By Brian Peck, US Fish and Wildlife Service
In the last issue of DOW I wrote about my Peace Corps experiences from 1992 to 1994 in Gabon, Africa. In this issue I will mention experiences from 1995 to 1996, when I extended my stay as a volunteer in Gabon. At that time I moved from the interior of this equatorial country to a coastal village named Sette Cama. This small fishing village is located on a 30 mile long sand spit between the Atlantic ocean and the N'Dogo estuary. I was working in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund to establish a fisheries management plan for the estuary.
Nothing about this place, if taken by itself, stands out as spectacular. There are no outstanding waterfalls, canyons, or mountains here. However, when all of the pieces of this area are taken together, this indeed is truly a unique, magnificent area. The seemingly endless unbroken rainforest; troupes of lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, and forest elephants roaming freely across their ranges; the clear pure tannic water of the estuary mixing with the cold clean ocean water; a leatherback sea turtle laboring to lay its eggs on the pristine beach. Or how the mangroves didn't merely reflect light, but seemed to soak up, and then glow, with the soft light of the setting sun.
Michael Fay, on his recent National Geographic expedition, walked 2000 miles across tropical Africa, from east to west. He documented the regions plants and wildlife along the way and described this area as the last great place on earth. His journey ended on the coast of Gabon at Sette Cama. (Web link: www.nationalgeographic.com/congotrek/) However, demands on the natural resources of this area exist. The Gabonese government allows oil drilling and logging within the protected areas. Human population and road density has increased because of these activities, thereby increasing demand for, and poaching of, wild animals for meat. Sadly, if the current situation continues, it is only a matter of time that this area will become ordinary, and, eventually, severely degraded. It was while living and working here that I fully understood the importance, the absolute necessity, of preserving what is still pristine. (Web link: www.panda.org/forests4life/gamba.pdf) Although not to the extent of tropical Africa, and not in the same manner, I believe that the Chehalis Basin must contain some bits and pieces of "the last great place on earth." An artist may see it in gently swaying marsh vegetation while standing on a remote shore of Grays Harbor. A fisherman may see it while sitting quietly, without rod, watching wild salmon spawn in a small headwater tributary.
To preserve and protect these pristine pieces, and to connect them by respecting and restoring what's in between, is our challenge.
My name is Brian Peck and I am the coordinator for the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Chehalis Fisheries Restoration Program. You can contact me at 360-753-8084 or brian_peck@fws.gov.
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At its September 28 meeting, the Chehalis Basin Partnership reached consensus on a mission statement and goals for a watershed management plan for the Chehalis Basin. An outline for the plan was also adopted. These documents will guide the Partnership as they develop the Plan, which must be completed by October 2003.
Mission: A management plan that will result in effective, economical, and equitable management of the water in the Chehalis Basin to sustain viable and healthy communities and habitat conditions necessary for native fish.
GOALS
General
Work together to find solutions, build relationships, and obtain consensus on the Plan while fostering a sense of the importance for watershed management and stewardship.
Focus on cost-effective environmental improvements and efforts based on available funds, while balancing a sustainable environment with economic development using a cooperative, not regulatory, approach.
Public Involvement
Use the Citizen Advisory Committee and public education to raise awareness of citizens on watershed issues and gain input from the public in developing and adopting the Plan.
Encourage basin residents to implement the Plan, with government support.
Water Quantity
Goal: Bridge the gap between existing stream flows and target flows for fish, wildlife and human use.
Objectives:
Clarify Washington State water law to citizens.
Conduct a water balance for the Chehalis Basin, including complete groundwater data.
Identify what tools are available to meet this goal, for example:
Water Quality
Goal: Prevent degradation of, and/or improve water quality to have clean water (as defined in Washington State water quality standards) for all fish, wildlife and human uses.
Objectives:
Consider improving water quality through increasing water quantity (using tools identified above)
Implement current and future water quality cleanup plans
Develop strategies to identify and prevent water quality degradation
Habitat
Goal: Prevent degradation of, and/or improve habitat in order to support healthy fish and wildlife species and to support water quality and quantity goals.
