Maury Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maury Island is a small island in Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is connected to Vashon Island by an isthmus built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to construction of the isthmus, the island was connected to Vashon only during low tide. The island is rural with large areas of excellent farmland, forest, and relatively undeveloped shoreline. Currently, South Maury Island environmental issues are under considerable scrutiny.
Maury Island was named in honor of William Lewis Maury during the Wilkes Expedition. It was the site of the Maury Island Incident, an unusual case of an alleged encounter with a UFO.
Maury Island also is the center of controversy between the locals and Glacier Northwest, a company that supplies ready-mixed concrete owned by the Taiheiyo Cement Company of Japan. The company intends a 300-fold expansion of their existing gravel mine on the island, which is currently permitted to extract up to 20,000 tons per year. With the expansion, the company would have gained the capability to extract up to 40,000 tons per day, an incredibly significant increase from state allowed levels. The opposition group made up of local islanders is known as preserve our island and staunchly advocate the observation of the facts before continuing mining operations on the island. It is also of note that the affected shoreline is located within the state's only existing aquatic preserve for notably diverse marine ecosystems. The company's project website provides additional information on the project and how it will be conducted.
The actor John Ratzenberger once lived on Maury Island.
Maury and Vashon Islands are home to the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council. In the 1940s, Vashon had a chamber of commerce which acted more like a community council than a traditional chamber. By the 1950s, the precursor to today's community council was organized and called itself the "Civic Assembly." Today, the Community Council is charged with working to preserve the rural nature of Vashon and Maury Islands.
