Brush Picker Report & Misc 4-3-11

Brush Picker Report.  If the following report is true, we should expect to see brush pickers in the Illahee Preserve tomorrow.  They evidently prefer to be there when it rains since there are fewer people there.

I had a lengthy chat today with one of my scouts in Illahee Forest  (no names revealed).  Their general feeling is the brush pickers are picking us blind right now.  This person is very perceptive and notices much detail during their walks.  They say the pickers are all Latin Americans who wear black rain coats and are very adept at hiding in brush when anyone else is around.  The black rain gear is perceived to be universal and almost a team uniform.  They believe the pickers are most apt to be active Monday thru Friday from 8 to 5.  They often get dropped off along Petersville/Riddell access and get picked up same place in late day.  They have also witnessed an Almira parking lot pick-up.  This person has recently found two VERY large bundles of salal (different locations) and taken it upon themselves to cut it apart and scatter the vegetation.  They also say the most common time for the pickers to be active is when it is raining because there are fewer trail walkers to detect them. 

If my observed trend is consistent, then we have another several weeks of brush thievery before it dies down until late Fall.  Just a few thoughts from the field. 

Unleashed Dog Report.  We received the following account of an incident with unleashed dogs today that we thought should be passed on.  Thankfully, this is only the second one we are aware of.

My wife and I had a very bad dog encounter at Compass Circle this morning. A guy with two big snarling dogs came out Doe Trail, dogs first. The dogs challenged me growling and showing big teeth. One big hound dog was particularly aggressive - classic junk guard dog appearance. The guy yelled out from the trail to ask if we had a dog, as if it was our fault if his dogs were being aggressive. When the guy emerged from the trail he said the dogs were OK, as they went to circle my wife while snarling. The mean hound was bumping into my wife's back while snapping at her. I gave the guy an earful as he leashed the meaner hound. It was frightening for both of us. We were both shaking. Worst dog experience I've had in the Forest. Those were two big, mean dogs. This idiot is exactly why every dog should be on a leash. Any little dog running into the path of these mean big dogs would be lunch. Completely unacceptable behavior this morning.

Last Preserve Report.  When we put out our last report on tree clearing in the Preserve a week ago, we had not yet received the following report from those doing the clearing:  (Remember, this was from last week (3/27/11)

We went on trail brigade with chain saws at 6:30 this morning. 12 trees cleaned up. A Northern Pygmy Owl greeted us near north end of Golf Course Loop trail. A pair of hairy woodpeckers worked on a dead tree along Bootleg Trail. Birds are more vocal as Spring has arrived in the Forest. Rained entire time. Horses have damaged trail in many areas.

These are some dedicate volunteers who would get up so early on a weekend to take care of the Illahee Preserve trails.  Thanks guys for your dedication and support!!

Kids Tour Illahee Creek.  Last Sunday an energetic bunch of kids from the Unitarian Fellowship were given a tour of Illahee Creek.  They met at the Krigsman's and walked up the the old concrete reservoir that was put in by Dr. Schutt.  The kids went through the water and brush easily while the adults struggled along.  The picture of the group was taken by the Krigsman's potting shed along side the creek, before the wet and muddy excursion took place.

North Perry Water.  We wanted to acknowledge that North Perry Water was at the aquifer briefing last week, along with their hydrologist.  We thought about this when we went by the newly cleaned water reservoir on Sunset.  It looked so nice we took its picture.  The boom in the picture was used to elevate those doing the pressure washing.  Thanks to all the North Perry folks for also keeping our drinking water clean and healthy!

North Perry Riddell Well.  We heard that at one time North Perry was looking at relocating their Riddell well at Perry Avenue to the west side of the ridge going through the Illahee Preserve, which would put it in the Meadowdale Aquifer (which is in the Steele Creek watershed).  We also heard they withdrew their request because of some issues with the Tribes.  Some Illahee residents are wondering if it would help if the community were to publicly support the move.  We aren't sure we have all the facts on this issue, but feel if the relocation supports the communities desire to restore Illahee Creek, then we should be doing all we can to help North Perry in its relocation request.  We brought this issue up to get discussions started.  Let us know your thoughts.  This may be a good item to present at the quarterly Illahee Community Club meeting in May. 

