Drops
Of
Water
Issue 41 October 2000
The first people to find errors in spelling or word structure receive a free map of the Chehalis watershed. Send us an e-mail note telling us about the error.
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Welcome
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Issue 41 October 2000 |
This newsletter appears monthly in 45,000 households throughout the watershed. Printing is done by The Chronicle, and distribution is by the Chronicle, the Olympia Daily Olympian, the Tenino Independent, the Rochester Sun News and the Aberdeen Daily World. This is an early edition available only to WWW users. Please send us your Drops of Water feedback.
The first people to find errors in spelling or word structure receive a free map of the Chehalis watershed. Send us an e-mail note telling us about the error. |
Special Thanks
Drops of Water is funded by organizations interested in the watershed.
These editions have been made possible by substantial grants from:
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Drops of Water is a publication of the Chehalis River Council. The CRC depends upon grants and awards from corporations and agencies of government to underwrite the production costs. Neither the CRC or any of the CRC volunteers receives any money, all funds go to production and distribution.
Since the June 2000 issue we have been caught up in and administrative nightmare which strangled the flow of funds and brought production to a halt.
We publicly owe a debt of gratitude to The Chronicle for allowing us to produce the April, May and June issues while they waited for funds which did not arrive until September.
We are happy to be back!
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Mike Kelly, one of Drops of Water's most prolific contributors, has emerged from the waters of the Chehalis and migrated to California.
Over the years Mike contributed many memorable articles. Among our favorites were these: Mystery Blobs and Toe Biters - The "Other" Creatures of the Chehalis, The Green Crab Invasion, The Sneaky Little Salmon, Wood and Sticks and Stuff. Mike's writings added a touch of humor, many personal experiences and a lot knowledge to subjects which might otherwise be dull, uninteresting and confusing.
All told Mike contributed 31 articles to Drops of Water - and this represents only a very small sample of the knowledge, dedication, effort, and commitment Mike invested in protecting the waters of the Chehalis. He will be missed.
We'll let a few of Mike's final words (see his last article on page 1) help draw a mental picture of a great friend and supporter:
"We're taking our lawnmower and septic wastes with us to impact the Mad River watershed back in northern California where we came from. I'm really going to miss this great place, and all of the wonderful, dedicated people I've worked with during the last five years. So many of you are lucky to have this place as your long-time home, and I'll carry great memories with me back to my long-time home. Thanks."
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Mike Kelly
You know, if we all just got up and vacated the Chehalis River Basin, and perhaps took some of our construction projects and toxic waste with us, in time, the river would probably heal up nicely.
We could come back from time to time and catch a spring chinook or summer steelhead, and maybe even go for a swim if the water hasn't become too cold or too crowded with giant bull trout.
We could go watch shorebirds out at Bowerman Basin, or hike up the Satsop River to look for fossils.
We could take a canoe down the Black River, or if we are feeling brave and/or stupid we could take that canoe over Rainbow Falls.
And our great-great-great grandchildren could admire huge trees, and dodge spotted owls while they ride their skateboards in the toppled cooling towers.
Well, that ain't gonna happen, I'm quite sure. But I'm here to tell you that my family and I are doing our part. We're taking our lawnmower and septic wastes with us to impact the Mad River watershed back in northern California where we came from. I'm really going to miss this great place, and all of the wonderful, dedicated people I've worked with during the last five years. So many of you are lucky to have this place as your long-time home, and I'll carry great memories with me back to my long-time home. Thanks.
Well, since you all aren't about to leave anytime soon, you've got to keep on working to protect and restore this incredible river. And though I'm leaving, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Chehalis Fisheries Restoration Program will continue on to help you do good things. And, in fact, the following is a list of good things that we have planned to do together during this year. (I'm actually writing this in July, and you may not read it until September, so hopefully all of these projects have been completed by the time this edition of Drops of Water reaches you.) And actually, at the time of writing, there are a couple of additional projects in the works that we may be able to squeeze in this year, so check with us later.
So, the following list gives you the project name, the cooperating groups (in parentheses), and a brief description of the project.
Weyco-Briscoe Off-Channel Monitoring (Grays Harbor College) This is the fourth year of funding for this cooperative monitoring project. According to Washington Geology magazine, this is the only gravel pit habitat enhancement project undergoing monitoring of fish use. Please contact the Chehalis Fisheries Restoration Program coordinator at 360-753-9440 if you would like more information about monitoring results.)
