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| Volume 8, No 1 | Olympic Park Associates -- Founded in 1948 | Spring, 2000 |
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Elwha Ceremony Marks Beginning of Salmon Restoration On February 11 near Glines Canyon Dam on the Elwha River a congratulatory crowd marked the end of a long trail and the beginning of a new one. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt was present to announce the official end of the two Elwha dams. Government officials and representatives of the dam owners, Ft. James Paper Company and Daishowa America, Inc., signed the agreement to convey to the public the ownership of the two Elwha dams for the price of $29.5 million appropriated by Congress in the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992. The actual transfer of ownership occurred on February 29.
The battle to remove the two Elwha dams and restore the Elwha's salmon runs has been long, sometimes contentious, and often seemed to have no end in sight. The signing ceremony came only after years of political maneuvering, public involvement, give and take, and hard work by government and National Park officials, conservation and citizen groups, Indian tribes, pro bono attorneys, and individual volunteers, followed by a final year of tense negotiations. Ultimately, the ordeal ended in a win-win scenario in which all participants could celebrate. Of the many individuals and groups who have played key roles in the success of the Elwha effort, here are just a few:
Rick Rutz was first to remind the conservation community that the Federal Power Act of 1921 prohibited hydroelectric dams in national parks. Thus, he argued, the expiration of the 50-year license of Glines Canyon Dam (built illegally inside the park) should be treated as a new license application, and the lower Elwha Dam should not be licensed. Convinced by Rick's argument, the first four conservation groups to intervene before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission were Olympic Park Associates, Seattle Audubon Society, Sierra Club, and Friends of the Earth. Though not an attorney, Rick wrote the legal intervention. The original four groups were joined by the Northwest Steelhead and Salmon Council of Trout Unlimited, and the Lower Elwha s'Klallam Tribe. Other organizations that later joined included The Mountaineers, National Parks and Conservation Association, Washington Wilderness Coalition, Northwest Conservation Act Coalition, Northwest Council, Olympic Rivers Council, American Rivers, Friends of the Elwha, National Wildlife Federation, and Long Live the Kings. Jim Baker and the Northwest Conservation Act Coalition came up with the "Creative Solution" that had Bonneville Power Administration conduct its first model industrial energy conservation audit at the Daishowa America mill and provide replacement power.
The Elwha Citizens' Advisory Committee played a key role as a forum in which Port Angeles citizens could explore the potential impacts of dam removal and assess the effects upon the community. Initially including the full spectrum of opinions from strong opposition to strong support of dam removal, the Committee met diligently nearly weekly for six months, studying all aspects of dam removal. Ultimately they supported acquisition and removal of the dams and restoration of salmon runs. Their grassroots effort was important in winning support from elected officials. Joe Mentor, a member of OPA's board, should be recognized for originally suggesting the formation of a citizens' advisory committee. He had learned the importance of a local citizens' advisory committee during his experience dealing with Columbia Gorge issues while on the staff of Senator Dan Evans. Bill Robinson of the Northwest Salmon and Steelhead Council of Trout Unlimited was also influential in garnering local support. Design and engineering and construction of water quality protection before actual removal of Elwha Dam will require 3 to 4 years. The Glines Canyon Dam and its 160 acres are within the park boundaries and have now been added to Olympic National Park. However, the timing for removal of the Glines Canyon Dam remains uncertain. Senator Slade Gorton, who has opposed dam removal from the start, still opposes removal of the second dam until he sees the results of removing the first. In the interim the two dams will be operated for the National Park Service by the Bureau of Reclamation, an agency of the Department of Interior. The Elwha Act stipulated that Daishowa would guarantee replacement power throught Bonneville Power Administration. We now begin a hopeful new journey toward full restoration of the legendary Elwha salmon. |
Contents
OPA Dedicates This Issue to the Memory Of A Long-Time
Board Member
A long-time member of the Board of Trustees of Olympic Park Associates, Hazel Wolf died on January 19. Dedicating her life to social justice and the environment and conservation, Hazel lived to the age of 101 years, 10 months, and 9 days. She fulfilled her goal to be a part of the Nineteenth, the Twentieth, and the Twenty-first Centuries. Apparently John Dyer, kiddingly, put her up to it while celebrating her 80th birthday, suggesting she try for living in three centuries. She had said to him that she was aiming for 100 years, and then would go, just like the "one hoss shay," reciting to him the first verse of The Wonderful "One-Hoss Shay" by Oliver Wendell Holmes:
