The Guardian has published a sobering look at a planet in runaway climate change. There is not a lot of time left to make the serious changes needed while our politicians take half measures at best. Could you live in 130 degree heat? It’s been happening this year in many places.
Filed under: Climate Change, Olympic Peninsula | Tagged: climate change, global warming | Leave a comment »
A Speaker Series: Toxicology and Societies
The Impacts of Chemicals in Our Lives
| Thursday, October 5, 2023 | 11:00am to 12:00pm PT on Zoom |
| In northwestern North America, a new rush of mining exploration and production is underway. The valuable mineral reserves in this region underlie watersheds that support critical water resources and cultural keystone species such as Pacific salmon. The scale of current-day mines dwarfs many historical mines. And, despite improvements to modern-day governance processes, we still witness mining operations causing harm to salmonid-bearing watersheds. This presentation will describe the basics of industrial-scale mining operations, the ecology of salmonid-bearing watersheds, and the negative impacts that metal and coal mining can have on salmonids and their habitat. This information can be applied to four key scientific questions intended to promote transparent discussions of whether the risk and uncertainty of mining impacts are sufficiently considered in governance processes. More information about the speaker series is available, as are all past Toxicology and Societies recordings. |
| Brought to you by: Institute of Environmental Toxicology and ChemistryWWU Alumni Office Register here: Mining Risks to the Salmon Watersheds of Northwestern North America | The Foundation for WWU & Alumni | Western Washington University |
| Chris Sergeant – Speaker |
| Chris Sergeant is an applied watershed scientist working where freshwaters, fish, and people converge. He grew up in Des Moines, Washington, and currently lives in Seattle working remotely as a research scientist with the Flathead Lake Biological Station. Chris is also an Affiliate Instructor with the University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. Before moving back to Seattle with his family in late 2020, he enjoyed living 10 years in Juneau, Alaska, which had a huge influence on his perspectives on life and science. Chris studies mining impacts to freshwater ecosystems, climate change implications for Pacific salmon, best practices for developing long-term ecological monitoring plans, and the governance of transboundary watersheds. Chris received his BS and MS from the University of Washington and his PhD from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. |
| Questions & Accommodations |
| Contact the WWU Alumni Office for this event by calling (360) 650-3353 or emailing Alumni@wwu.edu. There will be auto-captions available for this event. |
Filed under: environmental education, Environmental Protection, Events | Leave a comment »
The never ending saga of the proposed but never built Pleasant Harbor Master Planned Resort. The Brinnon Group, the main local organization opposing this planned community, recently published this on their web site:
Our attorney has written a letter to the county commissioners about an agreement they have signed with the developer. The agreement includes the developer’s payment of past due fees and a new arrangement for the developer to pay for a county planner to process MPR county permits. The letter points out that the developer has not done the things legally required to be able to apply for county permits.
EXERPT from the County Agreement“…no residential development in this MPR can proceed without construction of the recreational facilities described above, in particular the construction of the golf course, recreational center with hotel rooms, community center, a pool, water slides and other such facilities. It is notable that in the 4 1⁄2 years since the Superior Court’s decision, there has been little or no progress on the required recreational features of the Master Planned Resort. As far as we known, no permit applications have been submitted for the golf course, recreation center, hotel, or any of the other required recreational elements. These features must be built out prior to the construction and sale of residential lots, finished homes or condominium units.
The question has to be asked at this point, now over 15 years since the Canadian developer started applying for this project, that other than clear cutting areas of the site, (from which they likely made money selling the timber), why has there been no movement that is visible to uphold their end of the contract. They were contractually supposed to build out infrastructure before building residential development. It certainly seems that the county commissioners of that era, who were warned by many in the community, failed in their duties to protect the county. It appears all the county has got for this agreement is a costly long running lawsuit. Should the county rescind the agreement for breach of contract? It would be an interesting question.
It is hard to understand what the Canadian developer actually wanted to do with this property. They claimed they wanted to develop it, but were they ever financially capable of doing that? It’s not like the county has not given them time and resources to get this underway.
Background from the Brinnon Group website:
“Before land sales can take place, infrastructure and recreational amenities must be complete. Four years ago, the developer attempted to move forward with its plans without committing to completing facilities that would qualify it for an MPR, but the Brinnon Group successfully sued in Superior Court to require that infrastructure must be complete before land sales can occur. Now the developer is once again promoting sales of property in the MPR without completing any of the work required by its terms of approval. Sales brochures have been sent through the US mail to local residents in Western Washington, including referencing advertising on various internet sites.The Brinnon Group has filed complaints with the Washington State Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division and the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeking orders to cease deceptive sales activity until site work and amenities are complete. The full complaint is on the Brinnon Group website. Though the sale material conveys the impression the MPR is move-in ready, in fact there are not even permit applications, much less completed facilities for any of the elements required for the MPR. Indeed, the essential of development, sewer and water facilities, are not even in the planning stage, though Stateman promises ”indoor pools, hockey and skating, indoor soccer and other training facilities” to prospective owners. It also fancifully promises a “health center” offering “an approved surgical operatory” for various procedures including “plastic surgery, urology and gynecology.” The developer appears to lack basic financing for this substantial venture; indeed, it asked local and state governments for some $37million in grants and loans for the project a few years ago.
Filed under: Environmental Protection, Land Development | Tagged: Brinnon, Development, Duckabush, Jefferson County | 1 Comment »
Well worth an hour to hear from a key State Commissioner. Click anywhere on the photo below to be taken to the signup page. The RSVP link does not work in the image.
Filed under: education, Environmental Activism, environmental education, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection, Events, fisheries, Government, Olympic Peninsula, wolves | Tagged: Commissioner, discussion, fish, politics, wildlife | 2 Comments »
Time after time, citizens have had to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for failing to protect the animals and their habitat as required by law, in areas that the nation has recognized as critical to preserve as habitat and for public recreation. Now USFWS is willing to allow, for private profit, the industrialization of refuge lands for shellfish operations.
>>Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland that the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge lease for industrial aquaculture must be rescinded.
In spite of demonstrated harm to birds, salmon, forage fish, and shellfish, and a recommendation by the National Marine Fisheries Service that “an alternative site be identified in a location that results in less potential impacts to wildlife that is more appropriate for aquaculture and meets the goals of the tribe,” USFWS approved a lease for an industrial oyster farm inside the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. This decision, which is in violation of the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, must be reversed.