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by Bill Barmettler, CRC
In the October issue of Drops of Water, Rob Schanz wrote about the Chehalis River Council's grant from the Department of Ecology to further develop the Council's volunteer-based water quality monitoring program. CRC will monitor several stream sites within WRIA 23 (Upper Chehalis River Basin) by testing for traditional parameters, such as dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature, and by collecting samples of the benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) populations living in the streambed. This isn't going to get all scientific. "Benthic macroinvertebrates" is just a fancy term for insects that live in water. Most of them, such as mayflies and damselflies, will leave the water as adults. Turn over any rock in a healthy stream and you're bound to see some.
Ecology has been sampling for these insects in the Upper Chehalis for several years as part of their water quality programs. CRC has qualified for state funding, so we asked to go out with one of the Ecology crews and see what they do. Accompanying them was an important step for several reasons. We need to know what kind of stream to choose, what equipment is needed, how many people it takes, things like that. But perhaps most importantly, we want to follow their procedure exactly. Historically, government agencies usually have not accepted data from volunteer-based groups because the accuracy of the data cannot be verified. We can't say for sure that Ecology will accept our results, but the possibility has been discussed. This would be an exciting development for our volunteers and the program.
So, on September 14, Rob Schanz, Patti Barmettler, and Bill Barmettler met with DOE employees Chad Wiseman, Steve Barrett, and Christina Ricci at the bridge over Stillman Creek on the Pe Ell-McDonald Road. The morning started foggy and cool, but the fog burned off and we enjoyed a perfect autumn day. We took notes, took pictures, and got some hands-on experience.
The information that is gathered can be broken up into three components. We want to quantify stream characteristics (stream width, flow, rock sizes in the streambed, amount of shade), take samples for water chemistry, and sample insect populations. There are specific tools that we'll have to buy, but some of the gear can be made inexpensively.
A special "Thanks" goes out to Chad, Steve, and Christina for their help and patience! Does any of this sound interesting to you? Volunteers will be welcome when CRC is ready to start sampling. This should be a rewarding and educational experience for everyone.
A final note CRC would like to locate, and gain permission to access, a wadeable creek within the Upper Chehalis River Basin that approximates pristine conditions, one that hasn't been adversely affected by development, agricultural uses, or logging. This would be a control sampling site. Sadly, we have so far come up with no such creek in the whole 1000+ square mile watershed. If you know of, or think you might know of such a stream, please contact CRC and let us know. If you're interested or have information on sampling sites, call Rob Schanz at (360) 291-3725.
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by Janet Strong, CRC
At this time of year, when bat-look-alikes are wandering every neighborhood seeking treats, we may be curious as to where the authentic bats are lodging. By chilly October, our Northwest bats have either migrated south or have huddled up in their winter hibernacula (hibernating sites). Insect eaters all, they cannot support themselves outside until spring brings fresh hatches of their favorite foods.
Bats, the most numerous mammals on earth next to rodents, live in the temperate and tropical regions of the world. They are our only truly flying mammal. Their "wings" or "flying hands" consist of thin membranes stretched between elongated fingers attached to enlarged arms. Membranes also stretch between their upper legs. With a swimming motion at 12-20 beats per second, bats propel themselves after insects. However, one species, the desert-inhabiting pallid bat, hunts primarily on the ground, catching flightless beetles, crickets, grasshoppers and even scorpions.
Of the 1,000 species world-wide, 45 live in the United States, 17 of these inhabiting the Pacific Northwest. They may roost, hibernate or rear their young in old mines, caves, under the bark of large dead trees, under bridges, even in old woodpecker holes or bird nests. On summer evenings, they leave their roosting site and head for a nearby pond or stream. Here they fly low to scoop water with their lower jaws, then commence the evening meal. For some species, the stream corridor becomes their hunting highway.
Everybody knows that bats locate their food and avoid crashing into things through echolocation. But, exactly what is echolocation? Think of sonar. While flying, the bat emits through nose or slightly opened mouth a continuous series of supersonic squeaks that bounce off objects and are picked up by the bat's complex ears. Muscles in the ears contract and relax in synchrony with the sounds, blocking emitted squeaks and receiving the echoes. The bat can determine size, location, density and movement of the object it is approaching, even to the tiniest insect.