Hazel was the consummate volunteer. Up until about 65 years of age her volunteer leadership was devoted to social justice for all. But — when she was lured into Seattle Audubon Society, she found that wild birds needed help, too, to have their habitats protected. The story has frequently been told and is worth repeating. On her first bird-watching excursion she observed a little Brown Creeper (Certhia familiaris) circling up the trunk of a tree seeking some nutritious insects in the bark. Hazel commented, "That little guy has to earn a living, just like I do." Many of us first came to know Hazel through our long time friend, conservationist Emily Haig, who for many years was President of Seattle Audubon, and was on Olympic Park Associates' Board from around 1954 until her passing in 1978. Hazel lived in an apartment in Emily's home. And Hazel, adding to her social justice concerns, became more and more involved in both Audubon's and OPA's conservation efforts to protect wild places for themselves as well as the habitat for many wild creatures. During approximately 10 of her 20-some years on OPA's Board of Trustees, Hazel also served as its Secretary. OPA was enriched by her unswerving integrity as well as by her keen wit and by the quirky sense of humor she brought to our meetings. Hazel Wolf received many awards, both for her human/social justice activities as well as for her conservation dedication. Included were National Audubon Society's Medal of Excellence; the Association of Biologists and Ecologists of Nicaragua Award for Work For the Conservation of Nature (Hazel traveled to Nicaragua several times to support both human justice as well as conservation); Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility's Paul Beeson Peace Award; an honorary doctorate from Seattle University; and Seattle's Spirit of America Award. Two honors Hazel also savored were King County Executive Ron Sims' Proclamation on her 100th birthday designating the Hazel Wolf Wetlands, an area "created by the Land Conservancy" and first known as Saddle Swamp. The Hazel Wolf High School, a new private school, opened on September 7, 1999, when Hazel Wolf delivered her lecture, "Great Women in My Life". (The school is at 6921 Roosevelt Way NE.) During her Memorial, participated in by nine hundred of her friends, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell announced the Hazel Wolf Award, to be given annually by the City of Seattle to a recognized volunteer leader. Memorials may be given to the Kids for the Environment program of Seattle Audubon Society, 8050 35th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98115. This fund was established on Hazel's 100th birthday. Hazel was also a major force in the Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs, editing its newsletter for twenty years, right up to the day of her passing. Memorials may also be sent to FWOC, 5615 40th Avenue W, Seattle, WA 98199. |
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Olympic Coast Cleanup — April 29, 2000 Register by April 18! — See you on the beach! Volunteers from throughout Western Washington will converge on Olympic National Park beaches on Saturday, April 29, 2000, to remove years of accumulated marine debris from these remote shores. Energized by a partnership of community service organizations, businesses and government agencies, volunteers will comb the Olympic Coast between Shi Shi Beach and South Kalaloch Beach. Marine debris such as bottles, ropes, floats and buoys, will be taken to dumpsters or cache sites along this 60-mile stretch of wilderness beach. The aim of the volunteers will be to collect data about the debris for later research. This important community effort will help preserve the natural beauty of our beautiful Washington wilderness beaches. Volunteers are urged to sign up ahead of time and select their favorite beach to clean up. Volunteers will register at one of four field operation sites including the Oil City trailhead and ranger stations at Mora, Ozette, and Kalaloch. At each of these sites volunteers will receive information about their assignment and be given necessary tools and guidance to conduct the clean-up. The Information Center for Olympic National Park and Forest in Forks will have general information about the clean-up. Volunteers are also urged to form teams and select their favorite section of beach to clean up. Each section will be approximately 1/2 to 1 mile in length. Access to the beaches will be from the usual locations, respecting the wilderness character of the beaches. Some beaches that are easily accessible by car or a short hike are appropriate for a day outing. Some beaches will require a single overnight stay. Other, more remote beaches will require a several day commitment from volunteers with no-trace wilderness camping and backpacking skills. Volunteers will cache debris at sites identified by Olympic National Park staff. ONP staff will manage removal of debris from the cache sites. During the clean-up volunteers will record data about the debris. The information will provide a snapshot record of the coast and help identify sources of the debris. Some volunteers will also collect bird and mammal information of interest to naturalists and marine scientists. The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Olympic National Park and University of Washington Department of Zoology will use data collected by the volunteers. The beach clean-up is occurring coincident with other 30th anniversary of Earth Day activities. Status Report, March 1:
