Nov-Dec 2007 Sandpiper Newsletter Grays Harbor Audubon Society

8/8/2019 Nov-Dec 2007 Sandpiper Newsletter Grays Harbor Audubon Society

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Membership MeetingSunday December 2, 2007

Nature JournalingBoard Elections1:30 pm 3 pm

Pearsall Building

2109 Sumner Avenue, Aberdeen

The

Sandpiper

November/December 2007

aThe children of Grays Harborschools will again be learningabout the lives of shorebirds,walking the Sandpiper Trail andparticipating in the Grays HarborShorebird Festival this year. Twonew AmeriCorps members, Dan-iel Steven and Kelly McDermottwill serve as Education and Out-reach Coordinators for the GraysHarbor National Wildlife Ref-uge, working with teachers and

students throughout the 2007-08school year. The Education andOutreach Coordinator positionsare partly funded by Grays Har-bor Audubon. We look forward toa great year as they settle in withHarbor Schools and the GraysHarbor Shorebird Festival Plan-ning Committee. Welcome Danand Kelly!

New AmeriCorpseducation outreach andcoordinators head forGrays Harbor

Our names are Kelly McDer-mott and Daniel Stevens and weare the newEducation Coordina-tors for Grays Harbor NationalWildlife Refuge. We want to in-

troduce ourselves to you becauseof the important role the GraysHarbor Audubon Society hasplayed in supporting wildlife andenvironmental education throughthe Grays Harbor National Wild-life Refuge. Our hope is for theexpansion of our continued part-nership together through thesenext 10 months to promote wild-life and environmental educa-tion in the Grays Harbor County

community. There are somegreat opportunities for us to takeadvantage of this year! Our maindesire is to promote collabora-tion and cooperation with organi-zations and individuals in GraysHarbor County. We believe that being effective in a commu-nity means being sensitive to itsneeds. This requires our contin-uous dialogue with all of you toestablish a strong sense of whatcan and should be done in the re-

gion. But first, a bit about us.Kelly grew up in Chicago andmoved to the Pacific Northwestto attend Evergreen State Col-lege and became interested in thediversity of this regions naturalhabitats. She is currently takinga year off to serve Grays HarborCounty through the work at theRefuge.

Daniel was born and raisedin the North Seattle area and

has recently moved back to the Northwest from Chicago aftercompleting an undergraduatedegree in history. Both of usare looking forward to workingwith students and communitymembers at the Refuge and inclassrooms to continue promot-ing a sense of interdependence between the communities andthe wildlife resources.

Our primary goal for this year

is to develop a more compre-hensive year-round education program including educationalmaterial on both Autumn andSpring migration seasons. Inaddition to this, we are takingsteps to facilitate research andintegration of local histories il-lustrating human influence andimpact pertaining to the Bower-man Basin.Finally, our success in this pro-

gram is closely tied to volunteer

support and participation eachyear. We are currently seekingpeople to help in classroom pre-sentation, trail roving, field tripfacilitation, and invasive weedremoval among other things.There will also be volunteer op-portunities at the Grays HarborShorebird Festival again withfacilitation positions at the Fun

Fair activity booths. Last yearsShorebird Festival volunteerswere invaluable to the festivalssuccess, and were looking for-ward to the same great turn outfor 2008! The GHNWR is de-pendant on the dedication of itsvolunteers to ensure the contin-ued success of this facility as apoint of connection between peo-

ple and wildlife.If you would like more infor-

mation about volunteer opportu-nities at GHNWR or would liketo contact us, you can reach us at

[email protected][email protected]

or call us at (360) 753-9467. Welook forward to hearing from youand meeting with you, and antici-pate an exciting, fruitful year!


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The Presidents Perch

Fledging from the perch

By Jan McMillanThis will be my last visit to ThePresidents Perch. Ill be goingoff the board at the end of De-cember and turning the leader-ship over to the capable handsof Arnie Martin, this years vicepresident. Ive appreciated hav-ing this forum to share some ofmy thoughts and opinions withyou. I still plan to be a contribu-tor to the Sandpiper and willcontinue to work with R.D.

Grunbaum, our editor, to bringyou interesting and timely ar-ticles and inspiring stories andpoetry.

