A Simply Powerful Vision

Habitat connectivity involves so many factors and such large spaces that it is easy to forget how simple the idea is at its core.

The work Conservation Northwest is doing to preserve and restore connections in habitats across the state of Washington certainly involves a lot of challenges and considerations. That's what makes the organization's projects so impactful.

Still, as the video below demonstrates, habitat connectivity is a basic need for wildlife that can be addressed if we make a slight adjustment in how we think about the environment and our place in it.

Figuring out the details of a specific habitat-connectivity project might require strategy and planning, but incorporating the concept of connectivity into our vision for how we live and interact with the other inhabitants of the environment isn't that difficult. No wonder the concept is so powerful: It has far-reaching impacts, but its foundation is simple.

Just look at Conservation Northwest's successes so far and think about how much the simple concept of habitat connectivity has produced.

Connections and Relationships

Building connections and relationships has always been crucial to social causes. Its importance continues to grow as the bonds linking society fray and rupture.

In its efforts to undertake conservation projects in southwest Washington, which I previously blogged about here, Conservation Northwest is taking steps to ensure such connections and relationships have strong roots.

On July 20-22, the nonprofit organization will co-host the Southwest and Coastal Washington Connectivity Summit. The summit will bring together nonprofits, tribes, government agencies, land owners, and businesses to lay the groundwork for future efforts to ensure habitat connectivity and address ecological issues like global warming. This will be the first summit on these issues in southwest Washington, but the plan is to continue holding them every two years.

This year's event is in Ridgefield, Washington. However, it can also be attended virtually.

I'm very excited to see the potential of the relationships that come out of these summits.

Pieces of Possibility

Executing big ideas can require piece-by-piece action. 

Comprehensive visions of environmental conservation are both vital and exciting. We must think those big thoughts if we are to create a scope of action that operates on the level of ecosystems. Additionally, such expansive goals help us rise to the challenge of major environmental issues like global warming. Very importantly, big plans generate energy and enthusiasm about what's possible. 

Still, when it comes to making possibilities into realities, a different, smaller, and typically more demanding approach takes the wheel. We must prepare to work at issues over a long period of time and take opportunities where we can find them even if they are small and scattered. It's about being meticulous and tenacious and comprehending the long-term commitment necessary for success. Conservation Northwest's Cascades to Olympics program, which I previously blogged about here, is shaping up to be a great example of how we need to piece together major projects. Check out the video below to learn about the program and how people are finding ways to make it happen.

   

I really like how Conservation Northwest has looked for possible options that help provide connectivity for wildlife between the Cascade Mountains and the Olympic Mountains. They have assessed the areas that would maximize connection and then looked for opportunities to make those connections better. Each piece requires its own unique work. For example, on the Satsop River in Grays Harbor County, Conservation Northwest has found a way to make the most of a bridge by clearing space for wildlife to walk under it. By contrast, along Interstate 5, the organization is working with the Veterans' Ecological Trades Collective to perhaps create a wildlife overpass that would provide wildlife with a safe option for crossing the freeway. Put together with other projects over a period of years, the work on the Satsop River and the potential I-5 overpass could produce the kind of connectivity Conservation Northwest desires. 

The dream seems more possible as dedicated and hard work puts pieces in place.

Getting Closer

A special conservation project took a step closer to fulfillment this month.

In late 2019, I blogged about a proposal to expand the Davis Creek Wildlife Area Unit, a piece of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) land very close to my heart. Happily, the proposal was accepted a few months later, and WDFW began looking for funding to make the land purchases that would support the project.

At its most recent meeting, the Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the purchase of a 94-acre parcel, which represents about a quarter of the total proposed 416-acre addition to the Davis Creek Unit. Additional parcels will need to be purchased before the entire project is complete, but the acquisition of this piece is great news. The exciting vision of preserving this area now feels closer to reality.

Any conservation effort is important to me. However, because of the close connections I talked about in the 2019 post, adding to the Davis Creek Unit touches me just a little more. It's also a special experience to see this project develop from a proposal to the acquisition phase.

I would like to thank the Fish and Wildlife Commission for allowing the expansion of the Davis Creek Unit to move forward.

Ends to an End

Exciting conservation news came from both the east and west ends of Grays Harbor County in Washington state this year.

Part of the proposed Davis Creek Addition.

First, in February, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced that the Davis Creek Addition has successfully moved from the public-review phase to the funding phase. Last year, I wrote about the public review of this project in eastern Grays Harbor County and called on others to support it, so I am very happy to see it accepted for the next phase, which, according to WDFW, involves seeking grants to pay for the acquisition.