Speaking of insects, bats consume an incredible number of them. On a world-wide basis, this amounts to hundreds of thousands of tons annually. One large colony can eat tons of insects each night; one little brown bat can gobble down hundreds in an hour.
Bats are a major factor in keeping agricultural pests under control.
Bats may appear to lead the good life, aerial eating machines that they are. But, in reality, they are highly vulnerable to disturbance by humans. For this reason, many species are in trouble or endangered. It is critical to avoid disturbing colonies in hibernation because responding to the disturbance may cost the animals their food reserves. They may end the winter by starving to death. Also, disturbing a nursery colony may cause the young to die by impact with each other and the nursery walls. In particular, for the little brown, the big brown, and the silver-haired bats, the removal of large snags from forests has deprived them of roosting places.
Humans fascinated by our northwest native bats, or desiring to be rid of more insect pests, can build a bat house. Plans are available from Bat Conservation International, P.O. Box 162603, Austin, Texas 78716. This organization sponsors bat conservation through education and research. Bats are fascinating and gentle animals that play an important role in our ecological balance and diversity. The means bats have perfected to carry on in their world is nothing short of amazing. They have earned our respect.
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In a speech on September 10 at a "Water Listening Session" in Lacey, Governor Locke announced four interdependent topics for legislators to address in the 2002 session. They include 1) setting and achieving instream flows (in other words, water for fish), 2) finding water for growing communities, 3) fixing 'use it or lose it' policies (sometimes called 'relinquishment.'), and 4) identifying funding for water storage, water delivery, and safe drinking water systems. But what are instream flows? The following is from the Department of Ecology.
What is instream flow?
We frequently hear the term "instream flow" mentioned as something that should be established or must be protected in our streams and rivers. But what does it mean? As with many things, there is a difference between a general understanding of the term .instream flow. and the meaning it has in a legal and regulatory sense.
One might assume the meaning to be the amount of water flowing in a stream, and this is partially true. However, the amount of instream flow, in this general sense, can fluctuate widely because it is influenced by many factors. These factors may include recent rainfall, snow or glacial melt, temperature, season, vegetative cover, characteristics of the soil and geology, and the amount of water moving through the soil (ground water) which feeds the stream.
In the winter, flow may be very heavy and in summer almost non-existent. At narrow points of the channel the water may be fast moving but low in volume, whereas at a wide point in the stream the same volume of water may move slowly. For the Department of Ecology's purposes, this general meaning of a flow in a stream at any given time is referred to as stream flow.
Ecology uses another term to describe the flow that remains in the stream channel during extended periods without rainwater. This flow, which comes from ground water feeding or discharging to the stream, is called base flow. In much of the state, this base flow (or recharge) sustains late summer stream flows almost exclusively from ground water.
The legal and administrative meaning of instream flows is different from either base flow or stream flow, being more abstract.
The volume of water required for an instream flow is developed by considering existing data, the hydrology of a stream and its natural variations in stream flow and base flow over the course of the year, studying the need for fish habitat as well as many other factors.
Federal agencies use the term target flow referring to an amount of water in a stream to meet fish needs. Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Marine Fisheries Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service use target flows as their goal to provide adequate flows for ESA-listed fish. A target flow is to be biologically-based, achievable, and would provide sufficient water for .properly functioning habitat.
Why are instream flows important?
With few exceptions, water appropriation reduces stream flow, whether water is taken by a direct diversion from a stream or from a well pumping some distance from a stream. At the most critical times of year, the amount of water necessary to preserve fish habitat and satisfy existing water rights sometimes equals or exceeds the amount of water naturally flowing in the stream, leaving little or nothing for additional water right appropriation.
The period of highest demand by humans most often occurs at the same time of year when salmon species return to migrate upriver and spawn. This is when people use water for irrigation of lawns, gardens and commercial crops.
Ecology is required by law to protect instream flows by adopting regulations and to manage water uses that affect stream flows. Once adopted, an instream flow rule acquires a priority date similar to that associated with a water right. Water rights existing at the time an instream flow is adopted are unaffected by the rule and those issued after rule adoption are subject to the requirements of the instream flow rule. A "junior" water right would contain provisions requiring the diversion of water authorized by the water right to cease when the stream flow drops to the levels protected in the rule.