In the words written of an October 2022 USFWS internal memorandum, “Forgoing a compatibility determination in order to facilitate incompatible commercial activities by any entity would be a subversion of the fundamental requirements in the [USFWS] Improvement Act.”
We are targeting the most recent case of the USFWS’s permissiveness in one of the country’s most pristine nature lands, the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge in the small rural town of Sequim Washington, just below the Olympic National Park. In this case, the shellfish corporation raises shellfish on other sites. They do not need to operate in a national refuge and deny wildlife their feeding and breeding grounds.
The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge was created by Executive Order in 1915 by Woodrow Wilson, directing the area to be set aside as a “refuge, preserve and breeding ground for native birds and prohibits any disturbance of the birds within the reserve.” The front page of the Refuge website states: “Pets, bicycles, kite flying, Frisbees, ball-playing, camping, and fires are not permitted on the Refuge as they are a disturbance for the many migrating birds and other wildlife taking solitude on the Refuge.” With this level of concern, it is counterintuitive to allow destructive industrial aquaculture.
Industrial shellfish aquaculture is known to reduce or eliminate eelgrass with the use of pesticides. Shellfish aquaculture also involves large-scale use of plastics—PVC tubes and plastic netting—that are hazardous to marine organisms and can trap and entangle wildlife. Commercial shellfish aquaculture is a major industry in Washington state that has significant impacts on the nearshore marine environments, which provide essential habitat for many species, including invertebrates, fish (including herring and salmon), and birds (migratory and shorebirds).
Among the negative impacts of this project are: 50% reduction in bird primary feeding grounds; plastic oyster bags that exclude the probing shorebird flocks from feeding deeply into the substrate, entrap fish and birds, add macro- and micro-plastic bits to the sediment throughout the refuge, and shift the benthic community composition; diminishing of the ecological benefits provided by eelgrass to threatened fish and birds, such as nourishment and cover from predators; and increased algal blooms that will leave a graveyard of dead oysters. These detrimental effects to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge are NOT minimal. Decisionmakers should not place financial benefits to the corporation above the long-term and cumulative impacts to the refuge. Half of the world’s 10,000-odd bird species are in decline. One in eight faces the threat of extinction. 2.9 billion breeding adult birds have been lost from the United States and Canada in only 50 years.
Let’s raise our national voice and try and stop this refuge destruction with public persuasion. This is a public space we pay to protect. For more information, check out the Daily News post from last August, “Groups Sue U.S. Interior Department to Protect the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge from Industrial Aquaculture.”
This action follows a lawsuit filed by three environmental organizations against the U.S. Department of Interior for failing to protect the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge from industrial aquaculture. The groups, including Protect the Peninsula’s Future, Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat, and Beyond Pesticides, filed their complaint in the U.S. Western District Court of Washington State. The complaint states that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Department of Interior, must “take action that is required by the Refuge Improvement Act and conduct a compatibility determination and require a special use permit for a proposed industrial aquaculture use” that will abut and impact the Refuge. The plaintiffs are represented by the Seattle, WA law firm of Bricklin and Newman LLP.
>>Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland that the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge lease for industrial aquaculture must be rescinded.
We are focusing this Action against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Secretary of State.
Thank you for your active participation and engagement!
Please take this ACTION and circulate it to your family, friends and colleagues.
https://secure.everyaction.com/WMJxQmNjDUqarx4FmLzUrA2
also, to support the lawsuit, you can send checks to:
Send a check to: PPF, POBox 421, Sequim WA 98382 or through PayPal: https://www.protectpeninsulasfuture.org/donate/
PPF is a federal recognized 501c3 non-profit.
Filed under: Aquaculture, Clallam County, Endangered Species, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection, Environmental Science, Olympic Peninsula, Sea Life, Shellfish, Straits of Juan de Fuca | Tagged: aquaculture, Dungeness Bay | Comments Off on ACTION item: Stopping the industrialization of the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge
The Peninsula Daily News mentions that the Kiwana’s of Port Angeles invited fishing guide, columnist and long time “salmon restoration industry” critic Pat Neal to speak at their recent meeting. We have long documented Neal’s rants against any and all efforts to restore the rivers he claims to love.
Neal blames virtually all parties, the Federal government, State government, and Local Governments for spending millions of dollars and having nothing (in his mind) to show for it. The article says that he ended by saying the Tribes should be running fish restoration, as if they haven’t been for decades. He clearly has been out of touch with what has been happening all around him.
Having done volunteer environmental work on the Peninsula for 20 years, along with producing films for the Jamestown S’Klallam and my film “Voices of the Strait” in 2010 for the Puget Sound Partnership, which was a documentary on the “old timers” that grew up fishing and hunting here, I can state that what Neal conveniently leaves out, is as important as what he says.
First off, Neal does not seem to understand that the efforts of restoration will take far longer and far more than the little we have already done. Why? Because we are dealing with 150 years of rampant exploitation of the Peninsula and it’s environment by a variety of people and companies operating with a worldview of “unlimited resources.” They were people of a very different time, legal framework and perspective.
Logging companies commercially cut over 95% of the old growth timber here. While doing that, they destroyed the 12,000 year old forest floors right down to the streambeds. A recovery from this destruction will take over another 100 years, if ever. This ecosystem was where the salmon (and numerous other unique species) thrived. They couldn’t and can’t live without it. There is no “blame” here, these people did not have a scientific understanding of how the ecosystem worked. They simply thought there was so much abundance, it could never end. The last “one log” truck went out on this peninsula as late as the early 1970s, while the Congress allowed raw logs to go out to Japan without using our sawmills. I watched as the ships were loaded with giant cedar and fir. Who profited from those decisions? Yet many still want to blame the Spotted Owl or the Boldt Decision for the end of the logging era and the almost simultaneous collapse of the salmon runs. The Spotted Owl fiasco was an outcome, not a cause. The Boldt Decision simply recognized that our neighbors indeed had “Treaty Rights” and they were going to be asked to help manage a fishery they had historically successfully managed for centuries.
Additionally, well meaning farmers gutted the rivers for irrigation, especially in the Sequim/Dungeness basin. One long time fisherman named Vince Cameron I interviewed for “Voices of the Strait”, told me that as a young boy, growing up on the Dungeness, he witnessed a tractor come into the river and cut a channel to create an irrigation ditch, during the middle of a salmon run, stranding thousands of fish as they moved upstream to spawn. He also discussed that channelizing the river, to end the flooding of the valley, created a high pressure hose effect, essentially scouring the banks where the salmon spawned.