A call from Ocean Shores inquired about doing a similar project along that section of the coast. Clallam and Sekiu are organizing a similar event for the straits, from the Makah Reservation to Slip Point. Many folks who have not yet reserved a clean-up spot have made motel/overnight reservations. Forks First Congregational Church is providing overnight accommodations for a youth group. For more information or to sign up, contact Jan Klippert at 206-364-2689, jpklipper@aol.com |
General Management Plan for Olympic National Park: At the January meeting of the Olympic Park Associates Board of Directors, Assistant Superintendent Roger Rudolph indicated that the process to up-date Olympic National Park's General Management Plan will begin during 2000. A General Management Plan gathers, folds, and encompasses everything administered by the national park. Projected time to prepare this broad-based document is estimated to be three to four years. Olympic National Park has not set this as a deadline, but as a target. Completing the General Management Plan as well as its integral components, such as the Wilderness Master Plan, discussed below, will be a massive project with no guarantees that the task can be completed on time. Olympic National Park was established essentially as a wilderness park, and today 95 percent of the area of the park is designated as Wilderness. Thus, completing the Wilderness Master Plan will be a major priority within the total process of updating the General Management Plan. Much of the fieldwork to determine management of Wilderness has been ongoing by Olympic National Park rangers. The Denver Service Center, a central planning division of the National Park Service, had two National Park Service (NPS) employees working on details of the Wilderness Master Plan. Unfortunately, these individuals retired before completing the work assigned to them. Since the process for completing the Wilderness Master Plan had languished in the Denver center for years, Superintendent Dave Morris decided that it was time for Olympic National Park to take over and complete the plan. A Wilderness steering committee has been established, meeting recently to organize an approach to the Wilderness Master Plan. Natural resource specialist Ruth Scott and Assistant Superintendent Rudolph will be leaders of this committee. Meetings have already taken place lining up some terms and conditions, standards and guidelines for individual business permits and for outfitters coming into the park and Wilderness. The Wilderness Master Plan should be completed long before the total General Management Plan emerges, and it will be folded into the total plan. The public will be part of scoping and drafting of the plan through the Environmental Assessment process for both the Wilderness Plan and the General Management Plan. Olympic National Park administrators propose having a resident "team captain" spearhead the management planning. Working with this process the park will have an opportunity to examine several concerns: Hurricane Ridge winter operations; transportation; Quileute and Lake Ozette boundaries; facilities in the flood plain, including the constant battle to fix road washouts on the Hoh, Quinault, Queets, and other rivers and creeks. Concern over the Lake Ozette boundary is being driven in part by the recent listing of Sockeye salmon as a threatened species. The salmon and their spawning in the lake are being affected by silting from past logging and must be dealt with under the Environmental Protection Act. It has been the position of Olympic Park Associates that this boundary should be the hydrological divide and the watershed be allowed to heal. Most of the land in the watershed is presently under private ownership. Rudolph said Olympic National Park will definitely listen to Olympic Park Associates' recommendations and work with us on boundary considerations. The concern about the facilities in the flood plain is also being driven by the issue of endangered or threatened fish populations. The National Park Service is required by law to undertake the protection of species listed as endangered or threatened. If washouts continue to be serious enough to foreclose operations in several watersheds, the Park Service will not be able fulfill their legal obligation to protect listed species, including salmon, bull trout, and spotted owl. This problem will have to be provided for under the General Management Plan. For example, Graves Creek has so many washouts now that it may be more than two years before they can be fixed. Thus, Graves Creek's listed bull trout will be neglected. The Hoh River periodically inundates its flood