PORT ANGELES — A North Olympic Peninsula man has been given a national award for work to protect oceans and beaches.
Arnold Schouten, the former co-owner of Hartnagel Building Supply and Angeles Millwork in Port Angeles, was given the Surfrider Foundation’s Coastal Impact Wavemaker award for 2015.
He is a member of the Surfrider Olympic Peninsula Chapter and the Clallam Marine Resources Committee.
The Surfrider Foundation announced its 2015 Wavemaker Award recipients April 11.
The awards recognize individuals and companies for volunteer efforts to fulfill Surfrider’s mission of protecting the ocean and beaches.
The Coastal Impact category for which Schouten was awarded is one of eight categories given annually nationwide.
Schouten was nominated by his colleagues.
“For more than 20 years, he has made an incredible impact on our organization and coastal conservation in Washington,” said Cathy Lear, Clallam Marine Resources Committee coordinator.
“His intimate knowledge of the Olympic Peninsula, combined with his passion for clean waters and a healthy ecosystem, has made him a vocal supporter of the Surfrider mission to protect ocean, waves and beaches for our enjoyment.”
Schouten has been a resident of Clallam County for 33 years.
He and his wife, Debbie, operate Dry Creek Waterfowl west of Port Angeles.
Through the breeding and research facility, they work closely with zoos, universities, government agencies and private breeders.
Schouten has been involved in breeding and recovery efforts of endangered waterfowl — specifically sea ducks — and has worked in rehabilitation of oiled waterfowl in three oil spills.
“Among his other achievements, [Schouten] has championed the Clallam Marine Resources Committee’s commitment to training volunteers to prepare for oil spills,” Lear said.
That committee is a team of residents “representing commercial and sport fishers, conservation and environmental interests along with tribes, cities, academia and other local governmental agencies [that] work together to promote local solutions to address the degradation of natural resources in Clallam County,” according to its website, www.clallamcountymrc.org.
The group aims to improve shellfish harvest areas, protect marine habitat, support salmon and bottomfish recovery, and examine resource management alternatives.
The committee was established by the Northwest Straits Commission as a result of the 1998 Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative.
On the committee, Schouten represents the development community and has a 32-year history in the local building industry.
In 2008, he and his wife, Debbie, retired from Angeles Millwork and Hartnagel Building Supply, which they had converted to employee ownership.
On the committee, Schouten “works to educate and inform the public and officials” about issues threatening the health of the coastal areas, Lear said.
“Recently, he has spearheaded several large-scale marine debris removal projects along a very remote section of the outer Washington coast in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, Makah tribe and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.”
For more information about the committee, visit the website.
For more information about the Surfrider Foundation, visit www.surfrider.org.
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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.