The reversal of this entire mess has taken hundreds of millions of dollars, decades of the efforts of the Jamestown S’Klallam and the collaborative work of the Dungeness River Management Team, which included the Tribes, fishermen, hunters and farmers. It has been a successful effort. But it will likely take many more decades before we see significant numbers of salmon, especially the runs of Chinook. Neal would apparently rather sit on the sidelines and complain than take part in these efforts.
Another old timer told me that once the Hood Canal Floating Bridge came in, he noticed that the fishing in Hood Canal seemed to collapse. Since that comment to me, we have scientifically found out he was right, that the bridge is contributing to deaths of millions of fry on their way out to sea. Efforts to understand how we can keep the bridge and yet make it safe for salmon fry are ongoing.
Alexandra Morton in Canada scientifically proved that net pens were contributing to sea lice that were killing and weakening salmon as they passed by on their way to the sea. I witnessed the PR people employed by major aquaculture companies we all love here in Puget Sound, denounce her and her work over and over again. She was finally, after decades of work, successful in getting the Canadian Government to remove these farms. The runs this year, the first year that returns came back having not passed the farms, were spectacular. The people who denounced her have continued to be members of influential committees here on the Peninsula and continue to denounce efforts to reign in their ongoing takeover of our beaches.
We also have witnessed extensive construction of homes and businesses along the banks of salmon streams, destroying the natural habitat for a mixture of concrete and lawns. The reversal of that is taking decades as homes are bought out, removed and flood plains put back in place. Flood plains are the “lungs” of the river, and our destruction of them was incredibly bad news for salmon. Now we are on a path to restoration with best available science helping guide decisions being made by large groups of representatives from our cities, counties and environmental organizations.
I interviewed men who ran sports fishing boats out of Sekiu and other places. Herb Balch told me how he and other sports fishing fleet owners begged the Department of Fisheries to put limits on the salmon fishing during the 50s and 60s because they felt it was wasting the resource. He mentioned to me he would take out a boat of Boeing executives who would want to fish the “limit” and would come back with a boat of 30 to 50 fish. The customers might take one or two leaving him needing to gut and give away the rest. He could never find high school kids to be ready to do the work and in disgust, would dump the remaining fish over the side. This went on, day in and day out during fishing season.
Dick Goin, the late long time fisherman who was the spark for removing the Elwha dam, also documented the dramatic decline in salmon from the 1930s, when he arrived, to when he ended his fishing career. I have a copy of his legendary document, “Roll Call of the Lost” if anyone would like to see it.
Ray Hunter, who grew up in Dungeness Bay, recalled the day that the boats came in and swept across the bay, dragging nets that destroyed the bottom and brought an end to many of the fisheries that he experienced growing up in the 40s and 50s.
Peter Becker told me of being on fishing boats in the late 70s with the latest fish finders and him and the crews wondering who would catch “the last salmon”.
None of these men were environmental radical activists. They were simple fishermen, paper mill workers, truck drivers and businessmen that were appalled by the destruction they watched. They watched the ‘baseline’ as it’s called in science, move, and understood what was happening. From a baseline of virgin forests to a pillaged clear cut, from dozens of dead salmon floating away in the Strait, it was clear to them what was happening. Dick worked hard to reverse it, and the removal of the Elwha Dam and the return of the chinook and other fish to the upper reaches is now being seen. It’s not yet to a place where river guides can make a living, but we are headed that way. Unfortunately, it is not likely to be done in Pat Neal’s lifetime. It just isn’t that simple.
You can watch my film, “Voices of the Strait” on YouTube. Unfortunately, I was requested at the time to keep the running time short, and had to cut many interviews. I’m hoping to return to the film someday and make the running time long enough to include much of what was left “on the cutting room floor”.
You can watch my film, “Working for the River” about the Dungeness recovery efforts, on Vimeo.
Filed under: Clallam County, environmental education, Environmental Protection, fisheries, Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Salmon | 5 Comments »
According to Tom Hartmann..https://substack.com/@thomhartmann— “The world is subsidizing the fossil fuel industry’s efforts to destroy our planet at a rate of $13 million per minute.
A new report from the International Monetary Fund (which has funded fossil fuel projects in the past, so they’re not likely exaggerating), the total amount of subsidies given to fossil fuel billionaires and their companies last year was around $7 trillion, or about 7 percent of global GDP.
The biggest culprits are, in descending order, China, the US, Russia, the EU, and India. Here in America we give around $600 billion in subsidies every year to the fossil fuel industry, and that doesn’t even begin to count the costs we pay for cleaning up the industry’s messes, from abandoned wells and coal mines to rebuilding cities destroyed by climate-change-caused violent weather and fires.
This is insane, and must stop immediately. The IMF calculates that if the world’s subsidies were to end this year, next year would see a 34% decrease in the use of fossil fuels because they’d become so much more expensive. While we can’t control the rest of the world, we can set an example by cutting off American fossil fuel companies and their billionaires from our absurd taxpayer-funded subsidies: call your members of Congress at 202-224-3121 and let them know you support ending fossil fuel subsidies.”
Better yet, today is the annual Jefferson County Democratic fundraiser. Perhaps it’s worth reminding our elected officials.
And here’s a song to sing to these people who just can’t seem to stop killing the planet for their own greed.
Filed under: Environmental Activism, Global Warming, Olympic Peninsula | Comments Off on We are subsidizing our own demise.
Shuswap B.C., Gunn lake B.C., 19,000 evacuated in Yellow Knife alone. And hundreds more across Canada. Over 400 fires in Louisiana. 110 degree temps across the Midwest. With the loss of more of paradise to the onslaught of climate change, we have to ask ourselves when we are going to be ready to get serious about doing the big things to slow this crisis.
As the latest new heatwave finally washed against our shores in the Pacific Northwest, we are lucky that it was not the 20 degree variation other places are seeing. Lytton, before it burned, saw temperatures that much higher than previous highs. If we saw highs 20 degrees hotter, we would also be at 120 or higher, as the Midwest is currently seeing. Being in typical (or atypical summer drought season) surrounded by tree farms of our own making, and with westerlies being predominate, it is just a matter of time before we see a major fire storm sweep across the Olympic Peninsula. Perhaps it will take out one city rather than dozens, but my guess is that Port Townsend clearly has the forest cover to ignite.