plain. Several super floods in the future could make it necessary to move all the park facilities in the Hoh flood plain outside the national park, including buildings, water systems, sewer systems, and campgrounds. The forces of nature may ultimately necessitate a transportation system to provide access into the park. An additional resource related item of interest is the Natural Resource Challenge, announced by National Park Service Director Robert Stanton. As Stanton stated at the Mount Rainier Centennial in 1999, there is much the Park Service does not know about the resources in its parks. The Natural Resource Challenge will attempt to fill the information gaps by looking at all parts of the ecosystem of parks all the way down to the mosses and beyond, and understanding how they all fit together. Olympic National Park has already initiated long term ecological monitoring of its natural resources. Together Olympic, North Cascades, and Mount Rainier National Parks have been selected to establish a pilot program for the Natural Resource Challenge. Chief of the Natural Resources Division Kat Hoffman, of Olympic National Park, has been doing the initial brainstorming. The Olympic National Park program may end up being the prototype for other parks. Rudolph reported to the OPA board that this Challenge is a separate program from management planning but should eventually be folded into the General Management Plan. |
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OPA Officers Honored for
Before land was set aside for wilderness areas in 1964, Phil and Laura Zalesky were there quietly calling for a law to do just that. More than a decade before North Cascades National Park was established in 1968, the two retired Everett teachers were doing their parts to make sure the park was established. And when they perceived a need to augment government's protection of local critical lands and open space, they were involved in the establishment of the Snohomish County Land Trust in 1989. Phil Zalesky was its first president. Those were just a few of the reasons why the Zaleskys were honored last month with a lifetime achievement award for 46 years of work, much of it behind the scenes, on behalf of the environment.... The environmental award was bestowed by The Land Conservancy, a group formed last year combining the Snohomish County Land Trust with a similar group in King County. The private, nonprofit organization seeks protection of river buffers, wetlands and other sensitive lands by encouraging the placement of property in trust or setting up easements for conservation purposes.... [The Zaleskys] love the outdoors, and frequently approached their quest to preserve lands as a team.... That sometimes included long, summer backpacking trips in what is now the Glacier Peak Wilderness and North Cascades National Park. Early trips helped establish boundaries of those two preserves.... Why did the couple focus on the environment? "We got into something that we really enjoyed together," Phil said. "That was the backpacking and the climbing. We decided there was a need for this land to be preserved." ... Laura Zalesky said she has a real need to have open space. One way to give back, she added, is to make sure there are beautiful lands available for others to enjoy. "We just hope that there's going to be a possibility for the kinds of experiences we've had during our lifetimes to be passed on to future generations." she said. Lord and Lady of Our Rushing Mountain Rivers:
Barbara Blackie believes Harlequin ducks to be the most beautiful of all North American ducks. In his book Tim McNulty votes for the strikingly beautiful Wood duck. Take your pick. Both ducks deserve our accolades. Note: Barbara Blackie is biased. Why should she not be? After all she researches Harlequins for her advanced degree. To build baseline studies on Olympic peninsula rivers and particularly the Elwha River, she focuses primarily on Harlequin ducks. Other avian species on her research list include the Dipper, Spotted sandpiper, Common merganser, and Kingfisher. Meanwhile she serves as a science instructor at Olympic College in Port Angeles. Laura and I met Blackie last summer as we were taking an Olympic Park Institute class on "Birds of the Olympics." She was assisted ably at the Institute and also in her research by Tom Butler, an instructor of biological science at Joyce High School. Among the elements of the course was a rafting trip on the rushing Elwha River. It was difficult to estimate, but we were told that there were about two nesting Harlequins per mile. A noticeable white water prejudice manifested itself among the Harlequins. For as we approached closer to Lake Mills behind the Upper Elwha Dam with the gradient of the stream reduced to slack waters, we found fewer and fewer bizarre painted birds "plumed in clown-like patchwork." On turbulent white water and deep riparian areas, we observed Harlequins in pairs flying low to the curving river, riding high in the water, plunging into and shooting the rapids, bouncing up like corks after their dives, and resting on boulders in mid-stream. In our lead raft, the river thrust us within mere feet of boulders occupied by pairs of these birds without