Nine-plus tons of contaminated wood removed from Dungeness Spit

By Matthew Nash • May 7, 2025 4:30 am
Photo courtesy Washington Department of Natural Resources/ From March 31-April 10, state and tribal crews removed 19,290 pounds of toxic wood and other large marine debris from the Dungeness Spit.
Photo courtesy Washington Department of Natural Resources/ From March 31-April 10, state and tribal crews removed 19,290 pounds of toxic wood and other large marine debris from the Dungeness Spit.

In the last month, Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe staff removed more than nine tons of contaminated wood and debris from the Dungeness Spit.

Zoe Love, communications manager for Washington’s State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said WCC crews managed by DNR regularly work on the Olympic Peninsula as “marine debris often washes up on the Dungeness Spit, so WCC does a clean-up there nearly annually.”

From March 31-April 10, crews surveyed the Spit, cut and staged debris, and hauled boatloads for disposal, she said. In total, they removed 19,290 pounds of toxic wood and other large marine debris from the Spit.

Love said most of the wood was treated with creosote, a chemical mixture that can hurt marine life and animals. Crews also removed plastic, Styrofoam and abandoned fishing gear.

The wood, Love said, is typically taken to nearby landfills for disposal as there is no way to recycle the wood due to the creosote.

She said six WCC crew members, and staff and a vessel from Jamestown’s Natural Resources Department worked on the project.

Last August, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed a co-stewardship agreement for the Dungeness and Protection Island National Wildlife Refuges. The Tribe took over the day-to-day management of the refuges that includes the Dungeness Spit.

Cleanup projects such as the Spit are typical projects for DNR’s Washington Conservation Corps, Love said, as they partner with tribes, park districts, and others.

DNR contracts and trains WCC crews for marine debris removal efforts in an 11-month program through AmeriCorps, she said. Since October 2024, the crew team has removed about 300,000 pounds of marine debris. Recent clean-up projects include Whidbey and Maury Islands, Love said.

Priority clean-up sites are identified through public feedback through DNR’s Marine Debris Removal Program’s website — https://mycoast.org/wa — and app.

Through these methods, the public can submit photos and/or information about marine debris.

Participants have submitted 12,523 reports with 19,094 photographs, according to the website.

On DNR’s main WCC website, the agency continues to recruit workers for the summer at https://ecology.wa.gov/about-us/jobs-at-ecology/washington-conservation-corps.

“As of right now, this WCC crew is continuing marine debris removal efforts with uninterrupted pay,” Love said. “Unfortunately, the crew will no longer be able to credit hours to their AmeriCorps education awards going forward due to federal cuts to AmeriCorps.”

In national news, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown joined a multi-state lawsuit on April 29 challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order from February that ended funding for about 85% of AmeriCorps’ workforce.

Brown’s staff wrote in a press release that on April 25 Washington officials were notified that AmeriCorps’ grant programs were stopped following the executive order directing federal agencies to reduce workforce sizes.

Photo courtesy Washington Department of Natural Resources/ Residents are encouraged to refer large debris to the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ Marine Debris Removal Program’s website mycoast.org/wa and app. Priority sites are later identified and Washington Conservation Corps and local partners such as the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe work in tandem to clean up the area, such as on the Dungeness Spit where more than nine tons of debris was removed.

Photo courtesy Washington Department of Natural Resources/ Residents are encouraged to refer large debris to the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ Marine Debris Removal Program’s website mycoast.org/wa and app. Priority sites are later identified and Washington Conservation Corps and local partners such as the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe work in tandem to clean up the area, such as on the Dungeness Spit where more than nine tons of debris was removed.

Photo courtesy Washington Department of Natural Resources/ Residents are encouraged to refer large debris to the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ Marine Debris Removal Program’s website mycoast.org/wa and app. Priority sites are later identified and Washington Conservation Corps and local partners such as the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe work in tandem to clean up the area, such as on the Dungeness Spit where more than nine tons of debris was removed.

Photo courtesy Washington Department of Natural Resources/ Residents are encouraged to refer large debris to the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ Marine Debris Removal Program’s website mycoast.org/wa and app. Priority sites are later identified and Washington Conservation Corps and local partners such as the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe work in tandem to clean up the area, such as on the Dungeness Spit where more than nine tons of debris was removed.