Additionally, across the country, we have seen insurance companies, the real arbiters of climate change, abandon homeowners in risky areas. I’m sure Hawaii will be become the next target.
Homeowners struggle to get protection from climate disasters as big insurance companies scale back
If you have noticed a slowdown in my posts lately, it’s due to the fact that the headlines are validating what this blog along with all the major scientists on the planet, have warned about for decades. Why have we done so little to prepare? Because we are essentially just another country dictated by oil companies, not politicians. Until we are willing to challenge their hegemony, we are trapped in a cycle of destruction. Why? Well, we are not cutting our oil consumption.
If there is any good news on the horizon, it’s that the oil industry is pricing itself out of existence. Which will come first, our society destruction as the wealthy create the enclaves they think will allow them to survive? Or will the cost of solar and wind energy that already is vastly cheaper than even natural gas, allow us to simply turn off the taps? Unfortunately, as you look at the supporters of politicians like Trump, they are not rooted in reality anymore. They are like the Romans who believed the Empire would save them as the Visigoths appeared at the gates. However, a recent New York Times article documented the progress in Oklahoma, of all places, at moving towards an oil free future. There are glimmers of hope.
The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think
Other signs of hope. The new “Children’s Crusade” continues to push against the status quo.
Judge Rules in Favor of Montana Youths in a Landmark Climate Case (subscribe to the New York Times if you can’t read this article or go to your library and look it up).
We are now deep into the next epoch of the earth, one of our own stupid making: The Anthropocene. No amount of ‘restoration’ is going to be of much good if we simply continue to pour out more and more CO2.
Anthropocene: Scientists say they’ve found a site that marks a new chapter in Earth’s history | CNN
Demand our politicians actually do something and not simply ignore it as many of our Democrats appear to be doing. As was so wonderfully illustrated in Veep. “I feel like provoking someone, Mike… I really do.”
Filed under: Olympic Peninsula | Comments Off on Lahaina, Paradise (lost), Lytton B.C. – Who’s next?
If there was one thing that I learned in lobbying for environmental causes in Olympia, it’s that my legislators often talked about the impact of the oil industry lobby. Here’s an interesting and from my perspective accurate discussion on the latest efforts to derail moves away from fossil fuels.
“…Since February of last year, the oil industry has spent over $1.5 million dollars operating a front group, “Affordable Fuel Washington”, which is running ads claiming that climate policies are to blame for high gas prices. So, don’t be surprised if/when a paid canvasser asks you to sign their petition.”
Filed under: Olympic Peninsula | Tagged: legislature | Comments Off on Fossil fuel industry invests in deceiving Washingtonians -Sierra Club
DUNGENESS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE UPDATE (DNWR): Groups Sue USFWS For Failure to Protect the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
On August 17, Protect the Peninsula’s Future (PPF) was joined by The Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat and the WA D.C. national organization Beyond Pesticides in a legal action to hold the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) accountable to follow its regulations and protect the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. They were represented by the Seattle WA law firm Bricklin and Newman
Beyond Pesticides Press Release
The August 17 federal complaint, submitted to the United States District Court For The Western District of Washington, states that the USFWS must “take action that is required by the Refuge Improvement Act and conduct a compatibility determination and require a special use permit for a proposed industrial aquaculture use” that will abut and impact the Refuge.
Plainly, the compatibility determination would decide whether this industrial- shellfish operation is compatible with the mission of the Refuge.The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1915 by President Woodrow Wilson. The Refuge provides habitat, a preserve, and breeding grounds for more than 250 species of birds and 41 species of land animals. The shellfish operation lease is for 50 acres of Washington State bottomlands. 34 acres would be covered with up to 80.000 plastic grow-out bags of non-native shellfish spat, staked into the bottomlands and potentially killing all marine life underneath and snaring wildlife in the netting. These plastic bags will cover the primary feeding grounds for the birds, essentially starving them as they peck through the plastic trying to reach nutrients. This operation would shift the natural year-round-sediment drift, moving the sediment into and covering the eelgrass beds – beds protected for rearing salmon for whales and nourishment for particular migratory ducks. To protect the birds, the area is closed to the public during the migratory bird season. However the USFWS will allow the shellfish operation in to the area all year long to the detriment of the birds.
Please see this publication for further detail. https://www.ehn.org/dungeness-national-wildlife-refuge-oyster-2660613389.html
Filed under: Clallam County, Endangered Species, Environmental Activism, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection | Comments Off on Groups Sue USFWS for Failure to Protect Dungeness Spit
Friends of Fort Flagler
Wednesday, Sept. 6th @ 9:00am 10:30am
Program: River Otter Beach Walk/Talk
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/616275967007Location: East Beach past Wansboro BatteryJoin us to learn about these cute and curious creatures that live throughout the Puget Sound. We’ll be taking a beach walk on East Beach past the Wansboro Battery and discussing the river otter’s life cycle, behavior and where you might find them. If we’re lucky, we may even see one! Bring comfortable shoes, warm clothes and a rain jacket. Presenter: Jennifer Riker has a deep passion and love for the Pacific NW and all the beauty and wildlife that can be found here. She is a social worker that has also volunteered as a mountain steward with the Mt Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest and volunteered at the zoo in Seattle Jennifer loves learning everything she can about her beautiful home and all the wildlife that she is fortunate to co-exist with and continues her education taking many classes at North Cascade Institute on plants, birds, dragonflies and is a naturalist for the Mountaineers.
Saturday, Sept. 16th @ 9:00am – 1:00pm
Program: International Beach Clean Up – Beach Grass Removal
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/691931254007Location: Lower Campground, upper part of spit next to playground.Join us to help restore our beach to a natural state. Protecting our beaches includes removing invasive species that are choking out our natural grasses. Friends of Fort Flagler is organizing an invasive beach grass removal on September 16th from 9am and 1pm. The Park will be giving free day passes to any volunteer who does not have state park passes. Please bring garden or work gloves and come ready to pull grass. If you have garden hand forks and shovel, please bring as well.Naturalist Lead: Lynn Schwarz For more information about future events, volunteering, members or donations visit: //friendsoffortflagler.org/
Filed under: Admiralty Inlet, environmental education, Jefferson County, Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula | Comments Off on September 2023 Events at Fort Flagler
Bad news for the Caspian Terns on Rat Island
Friends of Fort Flagler has been sponsoring trained docents to help protect the Caspian Tern population that is currently nesting on Rat Island. Recently a number of dead birds have been sighted and test results provided to Fish and Wildlife have confirmed that the birds are carrying Avian flu.