Chehalis Basin Water Quality Monitoring Project (Washington Department of Ecology, and lots of cooperating landowners) This is the sixth year of monitoring the success of our riparian restoration efforts at selected sites, as well as monitoring other key sites in the watershed. A final report should be available soon. Again, please contact the Chehalis Fisheries Restoration Program coordinator at 360-753-9440 if you would like more information about monitoring results.
Harris Creek Road (Washington Department of Natural Resources) This project will decommission 1.3 miles of logging road, which includes removal of 29 culverts (none of which are significant barriers to fish passage, but it sure sounds good - and who needs 'em anyway?). The objective is to reslope and stabilize the road surface to match the original hydrology of the site in order to eliminate chronic fine sediment delivery and accelerated runoff. New surfaces will be planted with native trees and grasses. The area is low gradient stream and beaver ponds, and is used primarily by coho, cutthroat trout, and other really cool resident fish and critters.
South Fork Chehalis Culverts (Hampton Tree Farms, Lewis Conservation District, Chehalis Indian Fisheries) We are splitting the cost 50/50 with the landowner to fix two culverts that block fish passage to three miles of anadromous fish bearing waters in a total of 940 acres of watershed on two tributaries to the upper South Fork Chehalis River. One tributary has a moderate gradient, and could be described as a "steelhead stream," and the other is mostly low gradient with beaver ponds, and is typical of coho and cutthroat rearing habitat. One culvert will be replaced by a larger culvert, and the other by a bridge. The plan is to fix one in 2000 and the other in 2001.
Coal Creek Culvert (Lewis Conservation District, Natural Resources Conservation Service, three landowners) A pair of undersized impassable culverts will be replaced by a large "bottomless arch" structure. A series of "homemade" weirs downstream of the culverts constitute a barrier to juvenile salmon, and have caused some damage to the adjacent streambanks. These weirs will be removed and replaced by appropriately placed log structures. This compound barrier currently blocks 1.2 miles of apparently very good quality stream.
East Hoquiam Fish Passage (Olympic Resource Management) This project will remove and/or replace six culverts that are either complete or partial barriers to over two miles of fish bearing waters including approximately four acres of off-channel rearing area on tributaries to the East Fork Hoquiam River. One culvert will be completely removed and the road closed and stabilized. One culvert will be replaced by a bridge. The remaining culverts will be replaced by appropriately sized culverts. The landowner is providing well over 50% of the cost.
Gaddis Creek Culvert (Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force) According to surveys conducted by the Task Force, there may actually be up to five miles of anadromous fish habitat blocked by the culvert near Porter. Our 1992 habitat surveys, as well as the WDFW/Streamnet database indicate at least two miles of available habitat. In any event, this culvert is a significant barrier. The stream is in very good condition above this culvert.
Canyon River Upland (Columbia-Pacific RC&D, U.S. Forest Service) This project would address problems associated with mass wasting and chronic fine sediment delivery caused by roads on the Olympic National Forest in this tributary to the West Fork Satsop River. Most of the work will be carried out by displaced timber workers using a variety of techniques that have proven effective in the adjacent Skokomish watershed. The project is supported by Watershed Analysis.
Lincoln Creek Off-Channel (Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources, Chehalis Indian Fisheries) This project will enhance a fish-bearing ditch and improve flow patterns on an abandoned agricultural field managed by WDNR. The goals are to improve rearing habitat for fish, and to help retain groundwater to improve summer low flows.
Stevens Creek Habitat Surveys (Columbia Pacific RC&D) A crew will conduct habitat surveys on approximately 10 miles of Stevens Creek in the Humptulips watershed. This information will be used to compliment information gathered during the Humptulips Watershed Analysis, and will help in the design of future habitat restoration projects.
Drops Of Water newsletter (Chehalis River Council, and many contributors) Take a look at what you have in front of your face - this is it! This is our fourth year of funding for this newsletter that reaches 45,000 households and covers topics related to water and fish in the Chehalis Watershed.
Well, hang in there, work hard for your watershed, and don't forget to celebrate your successes.
Mike Kelly
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Theresa Kimball, Tech Prep Coordinator
Lewis-South Thurston County Tech Prep/STW Consortium
There's this program in town that helps students earn college credit and high tech job skills while they are attending high school vocational classes. It isn't new but it's been awfully quiet. It's Tech Prep and we want everyone to get loud about it.
Tech Prep is a federally funded program that was created more than 9 years ago to encourage vocational students to earn high tech job skills and college credit. The intent is for students who like hands-on learning to consider a two-year technical degree at a community college by enabling them to earn credits towards completion of a chosen technical program, while in high school. For instance students can earn up to 17 college credits in Natural Resources/Forestry at some local high schools. (Credits vary by high school). This means four college classes can be completed by the time a high school student graduates. This saves time and money as the students does not pay college tuition or pay for textbooks. A great deal for students and their parents!
