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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Sunday Spin 3: Draining the swamp for a big chill

While supporters and opponents of President-elect Donald Trump argue whether his cabinet picks show he’s making good on a promise to “drain the swamp,” state officials are actually draining a former swamp here in Olympia.

The swamp, or estuary if we’re being hoity-toity, was below the Capitol campus until the river that ran through it was dammed to create Capitol Lake. But now the lake is beset by snails – foreign snails from New Zealand, no less, not even good old 'Merican snails – so state officials are drawing the lake down as low as possible in the cold weather to freezing out as many as possible of the pesky little mollusks from down under.



Jim Camden
Jim Camden joined The Spokesman-Review in 1981 and retired in 2021. He is currently the political and state government correspondent covering Washington state.

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