Input Needed and Appreciated.  As you can see much of what we put out in these updates comes from your input.  Thank you for trusting us with it and letting us pass it on.

Jim Aho

Preserve Vandals & Learning Opportunities 3-22-11

Brush Thieves in Preserve.  It appears brush thieves have struck again in the Illahee Preserve as bundles of salal were found at the Petersville Road entrance on Monday.  Evidently the thieves are dropped off from a van or other vehicle and picked up later.  Rather than haul their cutting in daylight, they stash them close to a road, and pick them up later in the evening.  When the bundles were sighted some of the park stewards looked to see if they were still in the Preserve, but couldn't find anyone.  The stewards are hoping with more eyes in the woods and along the perimeter of the Preserve that they can get a license number or photograph of the culprits.  

Scout Sign Vandals.  We have had problems with someone taking down the new Eagle Scout trail signs and possibly discovered the culprits.  We asked for detailed description of those involved from the person who happened upon them during a walk and received the following:  

The 3 boys were late teens. 16 – 18 years old.  They were all white.   One wore heavy dark framed glasses.  One had pretty long dark brown hair,  one had shaggy shorter black hair.  There was a girl with them (also white) standing a ways away holding on to a medium to large reddish brown dog.  She may have been a little older than the boys.  She wore jeans and a light colored sweatshirt (?)  I stood and talked to her for a minute while our dogs sniffed each other and she said yes she was with them and she had told them not to take the signs down because she liked that they helped her not get lost.  I may have given them the impression that I was taking their picture with my phone (J) but sadly my phone doesn’t have a camera.  All 3 boys were smokers.  After I talked to them they stopped messing with the sign and stood in a group smoking.  I had heard kids yelling (whooping…animal or bird noises) earlier and my dog kept stopping and facing east. (We were on the middle trail that goes up to the compass circle.)  I saw them between the amphitheater and compass circle on the main trail.  The sign they were after was bolted to the tree and they did not have any kind of tools.  They were just banging and pulling with their hands. I was not confrontational with them but I also did not feel threatened.  They seemed like run of the mill prankster teenagers.  I hope some of this helps.

Volunteer Supported Preserve.  With the Preserve being almost entirely supported by volunteers and their collective efforts in its preservation and protection, it is important that we do whatever we can to curtail vandalism.  If you ever see anything wrong in the Preserve you can call 911, Preserve Stewards at 479-1049, or the Parks Department.

Forest and Stream Course.  There is a class starting on Saturday at the Norm Dicks Center for anyone interested in forest and stream stewardship offered by WSU Extension.  They will be using the Illahee Preserve for some of their forest work.  We checked and they still have room for anyone who wants to sign up.  The details are:

The 2011 Forest/Stream Stewardship Training begins Saturday, March 26!  Stream Stewards receive training that prepares them to work on upland and stream riparian restoration projects.  Everyone can become a stream steward.  The cost for the series of classes is $40 payable to WSU Kitsap Extension and includes materials and your own "WSU Stream Steward Volunteer" name badge.  Scholarships are available by notifying awbergstrom@wsu.edu of your need. For more information:   More information is also available at: http://kitsap.wsu.edu/Stream%20Stewards/index.htm

Aquifer Press Release Correction.  We had a correction to the Press Release that was sent out earlier.  The release stated the aquifers are the sole source of drinking water on the Manette Peninsula, which Illahee is in.  That is not true as the City of Bremerton has an extensive service area on the Manette Peninsula with much of the water coming from surface water from the  Union River.  Illahee's drinking water comes solely from the Manette Peninsula aquifers, which is provided by North Perry Water.

Aquifer Presentation Reminder.  Don't forget the aquifer presentation is next Tuesday (3/29/11) at 6:30 pm at the Norm Dicks Center.

Jim Aho