Adapted from "Setting Instream Flows in Washington State," Publication #98-1813-WR, Revised September 2000.
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by Dave Palmer
Normally I look forward to writing. Today I face a daunting task, writing about David Spogen, a very dear friend, mentor, and environmental champion. David was also an educator, citizen volunteer, brother, husband, father and grandfather. David and Rose celebrated 50 years of marriage last year.
September 11 our nation suffered a tragedy beyond comprehension. September 8 my life changed beyond comprehension when David Spogen died as a result of cancer of the liver.
I'd had the pleasure of knowing David and Rose since sometime in 1993.
Environmental issues brought us together. David and Rose - through the Critical Issues Council - were laboring against the major environmental impacts (air, water, waste stream) of the recently sited Chehalis cogeneration plant.
David and Rose joined the Chehalis River Council and I joined the Critical Issues Council. For a time David was the Vice-Chairman of the CRC. I can share my knowledge of David from this environmental point of view.
David brought a management insight and perspective to everything we were involved in. His keen sense of organization and processes were invaluable to the CRC.
David and I double teamed on many projects. In those days we could jokingly say that we terrorized local businesses for support. Our biggest need was twofold: new members and underwriting for Drops of Water. Together we met with executives from local lumber companies, county commissioners, the steam plant and agencies of state government, all in an attempt to obtain financing. Then as now, environmental underwriting is not well supported, but we had fun trying.
After the disastrous 1996 flood David was instrumental in arranging the first meeting of representatives of all three counties - Lewis, Grays Harbor and Thurston - to discuss common flood issues at the CRC office in mid-1996.
Together we tackled unpopular positions. Early on in the life of the Watershed Management legislation, HB 2514, we fought diligently and relentlessly with Department of Ecology executives for more citizen involvement at the local level.
Among his many activities, David found time to write a grant which resulted in the creation of the Chehalis Basin Education Consortium. This is a watershed wide activity involving educators, students and the public from kindergarten through adult in activities which relate to our common thread -- the waters of the Chehalis River system.
The vigil and mass held for David were powerful. David fought the good fight. David fought for issues everyone, in the silence of the night, believes in. He helped people from many walks of life. He was equally known in the vocational education arena, mental health, youth sports and civic activities.
When David was diagnosed with cancer he joined thirty-four hundred victims that day who were told they had a cancer. They crossed a border, the beginning of an unplanned and unchosen journey.
I am sad that David is dead. I am angry that he died from cancer. I am extremely angered to know that a May 2001 English study cited a 15 fold increase in liver cancer in folks over 45 and the possible link to pollutants in the environment.
David joined over 10,000 other people who die from environmental cancer each year (more than all children and teenagers killed by guns, three times the nonsmokers estimated to die from secondhand smoke, and more than the deaths from hereditary breast cancer).
None of these Americans died quick, painless deaths. Many were amputated, irradiated, and dosed with chemotherapy. Most die privately and are buried quietly.
These 10,000 environmental cancer deaths are the annual equivalent of wiping out more people than live in Chehalis, Pe Ell, Morton and Onalaska combined.
For all these reasons I am angry and sad that David Spogen has left us. However it was an honor to know him and work with him, and the CRC and I are far the better for this.
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by Christine Hempleman, Washington Department of Ecology
Dave Palmer, the previous editor of Drops of Water, recently received the Environmental Excellence Award from the Department of Ecology (Ecology). Palmer accepted the award at the September meeting of the Chehalis Basin Partnership.
The Environmental Excellence Award is the state's top environmental award. It is given to individuals, businesses, or groups that exemplify model behavior for the overall benefit of the environment. "Dave has been a leader in promoting stewardship of the Chehalis River basin for many years," said Gordon White, who manages Ecology's shorelands program. "He has sought and created opportunities for sharing knowledge and ideas, bringing people together and getting work done on the ground to care for the Chehalis River."
