MARROWSTONE ISLAND — Hearing that driftwood poisoned with creosote washes up on Jefferson County beaches and sometimes ends up in campfires, Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland drew a fitting image.

“That’s not a real tasty smore,” he joked Thursday with reporters who were updated on the Puget Sound pilings and debris removal program.

Sutherland made the remark from the eastern bluff overlooking the 1897 pier at Fort Flagler State Park, where contractor Quigg Bros. Inc. is pulling 220 pilings.

The state Department of Natural Resources that Sutherland runs has joined other agencies and volunteers over the past three years in removing chemical-laden materials from waters and beaches along the North Olympic Peninsula.

Quigg Bros. was removing decking Friday and will loosen and pull the creosote-laden pier and pilings out of the bay.

The debris will be taken in railroad cars to a hazardous waste landfill in southern Washington.

“The more we learn about the effects of creosote on the environment, the more we know it should not be in the waters and beaches of our state. Partnerships are essential in making these projects happen quickly,” Sutherland said, adding he appreciated the continued support of the Puget Sound Partnership, Department of Ecology and the Northwest Straits Commission.”