Here is the press release from Friends of Fort Flagler
Avian Flu in Jefferson County
Keep your dogs on leash and away from the shoreline! We are experiencing an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is closing public access to Rat Island near Fort Flagler State Park. Dozens of Caspian terns have died in the area and there are more that appear sick. Samples from bird carcasses were collected and have tested positive.
The HPAI virus occurs naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect poultry and other bird and animal species. The virus is contagious among birds through saliva, nasal secretions, feces, and contaminated surfaces.
WDFW is asking the public to avoid contact with sick or dead birds and/or seals as a preventative measure. Also do not attempt to transport them to a veterinarian or a private property for treatment. Moving sick animals can spread the virus to areas where it did not exist before. Please keep pets away from bird carcasses or sick birds to avoid exposure to HPAI.
Public access to Rat Island had recently been discouraged to reduce disturbance to the tern colony and harbor seal pups present there, and shellfish harvest is closed around the island, but extreme low tides have led to more foot traffic to the island from Fort Flagler State Park. Staff are posting “closed” signs and information on HPAI around the island, the campground, and the boat launch. Keeping humans out of the area is a preventative measure and helps prevent the spread of the virus.
Please help spread the word about this closure and not touching sick or dead wildlife.
Friends of Fort Flagler
Filed under: Admiralty Inlet, Environmental Protection, Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula | Tagged: Avian Flu, Caspian Terns, Fort Flagler, Marristone island, Rat Island, washington state | 1 Comment »
The Seattle Times has an excellent story of the people employed in long line fishing (fishing with hooks not nets) here in Port Townsend, as they find themselves caught between the court battle between NOAA and the Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC). The WFC has sued to stop NOAA’s supposed “safe catch” limits for harvesting Chinook salmon. The numbers, as the story mentions, are depressing, with chinook down 60% over the last decades. NOAA continues to act as if almost nothing is wrong, and yet the WFC found significant flaws in their arguments, which one judge agreed with, and other judges did not. While the battle goes on in court, the folks who take chinook are usually small boat owners, as documented by the Times. I know some of these people and they are struggling to maintain the catch in an environmentally positive way, while supplying the restaurants you eat at with salmon. As the catch declines, it’s a lose-lose-lose for all of us.
While this story is behind the Times paywall, you might get a free article before being shut out. But I highly recommend you subscribe to the Times, even if the online version. Do I like their politics? Nope. But they are the last major news outlet actually sending dozens of reporters into the field for pay. That’s worth supporting.
By Isabella Breda – Seattle Times staff reporter
PORT TOWNSEND — With her legs tucked to her chest in the wood-paneled wheelhouse of the F/V Nerka, steaming mug of coffee in hand, Tele Aadsen reminisced on the fishery that led her to meet her life and fishing partner, Joel, and helped her connect with the sea.
It has been an up-and-down year for Aadsen and other fishers who pilot their boats out of this port each June and head to the waters of Sitka, Alaska, to catch Chinook, or king salmon.
They’ve been embroiled in a court battle over the future of a fishery worth about $85 million a year, whose fleet trolls with hook and line instead of large nets, to catch salmon sold to restaurants and grocers all over the West and beyond.
Read the whole story with great photos of our local fisherpeople here>An Alaska fishery has been pitted against orcas. Can both survive? | The Seattle Times
Filed under: Around the Salish Sea, fisheries, fishing, Salmon | Tagged: Canada, Port Townsend, Puget Sound, Salmon | Comments Off on An Alaska fishery has been pitted against orcas. Can both survive? – Seattle Times
Commissioner Franz continues to work against the concerns of the local constituents. And this woman wants to be governor?
Timber Sale threatens drinking water access, wildlife habitats, and biodiversity – Washington DNR ignores community requests to pause logging.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 30, 2023
Contacts: Elizabeth Dunne, Esq., Director of Legal Advocacy, Earth Law Center edunne@earthlaw.org
Port Angeles, WA – On June 30, 2023, a coalition of groups–Earth Law Center, the Center for Whale Research, and the Keystone Species Alliance–filed a notice of appeal to challenge the “Power Plant” timber sale, currently set to be auctioned on July 26th, 2023, by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The proposed “Power Plant” timber sale is a 126-acre timber sale that borders popular recreation routes such as the Olympic Adventure Trail, the Colville MBT, the trail to access the old lower dam site, and nearby climbing areas.
The forest is in close proximity to the Elwha River with a diverse mix of Douglas fir and Western redcedar, many at least a hundred years old, and a diverse, naturally regenerated understory. This timber sale is incompatible with the restoration of the iconic Elwha River, which underwent the largest dam removal in US history, completed in 2014. $327 million of federal funding has been invested in the river’s restoration to date. The legal action alleges that DNR has systematically engaged in extensive logging of older legacy forests in the Elwha River Watershed without studies or consideration of impacts to instream flows, groundwater recharge, and water temperature. Past, current, and future planned timber sales will remove hundreds of acres of forest.
The lawsuit also alleges that DNR failed to consider how the logging could impact this critical riverine wildlife corridor, soil health, salmon and orca populations, and ongoing Elwha river restoration. The Elwha River is City of Port Angeles’ residents only source of drinking water
The forest is in the headwater area for Colville Creek and small tributaries of the Elwha River, areas critical for the recharging of groundwater to feed these streams. The Forest, its streams, and the rejuvenating Elwha River work together to support two keystone species: returning salmon populations and the critically endangered Southern Resident Orcas, who depend upon consuming salmon for their survival. Given their proximity to the Elwha River, these older forests provide critical habitat for endangered and threatened species, including Southern Resident orcas, Chinook salmon, and the Marbled murrelet. In fact, a juvenile Marbled murrelet was recently found just miles from the proposed harvest.
The legal action specifically identifies Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz’ pattern of skirting community input to push through unlawful timber sales, including the Power Plant sale. This forest could be saved today if Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz directed the harvest to stop.
Community groups launched an ambitious campaign today to raise funds to negotiate for the protection of the forests from imminent logging. Pledged funds from the “Elwha Forest Fund” will go solely to replace the revenue that would have come from the extractive timber harvest auction.