seeming to disturb them. An astute observer once referred to them as the lord and lady of our rushing mountain rivers, and our rafting trip seeing Harlequin in breeding plumage confirmed that assertion. The value of Blackie's study will be the baseline data collected before the two Elwha dams are removed. The Harlequin remains at the heart of her studies, since this is the only duck that breeds and nests around cascading mountain waters. Will obliteration of the dams affect up-stream species and in particular the Harlequin? The change in biological energy (biomass) that goes upstream with the return of salmon, sea run steelhead, and other biological critters will need to be determined before and after eradication of the dams. Prior to the intrusion of dams on the Elwha, this was a prime salmon habitat the likelihood of which cannot be duplicated. There were 50 miles of uninterrupted river and tributaries for salmon to spawn. A free river shall be returned once more. Numbers of eagles and black bears should proliferate as salmon carcasses once again pile up along the waterways providing more abundant food supplies. River otters prey on Harlequin nest sites on the Elwha and other rivers. The population levels of Harlequins are almost unpredictable as otters along the river banks rob the nests of eggs and even take the youngest of juveniles. Otter numbers appear to be on a cycle of about seven years with their population then tapering off. During that year or two Harlequins populations have the opportunity to increase. By this means the Harlequin numbers appear in the long term to remain stabilized on the Peninsula. But what will happen when salmon return as a new biological energy source on the Elwha? Otters are not known to prey on such a large fish. Fingerling salmon may be a different story although they may be too quick for the otter to take in numbers. Otter prefer small and slower species of fish. However, otters drag spawned-out carcasses up onto banks for feeding. Would this mean full stomachs and less need to raid Harlequin nests? There appears of be a period of overlap between Harlequin nesting and salmon spawning, but this needs further study. Also, with the arrival of salmon carcasses, increases in numbers of insects are guaranteed. When the Harlequin goes up-river his food source is mainly aquatic insect larvae and a few minnows. This increased food source may allow the Harlequin population to increase. Comparison between before and after dam removal may determine whether such increases in biological energy affect the Harlequin and other bird populations. Harlequins spend most of their year on salt water so, like the salmon, they are considered an anadromous species. For Harlequins, preferences prevail for rocky coastlines with strong boiling waves dashing onto walled shores. They feed and play as waves churn against the rocks. Sometimes the waves catch the Harlequin, buffeting, thrashing, and battering them against these rocks. One taxidermist says that he sees no birds with as many broken bones as the Harlequin. But Laura and I delight in visiting Deception Pass to observe them topping the frothed waves. They are not supposed to like calm waters, but we do observe them in fairly large numbers at Birch Bay in mid-winter, in relatively calm bay-water. Their diet at the intertidal zone contrasts with their diet on the river. The churned waters in the intertidal zone contain high concentrations of oxygen which creates a greater abundance of life. In this intertidal zone they will feed on small crabs, limpets, chitons, marine worms, periwinkle snails, and even small starfish. This type of diet dissuades hunters from eating them. In early April they begin heading up river to mate, incubate the eggs, and raise the young. When we rafted the Elwha, it was late June. The lords and ladies were still together on the river. One exception later was at the mouth of the Elwha where we observed three pairs of Harlequins together having not yet flown upstream. Barbara Blackie hypothesized these as juveniles not yet ready to mate. The female invariably goes back to her native river and habitat to breed. The male follows her, but he may have mated on entirely different streams with another female in the past. It is amazing at times to see how far these birds will go from the coast to breed. Occasionally breeders find their way to mountain streams in Idaho and Montana. Normally they will follow the exact course of the river, but some must also head overland when crossing the mountain ranges. When the incubation is complete, the male deserts the female returning to the coast. If he meets a late pair coming up-stream, he may challenge the male. If he wins, he will mate once again. In September, the female will return to the coast with the juveniles. In 1991, the Harlequin became a candidate for endangered species listing. The numbers on the east coast are down dramatically. On the west coast it is felt that their numbers are stable. Tim McNulty maintains that these birds are an indicator species and writes that "If this bird is in trouble, so too are some of our grandest settings and most vital wildlife communities."
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