Further welcome news came this summer from Grays Harbor County's coast. As the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office announced via Instagram, Ducks Unlimited secured the full purchase of the Elk River Unit, which will be added to the Johns River Wildlife Area and managed by WDFW. Full of diverse and vital habitat, these newly protected 1,670 acres offer much for humans and wildlife.

The announcements about the Davis Creek Addition and the Elk River Unit have importance beyond their individual achievements. Since both constitute additions to existing protected areas, they represent the next step in conserving and connecting important habitat. Furthermore, these east-west bookends set a model for future efforts all over Grays Harbor County.

In the end, each piece adds up to a big conservation effort.

Close to My Heart

Naturally, we want to protect the things closest to our hearts, so I am asking for help in conserving a piece of nature close to mine.

Wetlands at the Davis Creek Wildlife Area Unit.

Two weeks ago, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WSDFW) announced a set of land-acquisition projects for 2020. Of course, all of these projects are important to expanding the department's conservation and wildlife efforts, and I support each of them, but tucked in amongst the others, you'll find one of special value to me.

The Davis Creek Addition represents the only piece of Grays Harbor County to make the list of possible acquisitions. It would add 416 acres to the existing 535-acre Davis Creek Wildlife Area Unit and would provide key habitat for many bird species. Those are all great reasons to support this proposed acquisition if you have never visited this out-of-the-way pocket of southwest Washington, but I have personal reasons as well.

An old farm provided the land for the existing wildlife area.
Now, WSDFW has an opportunity to add to the unit with the
acquisition of land both north and south of it.

Protecting the land on the Davis Creek Addition feels like protecting a part of myself. I've felt similar feelings for other conservation efforts before, but this part of me resides right in my core because that property sits so close to where I was raised. I've driven by it hundreds of times. Friends from childhood lived within walking distance of it. I remember playing on the prairie just across the road. So when I visited the Davis Creek Unit a few days ago, the importance of protecting and expanding it enveloped me. I felt intimately connected to it, and I realized that conserving it means safeguarding a piece of my heart.

WSDFW will take comments on the 2020 acquisition projects until January 3. You can e-mail your comments to lands@dfw.wa.gov or mail them to: Real Estate Services, PO Box 43158, Olympia, WA 98504.

With all my heart, I hope you'll join me in asking WSDFW to purchase the Davis Creek Addition.

The Best of Us

The best of who we are emerges through our collective efforts to achieve shared dreams.

At Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90 in Washington state's Cascade Mountains, we can see the great things that happen when people come together in a public decision-making process and exercise their combined power to solve problems. Fittingly, that collaboration has produced work that both symbolizes and realizes the potential of connection.

Seeking to solve multiple problems, including avalanche danger, car collisions with wildlife, and ecosystem disruption, a far-reaching coalition of environmental groups, government agencies, lawmakers, and engaged citizens, planned out an extraordinary project. Through a series of road-widening strategies and plans for wildlife overpasses and underpasses, the coalition set in motion an intelligent and inspiring approach to transportation and habitat connectivity. The long and impressive work to bring that vision to life continues, but the fruits of the labor have already started appearing, and they are nothing short of awesome. To learn more about the entire project, check out Cascade Crossroads, the new documentary by Conservation Northwest:



Fragile as it is, confidence in ourselves and our public institutions deserves the best chance to flourish. When it is allowed to, it yields amazing results.

Projects like the I-90 wildlife overpasses and underpasses demonstrate the great things within our collective capacity when we offer our individual strengths to the work of a common dream.

Early After All This Time

The Glacial Heritage Preserve and the Black Hills
on Prairie Appreciation Day 2017.

The seemingly contradictory claims that "good things come to those who wait" and "the early bird gets the worm" came together at the Glacial Heritage Preserve in southwest Washington state last week to make one special experience.

Every year in early May, the preserve opens to the public for Prairie Appreciation Day. Offering wildflowers, educational booths, and a chance to catch up on all the work done to protect the important prairie environment near Puget Sound, the event celebrates spring and environmental preservation.

My mom and I used to go before I began my doctoral studies, but because of school and work commitments, I've had a long wait between chances to enjoy Glacial Heritage. Last year, I stopped in for the first time since 2008, but I could only stay for about 30 minutes. To make things worse, most of the wildflowers bloomed out before Prairie Appreciation Day last year because of an abnormally hot April.

My long wait to immerse myself in the prairie ended this year on May 13 though, and thanks to the Black Hills Audubon Society, I made it to the prairie before almost everybody else and before the rain. Most of the day's festivities began at 10 a.m., but the Audubon Society hosted a birding event at 7:30 a.m., giving those who participated early access and an exceptional experience of the preserve.

As I walked with the other birders, I reacquainted myself with the prairie in a whole new way. With the wildflowers in full bloom this year, the morning sun glistened off fields of wet camas, blue-eyed Mary, and golden and harsh paintbrushes. Years of restoration work, which still continues, showed in the colorful, lively landscape.