Being president of Grays Har- bor Audubon has been a won-derful experience for me andIve had fun along the way. Im proud of the work our chapterhas done. Some of the highlightsfor me have been:Hosting the Fall 2005 AudubonCouncil of Washington Confer-

ence (ACOW). The work we didtogether preparing for that con-ference helped bring us togetheras a working team.With our partners, The City ofHoquiam and the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, expanding community participa-tion and support for the AnnualGrays Harbor Shorebird Festi-val. Increasing our membershipthrough our 2006 membershipdrive, made possible with agrant from National Audubon/AudubonWashington. Expanding the boards un-derstanding of our habitat landholdings through on-site visitsand a presentation by our formerLand Steward, Perry Spring. My advocacy work with both

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state and national legislators andespecially my visits to Wash-ington D.C. to lobby for localissues such as spartina eradica-tion, support for our Grays Har- bor National Wildlife Refuge,and Doppler radar system for

our Washington coast. Finally, the friendships I havemade with our many memberswho have volunteered to do ta- bling outreach, helped selectsites for the Birding Trail Maps,volunteered for the ShorebirdFestival, led field trips, contrib-uted to the Sandpiper, helped torid our properties of invasivespecies, stood in the rain and thecold to count birds at the Christ-mas Bird Count and most re-cently, measured grasses for theSnowy Plover Habitat Restora-tion Project at Ledbetter Point.

Editors Note: Jan will be greatly

missed as she did a spectacular job in

bringing you interesing and relevant

information to the pages of The Sand-

piper. This editor is greatly relieved to

learn that she will continue to contrib-

ute to these pages.

Grays Harbor AudubonLoses a FriendPatrick Sullivan 1972-2007

Almost every birder in WesternWashington has been touched by the birding knowledge andskills of Patrick Sullivan. Hecould be seen almost every daysomewhere between Tacomaand Tokeland birding with hislively, red haired mom, Ruth.He and Ruth led field trips eachyear for our own Grays Harbor

Shorebird Festival and for theFall Audubon Council of Wash-ington that we hosted in 2005.They also participated each yearin the Grays Harbor ChristmasBird Count.

Patrick became a birder whenhe was just 8 years old throughBob Ramseys Junior Naturalistprogram at Snake Lake Nature

Center in Tacoma. Through theyears Patricks knowledge of birds grew, as did his skill asa birder. Ive heard many sea-soned birders who have been birding with some outstandingbird experts say that Patrick was

the most knowledgeable birderthey have ever known.

Only 35 years old, Patrick losta lifelong battle with bi-polardisease on September 19th ofthis year when he took his ownlife. When his life ended, thebirding communitys lost an ir-replaceable friend. Our heartsare with his mother, Ruth as shegrieves his loss. Remembrancesin Patricks name may be madeto Nisqually National Wildlife

Refuge, 100 Brown Farm Road,Olympia, WA 98516. Nisquallywas one of Patricks and Ruthsfavorite birding spots.

This issue of The Sandpiper isdedicated to Patricks memory.We will miss him.

Is there anything newunder the sun?Certainly there is.See how a bird flies,

how flowers smile!Yone Noguchi1920

Are you interested in re-ceiving The Sandpiper on-line? Send us your emailaddress and we can forward

the latest issue the momentit is ready to publish or visithttp://ghas.org to view thenewsletter as a color pdffile.


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Nominations for GraysHarbor Audubon Boardof Directors

At the December 2nd Mem-bers Meeting we will have our board of directors election.The following people have

been nominated to serve as offi-cers and members of the GraysHarbor Audubon Board of Di-rectors. Members may submitnominations from the floor butmust have the consent of theperson they are nominating.

President Arnie MartinV.P. No nominationSecretary Theressa JuliusTreasurer Diane Schwickerath

Board Members:Rose DuBois

Steve HallstromDianna MooreLinda OrgelRenee PrineJanet Strong

From the board memberselected at this meeting the new president, with the approvalof the full board, will appoint

standing committee chairs (Ed-ucation, Membership, Habitatand Conservation). Other com-mittee chairs (Program, Public-ity, Hospitality, Newsletter Edi-tor, Field Trips, Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge andother committees as needed) areappointed by the President anddo not need board approval.