He helped found and was an active and influential member of the Chehalis River Council. He helped build the council into a hub of water-related activities, providing information to basin residents, participating on technical workgroups, and providing local meeting space. As the editor of Drops of Water, Dave helped keep over 40,000 readers informed about issues related Chehalis River and its community. He participated in development of the Chehalis River Basin Action Plan, which guides many water quality activities in the Basin, and helped found the Chehalis Basin Education Consortium. His volunteer service included membership on the board of the Gray's Harbor Conservation District, the Governor's Watershed Coordinating Council, the Gray's Harbor/Chehalis River Water Cleanup Planning Workgroup, the Chehalis River Basin Land Trust, and the Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force.
His conservation ethic is even evidenced in his personal life; he has a horse ranch on the Black River and has placed over a third of it into perpetual conservation easement.
A fellow Chehalis River Council board member wrote, "Dave believes water truly resembles the 'coal miner's canary' -- too little water or bad water and the ecosystem is lost. The Chehalis system is at a cross roads -- this is likely the last significant opportunity for residents and stakeholders to make a difference by trying to protect water quality and water resources from further pollution and over withdrawal. Protecting a watershed made of many jurisdictions requires a special effort to provide communication and coordination. Information, local education and local outreach are three of the best tools to help create an informed and involved public. Working together we can make a difference; working alone we won't know there is a problem until the well is dry."
"Dave has made an enormous contribution to the cause of clean water in the Chehalis basin," said Margaret Rader, current chair of the Chehalis River Council and Thurston county citizen representative on the Chehalis Basin Partnership. "He has been tireless in his efforts to get out the message that the water we have now is all the water there is and it must be treated as a precious resource."
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My name is Kathy Jacobson and I was recently hired by Education Service District #113 as the Project Coordinator of the Chehalis Basin Education Consortium (CBEC). I have worked as an environmental educator in the state of Washington for the past 11 years.
The CBEC is a coalition of citizens, public agencies, industry, and the public school system who have been working together for the past couple of years to build more local awareness and action to preserve uses and foster stewardship of the Chehalis Watershed.
Knowledge of the local community
In the school year 2000-2001, 22 schools and 700 students participated in the CBEC project by integrating watershed studies into their curriculum and by conducting water quality monitoring of local streams, creeks and the Chehalis River. One CBEC teacher noted, "Suddenly kids see the history of their community and hopefully it enables them to make better decisions later. Water is important for their families and industry in their community."
Project sponsors, supporters
As the project generates community involvement and data of various levels of quality and use, this year the Washington State Department of Ecology is a major project sponsor, as is the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife. Other project supporters include Educational Service District #113, the Weyerhaeuser Corporation, local school and conservation districts and others.
How to get involved
If you have any questions about the project, or if you teach in the Chehalis Basin and want to get your students involved in water quality monitoring and other hands-on studies of their local watershed, please give me a call at (360) 493-0182, or email me at jacfam5@aol.com. I look forward to working with you!
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(for Rojer mcRea)
by Franz Schneider
Fall rain has filled the creek bed full.
Now mist hangs in the windless dawn
Above the teeming gravel shoals
Where salmon spawn. The hen fish roll
From side to side in rhythmic pain.
Attendant cocks in deadly labor caught
Cast jets of fertilizing sperm
On eggs that stain the water brown.
The salmon know exuberance in death;
The current sets them gently down.
The journey here was arduous,
Too steep for some the arcs of breaking waves.
They floundered in the tumult of the tides
Or fell to predators an easy prey.
Only the final mastery
Of white swirls in the roaring surf
Allowed the strong in muscled light
To turn their shoulders toward home
And flash like arrows up the stream
Where the ancestral urge abides.
From here the parent fish depart.
Their souls ride on the water back to sea.
The red-fleshed bodies rot and stay
As food to feed the orphaned young
Now mere translucent pearls, their faces blind,
But marked already by a hint of eyes.
For life lives in these spheres so left behind
And will assert its ancient way:
The salmon in his selfless liturgy
Speaks to our destiny.
from The Roof of Stone, Temporal Acuity Press, 1983, and reprinted with permission of the author.
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Drops of Water will publish an edition in December.
2002 schedule:
February
April
June
August
October
December
If we receive additional support, we will publish more issues in 2002.
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