In the middle of this sea of flowers and Mima Mounds, birds sang, chattered, buzzed overhead, and landed on the informational signs set up for the public. I had never birded the prairie before, and the group of birders helped me identify three species I would not have confirmed on my own. Two (the willow flycatcher and the western wood peewee) proved quite difficult to distinguish without great expertise, and the third (an orange-crowned warbler) was only identified by its song, which I wouldn't have known by myself.

All told, the birders received three hours of good birding before the rains came at 10:30 a.m. As the majority of people were just arriving, we walked out having seen more than 40 species. Personally, I added eight new species to my 2017 total, and I left with a special feeling of having seen the prairie again after a long absence and before most everyone else this year.

My 2017 Prairie Appreciation Day proved that the early birder gets the good weather and a memorable experience even if it means waiting nine years.

At Play in the Mud

Going back rarely takes us forward except at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in Washington state.

I first went to the refuge in 1994. A lot has happened there since then, but one thing that hadn't happened until recently was my return. Seeing the product of the recent restoration work at the refuge made the wait worth it though.

In 2009, work began to remove a dike that had kept Puget Sound away from the land for more than 100 years. When the restoration was announced, I became excited. The dike had turned the area from an estuary to farmland. Its removal invited the sound back to continue the natural processes that had been blocked for so long.

Because the refuge is visible from Interstate 5, the sound's progress over the last five years continued to interest me. Whenever I drove by, I would sneak a look at the expanding mud flats. The sight of them (or the high tide over them) always made me smile. All that estuary mud represented a return to a time before human intervention and a return of nature.

Two weeks ago, I decided it was time I returned as well. My mom and I visited the refuge and spent several hours walking the trails. We saw bald eagles, great blue herons, a seal, and, because of the low tide, lots and lots of mud. It was awesome. Through the teamwork of people and nature, the refuge had seen an amazing transformation from what it had been on my first trip there. This was no stick-in-the-mud story; it was progress toward a better relationship between the human managers of the land and the refuge itself.

One of the signs along the walking path talked about all that was going on in the estuary's mud, including the lives of creatures that call it home. I'd say that's just the beginning of the story.

Otter Be Good

In any form, citizen science is fun, but when it involves river otters, the enjoyment is off the chart.

Not many species get as much fun out of life as river otters. Even with habitat loss and pollution decreasing its range, the species continues on with a bounce in its step and a twinkle in its eye.

San Francisco Bay is one place where the otter population has been decimated. However, recent signs have suggested a new beginning for the species in that area. To study the hopeful comeback, The River Otter Ecology Project has turned to citizen science, asking people to document and report sightings of river otters through its Otter Spotter program. For more information, click here.

Seeing river otters is cool. Witnessing their return to a place is truly special.

Native Landscapes

Using native plants to landscape a yard brings many positive results. Native plants usually require fewer resources and less watering because they are adapted to the environment. They also attract birds and other species.

Sound Native Plants, a company I have blogged about before, has recently expanded its Web site to include information about creating landscapes that use native species instead of non-native ones.

The landscaping section of the site is still in its early stages, but it provides information about what native species can serve as alternatives to the non-natives and what species grow best in shade or sun.

Garden Native: Part Two

In May, I talked about resources for finding and using native plants in gardening. Here's another one for Puget Sound-area residents: Sound Native Plants.

Sound Native Plants, based in Olympia, sells plants that are native to the area, offers consultation and education about native plants, and works on restoration projects. Additionally, to do its part for sustainability, the company's Web site is powered by wind energy.

My mom bought a vine maple from Sound Native Plants this spring, and it is taking root in her yard as I type. It should be a pretty sight this fall.

Sound of Summer

Summer isn't my favorite season, but it does open up many chances to experience nature and attend environment-related events.

If you're a western Washington native or will be visiting the Puget Sound region this summer, you might want to check out the happenings at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, which borders the sound.

This summer, lots of events are taking place at the refuge. There is a summer lecture series that runs through August 24 and a catalog of weekend nature programs through September 24. The topics for the lectures and programs vary greatly and include birding, photography, grizzly bears, and earthquakes. Events are free, but the refuge has an entrance fee of $3 per four adults. Such fees are important to keeping parks and refuges going, and their importance has only grown with cuts in tax revenue and funding.

For additional information about the refuge's operations, go to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's site.

If you attend one of the summer events, don't forget to get a few looks at Puget Sound while you're there and be sure to also check in on the work that has recently been done at the refuge. In 2009, dikes surrounding much of the area were removed to allow the natural estuary to reclaim what had been lost when the land was converted for farming in the late 19th century. For more information on the project to restore the Nisqually Delta, click here.