Membership MeetingSunday, December 2, 20071:30 - 3:00 pmPearsall Building, AberdeenThe meeting will hold electionsfor members to the board ofdirectors. Due to our inadver-

tant lock out last month, DiannaMoore will lead a discussionon how to begin and maintaina nature journal. The emphasiswill be on the changing seasons,and what shows up when. Weare all concerned with the pos-sible changes taking place withthe warming of the earth andas observers of our own areasof familiar territory we are in aunique position to help identifythe changes, if any, occuring in

our own back yards.As an admitted bribe, a Nature

Journal and pen will be givento the first 15 people to sign upwith Dianna at the meeting.

Refreshments will be served.

Field Trips in the Works!by Dianna Moore

Have you wanted to go on afield trip but couldnt make iton a weekday? We have heardthis before so we plan on try-ing weekends. Even if only afew show up it is well worththe trip...in fact it can be evenbetter with just a few; less noisemeans more birds seen. The

plan is to visit areas we knowhave potential for good sight-ings, and learn together.

Our first field trip, on Satur-day, December 1st , will beginat Vance Creek County Park inElma at 8am. From there we willcheck out the various ponds forwaterfowl and the fields alongthe Chehalis River, includingthe Monte-Brady Loop area.

My idea is to become a bet-ter birder by going out moreoften. Its that simple. So ifyou would like to come along,give me a call: Dianna Moore,360-289-5048, or e-mail me [email protected] All

skill levels are welcome. Dressappropriately for our changeableweather and bring a lunch anddrinking water just in case wecant break away before lunch.I hope to see you there!

Grays Harbor ChristmasBird Count

by Dianna Moore Its that time of year when citi-zen-scientists across the countrygird their loins for the annualChristmas Bird Count, much tothe amusement of those who liketo stay warm and dry. Thousandsof hardy souls don weather-ap- propriate clothing, clean theirbinoculars and scopes, pick outa few bird identification books

to take with them, and sally forthto identify and count the birdsthey see from dawn until dusk.It takes a real dedicated individ-ual to do this, and we are hopingyou are one of them. This year isespecially challenging becausewe dont have Patrick Sullivanto find his usual rarities; he sel-dom missed one or two surprisesfor the day. That means we willhave to prove ourselves worthyof his memory...do our best to

make him proud of us!This years count will be heldon Saturday, December 29th, somark your calendars and plan onspending a day helping out withthis important survey. Its moreimportant than ever! Contact Di-anna Moore at 360-289-5048 ore-mail at [email protected] Thanks!


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GHAS Mission The mission of the GraysHarbor Audubon Society isto seek a sustainable balancebetween human activity andthe needs of the environ-ment; and to promote enjoy-ment of birds and the naturalworld

Pit 2 Pier continuedfrom page 4designed to be capable of load-ing two Panamax ore ships aday. These 750-foot ships arethe size of NATO aircraft carri-ers and can hold 65,000 tons of

gravel. Panamax is the maxi-mum size allowed through thePanama Canal.

FHM spokesmen have saidthe P2P will make the companycompetitive worldwide. With35 square miles of mining po-tential and a pier designed forloading tens of millions of tonsper year (current output is half amillion tons), FHMs objectiveis to open the door to a scaleof strip-mining and commer-

cial shipping operations limitedonly by worldwide demand andthe availability of large enoughships and barges.

Critics say it is impossible forFHM to achieve this withoutendangering the Hood CanalBridge and seriously harmingthe Hood Canal and its water-shed.Hood Canal Bridge: The HoodCanal Bridge is the gateway

and sole lifeline to the OlympicPeninsula for many commuters,businesses and tourists. Disrup-tion of traffic and the possibilityof an accident would threatenfar more than the few jobs FHMsays it will add. FHM claimsit can avoid bridge closures bytowing barges under the east endof the bridge. To demonstrate,FHM towed a smaller emptybarge at slack tide on a windlessday. Critics say this is hardly re-

alistic, because the P2P expectsto load several 20,000-ton barg-es a day. These 400-foot bargesare larger than a football field.A heavily loaded barge at theend of a tow line is hard enoughto line up with a narrow openingon a windless day.

But commercial shipping doesnot occur only after midnight onwindless days at slack high tide.

It seems obvious that ships andtowboats that transit the bridgefour to eight times a day will in-sist on using the center span andrepeatedly closing the bridge totraffic.