This articulation means that a college faculty member and a high school teacher have met and have agreed to teach to the same college-level course outcomes. They sign an annual agreement and each year meet and make changes to the curriculum. The courses are based on the highest industry skill standards so students get the skills they need to do a job. So whether, a student chooses to go on to complete a two-year technical degree at the community college or chooses employment, he or she will come out a winner.
To enroll in Tech Prep, check the high school course schedule for Tech Prep designated courses. Sign up with your vocational teacher and submit forms to the College. Work hard and earn a B or higher. That's all it takes to get loud with Tech Prep .
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USDA Agricultural Research Service
Soaking willow cuttings gives them a head start in protecting eroding stream banks.
Channel erosion is a serious problem in many areas. For years, researchers have tried to stabilize streambanks with planted vegetation. This technique is usually cheaper, better for the environment and more aesthetically pleasing than artificial structures made from concrete and stone.
For four years, Agricultural Research Service hydraulic engineer Doug Shields at the National Sedimentation Laboratory, Oxford, Miss., and University of Memphis wetland plant physiologist Reza Pezeshki investigated willow cuttings' survival or effectiveness when planted along streambanks to control erosion.
Planting willow cuttings 3 to 8 inches in diameter and 4 to 8 feet long in winter when they are dormant is an attractive option for rapidly eroding sites. The posts hold and stabilize the bank until the young trees become established. Then the willows create conditions favorable for natural establishment of native vegetation. However, in many cases, willow posts planted in streambanks have died within a year.
To find ways to enhance willow survival and growth, the scientists conducted a series of field and greenhouse studies that showed that cuttings are very sensitive to moisture and soil type. They're currently developing a simple site evaluation protocol to assist streambank restoration planners in deciding where to plant willow posts. Site characteristics used in the protocol will include typical groundwater elevations and soil type.
Recent greenhouse studies have shown that survival rates can be doubled by soaking cuttings for 10 days before planting. Soaked cuttings outperformed those planted immediately after they were cut, growing higher and producing more biomass and greater numbers of roots.
This finding will be of great interest to all who are working to create forested riparian buffer strips, control streambank erosion and restore the nation's 3.5 million miles of rivers currently considered degraded by erosion, sedimentation and excess nutrients.
ARS is the chief research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Scientific contact: F. Douglas Shields, Jr., ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory, Oxford, Miss.; phone (662) 232-2919, fax (662) 232-2915, shields@sedlab.olemiss.edu
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By David Rutherford
The Onalaska FFA has been working hard the last four years to establish a salmon run in Gheer Creek on the edge of Onalaska. This salmon run includes rearing fingerlings in tanks at the school site and net pens in Carlisle Lake.
This year the group expects a large return of early Coho to the trap area in the outlet of Carlisle Lake. Males will be recorded and released into the lake for sport fishing. Eggs taken from females will be used by WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife with extra eggs being sold to cover expenses in the program. Nutrients will also be added to the watershed by returning carcasses to key creeks in the area.
The FFA Chapter has been anxiously waiting for this return because it is the largest so far with 100,000 fingerlings released. This project is a part of Onalaska FFA Advisor/Agriculture Teacher David Rutherford's Natural Resources classes. Students feed and care for the fish on a daily basis and have many work parties after school to work on equipment and the facilities. Students learn about salmon restoration, water quality, teamwork, responsibility and aquaculture skills. The group is blessed with having many active community members that help.
Besides raising salmon the students also manage a small trout project with students raising fish for local landowners wanting to stock ponds. Proceeds from the trout project cover expenses not allowed by the State such as student labor on weekends or vacations.
If you have any questions about this project, want more information or are interested in stocking a pond with trout please contact David Rutherford at 978-4113.
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OLYMPIA Many farms in Lewis, Thurston and southeast Grays Harbor counties will receive inspections from the Department of Ecology (Ecology) in the coming weeks as a part of continuing efforts to curtail water pollution that comes from livestock farms.
"Dairy farms have already received attention from Ecology, and now it's time to look at farms with other kinds of livestock, such as non-milking heifers, cattle, horses, hogs and poultry," said Mark Bentley, a water-quality manager for Ecology.
The inspections are a follow-up to Ecology's 1998 technical-assistance tour of 78 livestock farms in the upper Chehalis River basin. At that time, 42 farms were identified as having a medium or high potential to pollute waters. Farms with problems were asked to seek free technical assistance from their local conservation districts to manage farm animal waste.
