Mukilteo hopes to show off a gem of marine science

Published 10:32 pm Wednesday, January 20, 2010

MUKILTEO — For nearly 40 years, scientists have flocked to a drab, two-story building along the city’s waterfront.

Inside the gray National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration station, they’ve studied why parts of the ocean are more acidic than others, how fish are affected by pollution and more.

Their work is among the most cutting-edge in fisheries science, yet few people outside academic circles know what goes on at the Mukilteo site.

Sure, scientists welcome busloads of school children for a glimpse, but visitors to the city are just as likely to walk by the building without blinking.

If city officials and scientists have their way, the site could eventually become a larger, regional gathering spot for scientists and tourists.

“We’re certainly not living up to the potential of what the site could be, going forward,” said Nathaniel Scholz, a NOAA research scientist who’s looking into how pollution affects the Puget Sound.

City leaders agree. They’re so intrigued by the idea of a spruced-up research center that finding federal money for it is one of their top priorities.

They’re asking the state’s congressional delegation for an extensive renovation of the research center.

“What we would like to see from that is something that’s more open to the public, where people can see what they do,” Mayor Joe Marine said.

The city works hard, he said, to draw tourists to such sites as Lighthouse Park and Old Town. A refurbished science center could be just the ticket to encourage more pedestrian-friendly improvements along the waterfront.

Some look to the south and see a hint of what could be.

Newport, Ore., has both the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center, operated by Oregon State University.

That center, parts of which are open to the public, is home to some 140 researchers from NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency and many other agencies studying pollution, the life cycles of aquatic mammals, alternative energy and more.

“That’s what we envision, though maybe not quite that size,” Marine said.

The research station in Mukilteo is one of five research stations that make up the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, a NOAA research arm. The station in Mukilteo has fewer than 30 workers. Behind the doors of the site, there’s a collection of sea creatures that could form the nucleus of a small aquarium: round, plastic tanks with abalone; containers filled with various algae and microscopic organisms called plankton, a major food source for sea creatures and a crucial part of the ocean’s ecosystem.

Scientists flock to Mukilteo for many reasons, but the biggest may be that the 1.1-acre NOAA site sits adjacent to one of the cleanest stretches of Puget Sound around, said Paul Plesha, who manages the Mukilteo station.

The water’s so clean because it’s 600 feet deep — extremely deep for being so close to the shore. It also a fairly constant temperature and salt content, he said.

That makes Mukilteo an ideal place to get uncontaminated samples of fish and other sea life for study.

“What we’d like to have would be a research facility that continues the important work that the Northwest Fish Sciences Center does,” said Jim Herkelrath, facilities manager for the center, who is based in Seattle.

He declined to say how much money his agency is seeking or how soon officials would like to see the upgrades completed.

Just when NOAA could move forward, if it had the money, is unclear, Marine said.

That’s because NOAA doesn’t own the land on which its station sits. The site is just a small part of the 22-acre Tank Farm, a decommissioned U.S. Air Force fuel tank site that’s in the process of being transferred from the Air Force to the Port of Everett.

“I’ve asked for a waiver right now so I can get started a little earlier,” Herkelrath said.

The city would like to reclaim its share of the Tank Farm, opening the door, perhaps, to an extended waterfront walkway connecting pedestrians from there to the Sound Transit Commuter train station, ferries and area businesses.

Sandy Kaduce, former Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce president, says a refurbished science station could boost the city’s Old Town area. She’s leading efforts to form a nonprofit group, Friends of the Mukilteo Waterfront.

The group’s goal is to get the public more involved in moving redevelopment of the waterfront forward.

“A lot of times, what you see in places where you’ve got either a waterfront or another area that’s significant to people but ownership’s in doubt, is citizens get to help,” she said.

Oscar Halpert: 425-339-3429, ohalpert@heraldnet.com