairs manager Bill Dewey. Pesticides and pathogens from human and animal feces can make their way into shellfish, which filter seawater to feed. In parts of Samish Bay, authorities are closely watching pollution levels that could taint shellfish. If the creatures "absorb that pollution it'll become harmful to eat them," Dewey said. The Shelton-based company — a major local shellfish producer with about $40 million in annual revenue — recently acquired five shellfish farms in neighboring British Columbia. "We don't feel there's enough certainty in the future water quality in the Puget Sound area," Dewey said. He said people living near the shore can help by avoiding chemical fertilizers, maintaining their septic tanks and picking up after their pets. "When you're walking your pet and it poops, pick up after it," Dewey said. Inviting people to splash around in the mud is a rare opportunity to make them familiar with what's at stake, said John Daly, spokesman for event co-sponsor Mud Up, a coalition that seeks to create 10 new parks and restore 100 miles of Puget Sound shoreline in the next three years. "Only 10 percent of the shoreline is accessible," Daly said. To Francisco Garrido, 50, of Kent, the Bivalve Bash was a "very big surprise." He and his family visit the area often, stopping at the Taylor farm to taste the seafood, and unexpectedly ran into the celebration. His wife and mother-in-law enjoyed fresh shellfish while his four children played in the mud or looked at exhibits with live crabs and geoducks. "The Earth has more troubles every day," he said.