Because of the narrow open-

ing and the necessity of shipping under all conditions ofwind and weather, many believethe risk of disabling the bridgeis just too great. The impact onthe regional economy would bedevastating!Environment: In addition tomarring the scenic beauty of theHood Canal with spreading in-dustrial blight, there is the frag-ile health of the Hood Canal toconsider. The P2P would oper-

ate around the clock, about 300days a year, with multiple tug-boats and barges queued up andidling. Diesel exhaust has beenidentified as one of the majorsources of air pollution in thePort of Seattle.Besides diesel exhaust, the P2P

would introduce airborne dust,light pollution, noise and the in-creased likelihood of fuel spillsand the introduction of alien

species and other accidentalcontaminants. FHM claims theconveyor will operate as quietlyas a refrigerator. But those whohave witnessed ore loading onthe Great Lakes know the rum- ble can be heard for very longdistances.

Gravel washing operationsuse huge volumes of water. Itis inconceivable that large-scalestrip mining would not threatengroundwater and aquifers or

create silted runoff that couldsmother eelgrass beds, shellfishand marine habitat.The Truck vs Barge Argu-mentOne of Fred Hills main argu-ments is that shipping by bargeis more environmentally friendlythan shipping by truck. Yet, ac-cording to their own estimates,the P2P would not reduce local

truck traffic at all. Nor wouldit reduce truck traffic from theport of delivery to the point ofuse. This specious argument justshifts attention from FHMs ul-timate goal, which is to increasetheir scale of operations from

the current 690 acres to some-thing on the order of 35 squaremiles, all within the Hood Caalwatershed.

Fred Hill has also offered todonate sand for beach restora-tion. Critics say that dumpingmore sand on an eroding beachdoes little to correct the condi-tions causing the erosion. Thenew sand washes away, smoth-ering nearshore marine habitat.

Although the decision will be

made in Jefferson County, theadverse effects will be felt byresidents of all three countiesthat share the Hood Canal. FredHills decision to push aheadwith permitting and construc-tion of its pit-to-pier facilityputs company profits above thehealth and welfare of a preciousnatural resource already seri-ously threatened by human ac-tivities along its shores.Gene Bullock is Conservation Chair

for the Kitsap Audubon Society. He

is also active in Kitsap Conservation

Voters and West Sound Conservation

Council.

Editors note: There are plans to have

a pro-con discussion of this project

at the December 12th meeting of the

Grays Harbor Community Alliance

6 PM Carpenters Hall.


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Birders get special treatment The Grey Gull Motel in Ocean Shores offers a discountto birders staying with them and the discount is goodyear round. They also welcome birders to use their park-ing lot for Ocean Shores birding events.

The Grey Gull is a member of Grays Harbor Audubonand is located at 651 Ocean Shores Blvd. NW, OceanShores on the Washington Coast.

Ocean ShoresWeatherwax propertyendangered The 120-acre Weatherwax par-cel has long been a hidden trea-sure in Ocean Shores for bird-ers and nature lovers alike. Itis the only un-platted property

left within the city limits. Withnearly a mile of undisturbedshoreline on Duck Lake, thereis nothing like it on the NorthCoast.

The 3 natural portions of this property provide one contigu-ous eco-system which supportsan incredible variety of birds,animals and vegetation.

On the East side the tall treesprovide roosting spots for Great

Blue Herons (fifty sited at onetime), Eagles, Hawks and Owlsin addition to extending the wildlife corridor through the centerof Ocean Shores for the largeranimals who live here.

The point, a favorite spot forbirders, provides hunting groundfor our great horned owls and isa favorite birthing spot for deerand other small animals.

The Western Portion is forest-ed with original growth spruce,

cedar and fir forming a canopyunder which huge ferns andmosses grow. A forested wet-land completes the far Westernportion of the Eco-system.

In total the 120-acre Weather-wax property in Ocean Shoreshosts a huge variety of nativespecies and serves as a protectedresting area for migrating birds.Over 50 varieties of fungi have

been identified, plant speciesranging from the ordinary to theextra-ordinary abound and wild-life flourishes in the midst of thistotally platted peninsula.

The current city administra-tion sees little of this, but does

see dollar signs at the thoughtof being able to create more tinylots. Its current plan is to sellthe Point (8 acre center portion)

for development of 26 water-front homesites, destroying boththe shoreline and all habitat ex-isting on the Point. Then in or-der to create more commercial property down town (have you been to Ocean Shores lately?),they plan to move 5 holes of thegolf course to the Forested Wet-lands portion of the Weather-

wax! They claim that they willwork around the wetlands, butcan you imagine the destructionto the eco-system that this rep-resents? Ocean Shores Citizens for Bal-anced Growth are working hardto preserve this pristine eco-

system in its entirety. Alteringany portion of it will have ir-reversible impact on the whole.Please take a minute to learnmore about this incredible prop-erty and our efforts atwww.weatherwax.info .