This legal action is by no means the first action taken by community groups in opposition to timber sales in the Elwha watershed. In addition to public comments formally submitted to DNR, community members have come out in droves to DNR’s meetings to speak during the open comment periods in opposition to this timber sale. Additionally, on March 5, 2023, over a hundred community members, largely from Port Angeles, the lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, the Jamestown S’klallam Tribe, the Lummi Nation, and surrounding areas in the Olympic Peninsula, joined together in a peaceful rally at the Elwha River Observation Area near an active timber harvest site called “Aldwell.” Aldwell was logged earlier this year by the DNR.
The Port Angeles City Council in particular submitted letters to DNR to plead for the “Aldwell” auction to be put on hold. Despite community advocacy, DNR and Commissioner Hilary Franz did not adhere to local concerns and logged “Aldwell” without meaningfully considering community input. The city once again wrote to Franz to request delaying the auctions for “Power Plant” and “TCB23,” along with letters from many concerned local residents. For example, see the Mayor’s June 1, 2023 letter about the Power Plant sale.
Filed under: Clallam County, Environmental Activism, Environmental Protection | 1 Comment »
This morning, Clallam County residents joined forest & climate activists across the PNW in hanging banners calling for forest protection as key to mitigating the worst impacts of climate change.
A local hike in Clallam County took place on Saturday as part of the region-wide Week of Action for Forests & Climate.
On the Anniversary of the 2021 Heat Dome, PNW Communities Mobilize for Massive Week of Forest and Climate Action
PORTLAND, OR – Today, on the two year anniversary of the 2021 Heat Dome, communities throughout the Pacific Northwest are mobilizing a massive week of action to shine a spotlight on the significance of forest defense as climate defense. From the Rogue Valley in southern Oregon, to Bellingham, Washington and out east to the Rockies, communities are holding events to call on elected officials — from the White House and Forest Service to governors and state forestry agencies — to protect PNW forests as a vital strategy to mitigate the worst climate impacts, create jobs restoring lands and waters, and ensure forests and communities thrive for generations to come. The week of action comes just days after Multnomah County filed Multnomah v. Exxon, a bold lawsuit seeking to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for the Heat Dome which caused more than 100 deaths in the state of Oregon.
Brenna Bell, Forest Climate Manager for 350PDX says, “It is beyond time for all levels of government to treat the climate crisis like the emergency it is. I am heartened by Multnomah County’s bold action last week to hold Big Oil accountable for their role in creating the climate crisis. Now, governments need to recognize that Big Timber has also massively profited off clearcutting Oregon’s best defense against climate chaos and act quickly to protect and restore our forests.”
To kick off the week of action, today activists hung 20 banners that called for forest protection over highway overpasses across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana in a coordinated action to highlight the growing grassroots movement to protect forests for climate mitigation. This action coincided with the release of an open letter from more than 30 organizations to the Biden Administration and federal leaders, calling on them to:
Protect federally-managed old-growth and mature forests in the Pacific Northwest as foundational to protecting our communities and a livable climate;
Listen to, resource, and support communities on the frontlines of the climate crises;
Support rural economies by redirecting federal subsidies away from the extractive timber industry and towards sustainable restoration and reforestation jobs;
Start acting like the climate crisis is the emergency that it truly is, and be a bold and decisive leader in protecting both the current and future generations.
“Protecting our remaining mature and old growth forests is crucial to mitigating the climate crisis and creating thriving climate-resilient communities,” says Madeline Cowen, Steering Committee member with the PNW Forest Climate Alliance. “Our forests have tremendous capacity to absorb and store carbon — we must prioritize safeguarding them for community benefit over short-term corporate profit.”
“We’re calling on our elected officials–from the White House and Forest Service to our Governor–to stand with our communities and protect our forests as a core part of meaningful climate action,” says David Perk, of 350 Seattle. “In Washington, we call on the Commissioner of Public Lands to follow through on her commitment to propose and implement an improved policy for the preservation of our remaining mature forests.”
Residents and organizations from around the region see a significant need to raise awareness around the need to protect PNW forests – some of the most carbon-rich in the world – as a key pillar of climate action and connect the dots between destructive logging and catastrophic climate impacts. They believe that these must be managed for community benefit, not to maximize profits for Wall Street corporations and shareholders. The actions will focus on the climate, water, wildfire, biodiversity, and economic impacts if their elected do not act now to protect PNW forests.
Dozens of actions are planned in 18 towns and cities across the PNW.
For the full list of actions visit: forestclimatealliance.org/weekofaction
The PNWFCA is a network of organizations and activists working at the intersection of forest defense and climate justice.
Filed under: Environmental Activism, environmental education, Environmental Protection, Events | Comments Off on Forest Protection Advocates Banner Port Angeles
June 23, 2023— In a shocking ruling against Endangered Species protection, a Ninth Circuit Court approved a request by NOAA Fisheries, the State of Alaska, and the Alaska Trollers Association that will allow commercial troll fishers in Southeast Alaska to continue over-harvesting depleted Chinook salmon, jeopardizing the recovery of both wild chinook and critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales.
The lower Court decision was set to close the fishery beginning on July 1st, in just ten days. Now, despite numerous environmental violations and ongoing harm found by a federal District Court, the stay will allow the fishery to continue operating while the Ninth Circuit considers the case on appeal.
“The economic, ecological, and cultural cost of losing Southern Resident orcas and wild Chinook is unfathomable. It is unfortunate that the Ninth Circuit determined the short-term economic interests of Southeast Alaska commercial harvesters should be prioritized over the long-term interests of all current and future generations of First Nations, Tribal Nations, and communities throughout the Pacific Northwest who depend on these iconic species,” said Emma Helverson, Executive Director of Wild Fish Conservancy. “We are incredibly disheartened by this decision to continue the fishery while California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia are enacting closures or severe constraints on many of the same populations due to continuing Chinook declines. We strongly advocate for consumers to avoid purchasing Chinook caught in Southeast Alaska.”
In March, a federal District Court issued a final order in a lawsuit brought by Wild Fish Conservancy against NOAA Fisheries requiring the Southeast Alaska commercial troll fishery to remain closed in the summer and winter seasons until the federal government provided a new analysis and conducted environmental review demonstrating that the fishery’s harvest plan would not continue to jeopardize endangered Southern Resident killer whales or threatened Chinook salmon.
In their ruling on remedy, the District Court considered the economic disruption that closure of the fishery would pose to Alaskan commercial fishers, yet determined protecting species threatened or endangered with extinction is the greatest priority under the Endangered Species Act. Referencing existing case law, the Court’s report and recommendation stated: “The ESA . . . did not seek to strike a balance between competing interests but rather singled out the prevention of species [extinction] . . . as an overriding federal policy objective.”
