The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is asking the public for ideas to help city and county governments throughout Puget Sound address how geoduck aquaculture could be regulated under local shoreline management regulations.

Ecology is conducting two public workshops in Lacey on Thursday, March 26, to gather comments from the public. The first workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to noon and the second from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Ecology headquarters, 300 Desmond Dr., downstairs auditorium.

The workshops are designed to build on recommendations of the state Shellfish Aquaculture Regulatory Committee regarding how geoduck aquaculture operations might be managed through state shoreline management guidelines.

The 2007 Legislature created the shellfish committee to help balance environmental and residential land-use concerns about intertidal beaches in Puget Sound being used for geoduck aquaculture.

The broad-based committee met for 18 months and included representatives from local government, shellfish industry, environmental community, shoreline property owners, state agencies and tribal governments.

Ecology’s report on the committee’s results was sent to the Washington Legislature last week: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0806024.html.