Move Over Sasquatch...

Have you seen a large, difficult to describe hominid wandering the shores of Puget Sound recently?

Nope - It's not Saquatch, it's (drumroll) the MudMonster!

It turns out that Puget Sound is messed up. Think Chesapeake Bay with cruise ships and nuclear submarines. There are efforts afoot to fix that (WA House Bill 1374, Governor Gregoire's plan, WA Senate Bill 5372, etc.) but this will need time, money, federal involvement and public support. Part of the public relations efforts include a new program (kicked off today), called MudUp! is geared toward getting interested citizens involved.

I highly recommend visiting that site to learn about how you can get muddy and improve the ecology of Puget Sound.

But back to the Mud Monster. According to the website,

Like Sasquatch, he can be rather elusive at times, but he's friendly and doesn't shy away from crowds. You never know where he'll pop up - at farmers' markets, at festivals, and even on ferries.

In the Mud Monster photo album, there is a picture of our governor - the same one who led the charge against big tobacco as Washington's attorney general - standing uncomfortably next to what appears to be a giant turd. At least the turd has a big smile, starfish on its chest, a kelp sash and shore grass for hair.

I hope that MudUp! is successful, and I applaud their efforts to bring some fun to a task that will require lots of hard work from the grass- I mean eelgrass-roots level on up to federal policy work.