Southern Resident killer whales were listed as Endangered in 2005. Currently, there are only 73 individuals in the population, an alarming decrease from nearly 100 only 25-years ago. Reduced prey availability, specifically large and abundant wild Chinook, has been identified by killer whale experts and NOAA as the primary cause of their decline. Research has shown an alarming 69% of Southern Resident killer whale pregnancies are aborted due to insufficient prey.
“It’s possible to find creative solutions to compensate and protect the economic interests of fishers in the interim while NOAA corrects their violations,” says Helverson. “On the other hand, it’s impossible to replace Southern Resident killer whales or wild Chinook once they are gone, extinction is forever.”
In NOAA’s 2019 biological opinion evaluating the fishery’s impact on threatened and endangered species, NOAA admitted that over the last decade and persisting today, Chinook harvest in Southeast Alaska’s troll fishery is occurring at levels that are unsustainable for the long-term survival and reproductive success of both threatened wild Chinook populations and endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Still, NOAA authorized the harvest to continue at these levels relying on proposed mitigation they claimed would offset this serious harm. In summary judgement in August, the District Court overwhelmingly found the mitigation was insufficient and seriously violated the ESA and that NOAA also evaded legally required environmental review.
While the fishery occurs in Southeast Alaska marine waters, the majority of Chinook harvested in the Alaskan troll fishery are not Alaskan Chinook. Up to 97% of all Chinook harvested in the fishery are born in rivers throughout British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. Roughly half of the fish harvested originate from the Columbia River, and many come from populations listed as Threatened under the ESA. These Chinook are harvested in their ocean nursery habitats, preventing them from reaching maturity and returning back to their homewaters where the Southern Resident killer whales encounter them. The majority of stocks harvested in the fishery are identified as priority stocks for the malnourished and endangered whale population.
“While communities throughout the coast have closed fisheries and made significant economic sacrifices to protect threatened and endangered Chinook populations in their home rivers, these same depleted populations are being harvested far from home in Southeast Alaska where they are marketed and sold as sustainable Alaskan Chinook,” says Helverson. “While this case is about conservation, it’s also about equity and we will continue to advocate for the conservation burden of protecting and restoring these species to be more equally shared by all communities who depend on them.”
“We know yesterday’s decision is concerning to so many who have been following this case and working tirelessly to recover our beloved Southern Resident killer whales and wild Chinook populations. Despite this temporary setback, the appeal process is just beginning and we remain dedicated to advocating for the recovery of these iconic species through every avenue possible,” says Helverson.
Filed under: Endangered Species, Environmental Law, fisheries, Salmon | Tagged: chinook, Salmon | Comments Off on Court rules to allow commercial troll fishers to continue to over-harvest depleted salmon stock
State Senator Kevin Van de Wege has announced his candidacy to run for the Commissioner of Public Lands in the Department of Natural Resources. Hilary Franz, who is the current head, is running for governor. She’ll be stepping down from that role.
I was part of the People For Puget Sound team that is mentioned in the article that awarded Kevin the Environmentalist of the Year for Puget Sound. He deserved it for shepherding the Rescue Tug at Neah Bay to pass, an issue that took over 10 years to get funded.
As to heading DNR, I think that Kevin will instantly get the respect of the firefighters, but likely will not be the voice of carbon capture that Ms. Franz has been. However, Ms. Franz has elicited a lot of controversy from the environmental community on the Peninsula over that issue among others and will not be missed. It will be interesting to see who supports her from this area over the AG, Bob Ferguson. Certainly, this blog has already stated that we support Ferguson, as Ms. Franz has on numerous occasions pleaded ignorance of controversial issues that she herself has signed off on.
Van de Wege on shown himself willing to listen to opposing sides to his opinions and has made course corrections in the past, most notably on the fire retardants issue that has been before the legislature over the last decade. He originally was opposed to banning the chemicals but after being shown the international studies and understanding he wasn’t being asked to go out on a limb alone on this, he reversed course and championed the issue. For those reasons we support his effort and endorse him for the upcoming election.
There is a lot of rumor going around about who will run for Kevin’s office and other possible changes to the makeup of the Democratic representation here on the Peninsula. More to follow as we get solid stories to share.
District 24 senator eyes state lands role | Peninsula Daily News
Filed under: Government | Tagged: Carbon capture, DNR, election, Hilary Franz, Senator Kevin Van de Wege | 2 Comments »
The Stormwater Strategic Initiative Lead is excited to announce the initial funding list for Toxics In Fish projects on Research into Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) and Implementing Chemical Action Plans (CAP).
$3.5 million has been awarded to projects to research and reduce the impact of toxic chemicals in waters around Puget Sound. These projects will support important research on pollutants and their effect on salmon and other fish, as well as efforts to reduce toxic products and test new treatment methods to prevent harmful chemicals from reaching our waters. Read the funding list here.
Chemical Action Plan Implementation Funding Opportunity – Reopened through August 15
In addition, $2 million remains available for projects under the CAP Implementation funding opportunity, which is accepting a second round of applications through August 15, 2023. The CAP Request for Proposals targets projects to reduce PFAS, PCBs, and PBDEs in Puget Sound waterways. Projects may involve environmental monitoring, replacing products with safer alternatives, treating contaminated stormwater, or other actions recommended in Chemical Action Plans. Projects that address tribal treaty rights or include an environmental justice component to support historically underserved communities or vulnerable populations are especially encouraged to apply. More information on this RFP is available on our blog.
Access the CAP Request for Proposals (RFP) and apply via the Stormwater SIL RFP webpage.
Eligible applicants include tribes, local governments, school districts, fire departments, Local Integrating Organizations, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and others.
Resources for applicants
If you have questions about project eligibility or the RFP application, please contact the RFP Coordinator Libby Gier. For technical questions (for example, whether a proposed project is within scope for this RFP), please contact Dustin Bilhimer. A recording of an informational pre-application webinar is available, along with the presentation slides. In addition, the Stormwater SIL team will hold two online office hours to answer applicant questions in July:
Please visit our Stormwater SIL RFP page and blog post for more details on this solicitation, and share widely with your networks.
Sincerely,
Stormwater Strategic Initiative
Filed under: Around the Salish Sea, Environmental Science | Tagged: grants, Stormwater, Toxics | Comments Off on Stormwater Toxics Research Grants Announced
This article originally was published in Environmental Health News. We use it with permission of the author.