A true conservationistis a man who knows

that the world isnot given by his fathers

but borrowed fromhis children.

John James Audubon

Shorebird Festival datesset for next yearMark your calendar The 13th Annual Grays Harbor

Shorebird Festival will be heldthe first weekend in May (May2-4.), 2008. The date has beenmoved to May because of thetides it wont do to have lowtides during daylight viewingtimes! We are looking forwardto another stellar event spec-tacular birding with hundreds ofthousands of shorebirds soaringand swooping, great field trips,an exciting guest lecturer, yum-

my dessert night, and a deliciousdinner and awesome auction.Plus, there will be vendors sell-ing nature and birding productsand exhibitor displaying their in-formative programs. And dontforget the school poster contestand fun fair for Grays Harborkids of all ages!


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GHAS Board of Directors

Rose DuBois 532-4067 [email protected]

Ann Haarer 268-1004 [email protected]

Steve Hallstrom 273-9280 [email protected]

Theressa Julius 537-4386 [email protected] Martin 612-0437 [email protected]

Jan McMillan 268-1004 [email protected]

Dianna Moore 289-5048 [email protected]

Linda Orgel 648-2476 [email protected]

Renee Prine 268-0485

Dean Schwickerath 495-3101 [email protected]

Diane Schwickerath 495-3101 [email protected]

Janet Strong 495-3950 [email protected]

Gary Utter 269-0157 [email protected]

Chapter Officers

President Jan McMillan, [email protected]

Vice President Arnie Martin 612-0437

[email protected]

Treasurer Diane Schwickerath 495-3101

[email protected]

Secretary Theressa Julius, 537-4386

[email protected]

Committee Chairs

Newsletter R.D. Grunbaum, 648-2476

[email protected]

Membership Ann Haarer, 268-1004

[email protected]

Conservation/Habitat Dean Schwickerath, 495-3101

[email protected]

Education Janet Strong, 495-3950

[email protected]

Field Trips Dianna Moore, Tim OBrien

(800) 303-8498

Program Chair Dianna Moore 289-5048

[email protected]

Hospitality Renee Prine, 268-0485

Publicity Jan McMillan, [email protected]

Other Audubon Contacts

GHAS voice mail (800) 303-8498

State Audubon (360) 786-8020

National Audubon (212) 979-3000

GHAS Website http://www.ghas.org


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Please Fill Out and Mail Back

ANNUAL GRAYS HARBOR AUDUBON

CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

If you would like to join Grays Harbor Audubon Society (GHAS), please fill out the form below,make check payable to Grays Harbor Audubon Society and return it with your check to:

Grays Harbor Audubon SocietyP.O. Box 470

Montesano, WA 98563

Chapter Memberships include a subscription to The Sandpipernewsletter. All Chapter Member-ships above the Sandpiper category provide financial support to our Chapter. The Grays HarborAudubon Society is totally self-supporting.

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To join National Audubon or renew your National Audubon Membership, call 1-800-274-4201.

If your newsletter is stamped withLast Issue-Please Renew, be sure to fill out the MembershipForm above and send it in to keep your membership active and keep receiving the newsletter!Thanks!

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MembershipMeetingPearsallBuilding

2105Sumner,Aberdeen1:30-3:00pmDecember2,2007

News&Editorial sendmaterialsto

P.O.Box1044Westport,98595-1044

[email protected]

InsidethisIssueNewtoGHNWR1

PresidentsPerch2RememberingPatrick2Nominations3Membershipmeeting3Fieldtrips3BirdCount3Ploverupdate42008Priorities4Pit-to-Pier4P2Pcontinued5Weatherwax6ShorebirdFestival6Board&Officers7MemberApplication8

The SandpiperP.O. Box 470Montesano,WA 98563

Non Profit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDAberdeen, WAPermit # 5

HowDoIKnowWhenMyMembershipIsDue?

Justlookintheupperrighthandcornerofyourlabelanditwillgiveyouyour

renewaldate!

Nov-Dec 2007 Sandpiper Newsletter Grays Harbor Audubon Society

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