"Because only a very few of the 78 property owners followed up with their conservation districts after our initial visits, our formal inspections are proceeding," Bentley said.
Between 1990 and 1993, a water-quality study for the upper river (upstream from the Porter bridge) found levels of dissolved oxygen and fecal coliform bacteria that violated state water-quality standards. The study found that portions of the river are very sensitive to pollution and that one significant source of pollution is runoff from areas where livestock are kept.
In addition, a recent study of the Grays Harbor watershed indicates that 96 percent of the river's fecal coliform bacteria is coming from polluted runoff, much of which comes from upstream.
Low levels of dissolved oxygen are hard on fish and aquatic life that depend on oxygen for survival. Fecal coliform bacteria pose a health risk to people who come into contact with contaminated water while fishing, swimming or wading.
In addition to free technical assistance that's available from conservation districts, grants or loans are often available to assist landowners with the expense of resolving problems. This funding can help pay for improvements such as installing fences or waste-management facilities.
Conservation districts can be reached at the following phone numbers:
Thurston Conservation District, 360-754-3588
Lewis Conservation District, 360-748-0083
Grays Harbor Conservation District, 360-249-5980.
Farmers can contact Lisa Rozmyn at Ecology for more information about the inspections: 360-407-6287.
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The Chehalis River Council has given its annual Chehalis Watershed Award to a group of 14 Lewis County citizens who successfully challenged the Lewis County Comprehensive Plan.
The group identified serious deficiencies in the parts of the plan that deal with public participation, flooding, groundwater, water quality, agriculture, forest resource lands, rural development, and transportation.
These citizens worked together to produce a 180 page brief describing how the plan violated the State Growth Management Act. After hearing their arguments, the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board ruled the entire rural element of the plan invalid.
The County has appealed this ruling, and arguments will soon be heard in Lewis County Superior Court. Meanwhile, the group continues to participate in the planning process, and is closely following the development of the ordinances and rules that will implement the comprehensive plan. A second petition has been submitted against a set of development regulations passed by the County Board of Commissioners last May.
Members of the group include Tammy Baker, Brenda Boardman, Debra and Richard Burris, Eugene Butler, Doug Hayden, Susan Lamoreaux, Rob Schanz, Ed Smethers, Dan Smith, Dorothy Smith, Mike Vinatieri, Annette Yanisch, and Deanna Zieske. The award recognizes their contribution to improving how our local governments deal with the water supply, water quality, and rural development problems that affect our watershed.
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By Rob Schanz
On a sunny September day 28 people joined us on a fun-filled trip on the Chehalis River. After an hour or so of organizing and figuring out car shuttles, a hodge-podge collection of canoes, kayaks, and a rowboat embarked from Oakville, with the hope of arriving safely at the Porter boat ramp 10 miles downstream. The event was organized by the Chehalis River Council as part of the statewide celebration of Washington Waterweeks.
The trip started with some awkwardness as people sorted out their paddling skills through the first set of rapids. As we glided through the first major riffle, I looked back to see that the couple in the blue canoe had decided to float upside down into the right bank. After some anxious moments they were able to pull their canoe out of the bushes and change into dry clothes.
Fortunately, the weather was perfect and the company was good. After a couple of miles the river slowed down and our novice paddlers became more confident that they would actually survive the trip. We took our lunch on a gravel bar, with plenty of time for the kids to play in the water and the adults to enjoy good conversation.
After rescuing another kid from a floundering rowboat, my canoe was loaded up with two adults and three kids. These guys were no deadweight, though.
With five paddles working in unison, we soon began to resemble a Roman Galley as we plowed through the slower sections of the river (although at times we looked more like the Marx Brothers as our paddles banged together and the kids fought over which side they would paddle on). As master of the boat I was able to bring order to my crew by threatening to strand them in a fishing shack.
With sixteen boats stretched over a half-mile of river, we didn't have much chance to sneak up on wildlife. Still, we were able to see herons, mergansers, songbirds, and signs of beaver. Every section of the river had its resident kingfisher, chattering at us for invading its private fishing grounds. Crayfish, freshwater mussels, and other aquatic critters were ever-present in the rocks and cobbles on the streambed. On other trips in this stretch of the river we have seen otters, bald eagles, and migrating salmon. The river passes through mostly farmland, with narrow but pretty stands of cottonwoods, alder, and cedar lining the riverbanks.
The river picked up speed again in the last two miles, giving another pair of paddlers a chance to enjoy a swim as their boat flipped broadside through a rapid. After about 5 hours on the river, we all arrived in one piece at the Porter boat ramp, where we loaded up our boats and said goodbye to the river.
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