SEQUIM, Wash.—Jutting out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca is a fragile, slender spit of sand and glacial till leftover from the Pleistocene Epoch nearly 1.2 million years ago.
It is the longest spit in North America, a refuge and protective barrier for marine mammals and some 250 breeds of shorebirds, several of whom stop on their way between South America, Alaska and beyond to build up fat to fuel their long journeys.
And it is also about to become commercialized for private profit by an industrial oyster corporation.
The Dungeness Spit, part of the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, extends for five miles. Declared a refuge in 1915, its lush eelgrass beds are a pantry for waterfowl and a nursery for salmon that eventually feed whales and other wildlife. The Dungeness Bay itself is considered an important bird area by Audubon, for its significance for bird population conservation.
The refuge attracts birders and other recreationists from around the world. Territory enjoyed and cherished and serving as a nursery and refuge for wildlife that literally span the globe, will be subsumed for private gain. It is like a war on our marine ecosystem.
The Washington State Lands Commission, the Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued permits for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe to commercially grow non-native oysters in Dungeness Bay. These will be sold to restaurants, consumers and exported to other countries.
The operator will initially anchor 20,000, with a buildup to 80,000, on-bottom toxic plastic bags of non-native oyster spat over tens of acres smack dab in the primary mudflat bird feeding area – an area that today is off-limits to human access. Tens of thousands of shorebirds from across the Western Hemisphere depend on the mudflat as a critical feeding stop during migration.
The bags will be anchored into the sediment, smothering the intertidal zone benthic life underneath, and will affect the nearby eelgrass. This plastic is a type of PFAS, the group of chemicals also known as forever chemicals, able to contaminate the water that the filter-feeding oysters will ingest. This chemical could then move up the food chain to unsuspecting consumers.
The plastic nets are known to have ensnared birds and fish at other industrially-operated shellfish farms.
The Corps refused to conduct an environmental impact study, yet in an internal 49-page Memorandum to Record, the Corps admitted to the destruction the shellfish operation will have, but still permitted it.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), a division of the U.S. Interior Department, with authority to protect its refuges, withdrew its opposition to the operation. To protect the birds and their primary breeding and feeding grounds, this section of the refuge is closed six months of the year to human activity. Now the USFWS is permitting the industrial shellfish operator access to this protected area year-round, day and night.
As well, the USFWS is circumventing its own mandatory step of writing a compatibility determination.. Since this operation is incompatible, to write the determination would force the agency to publicly disallow the shellfish operation.
Violated, as well, are the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. Organizations and individuals throughout the United States submitted comments, spoke out and petitioned to stop this shellfish operation. No agency acknowledged the public outcry.
The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge industrial operation will be precedent-setting for our nation’s refuge system – and bodes poorly for what can happen in other protected areas.
Public funds upkeep national refuges. We have seen this sad song repeated over and over: When private corporations destroy public lands, the public is taxed to clean up the damage.
Today we are spending millions of dollars annually to clean up Washington state’s Puget Sound, the second largest estuary in the United States. Yet our state and federal agencies are opening these wildlife intertidal zones to more pollution and industrial activity. One third of Washington state’s coastal waters are filled with industrial shellfish aquaculture and plastic, leaving wildlife to forage elsewhere.
“In wilderness is the preservation of the world,” Henry David Thoreau wrote in 1862.
We should heed his words and protect rather than pollute our natural world. The state and federal governments should get back to protecting our wildlife refuges rather than acquiesce to their destruction.
Darlene Schanfald, Phd, has been active in environmental campaigns for more than three decades and is a board member of Protect the Peninsula’s Future.
Filed under: Clallam County, Environmental Activism, Environmental Protection, Straits of Juan de Fuca | 2 Comments »
This immediate issue needs people’s awareness. Stay away from Rat Island for the next month, please!
From Steve Hampton, Conservation Chair for Admiralty Audubon. It was published as an op ed piece in the Port Townsend Leader this week. Given the urgency of this issue, I’m reprinting it most of it here at his request.
Once again, a large colony of Caspian Terns is preparing to nest at Rat Island, the small sandbar between the Fort Flagler beach campground and Indian Island. Over 700 birds were present in early May, cavorting and passing fish to each other.
Among seabirds, terns are the sports car version of a gull. Sleek, agile, with racing caps and bright red bills, they dive headfirst into the sea to catch fish. In the tern family, Caspian Terns are the largest. They can be heard from nearly a mile away by their raucous calls, sounding like a pterodactyl, if we knew what pterodactyls sounded like.
Rat Island is a small curve of sand topped with dune grass, located not far from Admiralty Inlet and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. With most other colony sites no longer available for many reasons, it is becoming an important refuge. Observations of banded birds at the Flagler spit suggest that the Caspian Terns there have relocated from former colonies in Bellingham and the Columbia River.
Caspian Terns will forage up to 35 miles from their nesting colony, so finding food is not usually a problem. Finding a safe nesting spot is. First and foremost, they need protection from predators like raccoons and coyotes. Eagles are a menace, but the feisty terns have ways of fending them off. The real problem, at least at Rat Island, has been humans.
During minus tides, campers from Flagler can actually walk to Rat Island, which is owned by the Department of Natural Resources. Boaters and kayakers can access it too. In addition to the nesting terns, there are nesting gulls, Black Oystercatchers, and a Harbor Seal haul-out. All of these are protected from disturbance by law. Unfortunately, most of the disturbance seems to come from naïve people, in awe at nature, flushing the birds off their eggs and chicks, which are hidden in a small valley in the center of the island. While beach walkers film the terns overhead with their phones, gulls rush in, taking eggs and chicks. Last year the colony of 500 birds, in two nesting attempts a month apart, successfully fledged fewer than 20 chicks.
This year they are back to try again. The Friends of Fort Flagler, in concert with Admiralty Audubon, Fort Flagler State Park, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has created a team of volunteer docents to educate the public and reduce disturbance to this colony, especially during low tides in June and July. Sometime in August, the birds will complete nesting and move on. They will be entirely gone by the fall.
You can enjoy them from the Flagler spit, watching them fly in from all directions, circle over the colony, and disappear into the cacophony of white wings and raucous calls. If you value our wildlife, please, go no further. Rat Island is an important sanctuary for birds to nest and harbor seals to rest. There are fewer and fewer such places in the Salish Sea.
Filed under: Olympic Peninsula | Comments Off on Terns nesting: Please stay off Rat Island
