Illahee Wildlife - 1/12/11

Illahee Wildlife.  The numbers and diversity of wildlife in Illahee, and the surrounding area, is amazing, and from your comments is one of the reasons people like living here.  One of the projects being worked on is a master template for interpretive signs for the Illahee Preserve and possibly for the Illahee Community, that would incorporate images of area wildlife.  We think this is a huge undertaking if for no other reason than just the vast variety of both terrestrial and marine wildlife, which we are aware of around here.

Terrestrial Mammals.  Terrestrial mammals that either are or have been seen in the Illahee area include:  black bears, black-tail deer, coyotes, fox, raccoons, opossums, skunks, rabbits, moles, mountain beavers, gray squirrels, Douglas squirrels, flying squirrels, chipmunks, bats, rats, and mice.  Let us know if we missed any.  We have attached a photo of a fox to represent this group.

Marine Mammals.  Because of the over 3 miles of shoreline in Illahee, and the relatively narrow passage of water between Illahee and Bainbridge Island, the marine mammals that frequent Puget Sound can at times be seen in Illahee.  The marine mammals we have seen include:  Gray whales, Orca whales, sea lions, porpoise, seals, and river otters.  Again, let us know if we missed any.  We have attached photos of a seal and river otters to cover this group.

Major Marine Birds.  Bald Eagles, Osprey (rare), Great Blue Herons, Kingfishers, Gulls, Cormorants, Loons, Canada Geese, Mallards, Wigeons, Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Mergansers, Scoters, Grebes, Plovers, and Sandpipers.  In this section we have just covered the main categories as the numbers become extensive.  Attached are photos of a Goldeneye and various waterfowl at the mouth of Illahee Creek.

Terrestrial Birds.  The Kitsap Audubon Society has documented over 55 different terrestrial birds just in the Illahee Preserve.  The numbers of terrestrial birds in Illahee are too many to list them in this Update.   

Saltwater Fish.  Silver salmon and chum salmon have been the main salmon species using Illahee Creek (and the nearshore areas), along with two trout species, steelhead and coastal cutthroat.  Chinook salmon and pink salmon are also regularly use the nearshore beaches of Illahee.  Forage fish such as sandlance, smelt, and herring, and many other species use the nearshore areas.  We have attached some photos of salmon smolts netted in the nearshore environment a few years ago.  Also attached is a picture of a smelt that was caught at the Illahee dock on a squid jig.

Marine Invertebrates.   This is another wildlife category that has so many species that it is beyond listing, except for a few categories we are more familiar with:  clams, oysters, mussels, snails, sea stars, sand dollars, sea cucumbers, marine worms, barnacles, crabs, squid, and jellyfish.  Attached are photos of mussel sampling and a squid to represent the vast number of invertebrates.

Wildlife Reports Desired.  As we stated at the beginning, one of the primary reasons stated by residents for the reason they like living in Illahee is because of the wildlife.  And one of the primary reasons people state they like the Illahee Community Updates is because of the wildlife reports.  Thank you for all your wildlife reports and the pictures you pass on so we can get them out to the entire community.  We couldn't do it without your help!

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 1/31/10

Mussel Sampling Response. We received a great response from Bob Johnston and the following links regarding the mussel sampling update that was put out two weeks ago.

Thanks for sending the update, here is some additional info on the species mentioned.

The worm is a polychaete (many segment) worm, most likely the clam or mud worm, Nereis vexillosa http://www.nwmarinelife.com/htmlswimmers/n_vexillosa.html

I think the fish is probably a gunnel, I'm not sure what species, but I don't recall any stripes or markings that are characteristic of the saddleback and crescent gunnels
http://www.itsnature.org/sea/fish/gunnel/
http://emeralddiving.com/id_gunnels.html

The eggs may be tube snout eggs, which are orange or honey colored
http://nwgeogirl.smugmug.com/gallery/3126827#171417078_b7w9m
http://www.pnwscuba.com/critterwatchers/pnwmarinelife2005.htm#200508

The mussels we were interested in sampling are Mytilus spp. (blue mussel or bay mussel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_mussel
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/other/mussels.asp

Here is a link to more information about intertidal invertebrates of south Puget Sound
http://www.nwmarinelife.com/index.html

Thanks for your interest and help with the sampling!

-bob

PS we also found a specimen of a "Northwest Ugly Clam" at a marina in Port Orchard. Have you ever seen these at Illahee?
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/bayclams/ClamID.asp
(scroll down until you come to "Other common bivalve species found on docks")

Beach Walk at Lions Park. For those interested in the marine environment and beach creatures Washington Sea Grant and WSU Extension host beach walks, which are at low tides and are in the evenings in the winter time. We talked with someone who attended the evening Beach Walk at Lion's Park on Wednesday and they said it was fun to see what the beach creatures look like at night. We will let you know when the next ones are.

Illahee Fire on Tuesday. There were lots of sirens in Illahee on Tuesday in response to a grease fire. See the attached article that was in the Kitsap Sun.

Thompson Lane Gate Destroyed. We received word that someone destroyed the gate opening mechanism at the Illahee Preserve parking lot at Riddell Road and Thompson Lane. Word has it that the Parks Department doesn't have the funds to fix it. The gate was determined necessary a few years ago due to the illegal dumping of trash along the one half mile long secluded Thompson Lane that connects the 14 homesites located in the middle of the section.

Stolen Car in the Preserve near Petersville Road. We had several people call about the car that got behind the guard rail and ecology blocks at the Preserve walking entrance just across from Petersville Road. It was a stolen car and we are trying to get pictures of it.

Native Plant Demonstration Rain Garden. Plans are now being developed for 4 Rain Garden plots at the Almira parking lot for the Illahee Preserve. The hope was that local native plant nurseries would want to put in demonstration plots, but they said it was too expensive for them as native plants are often more expensive than the non-natives and they evidently didn't see this as an opportunity. It looks like we will be depending on volunteers and the local Master Gardeners to help get the rain garden plots planted. Let us know if you would like to help or are interested in contributing native plants.

Patriot Article on Illahee Shores Homicide in Oct. The attached article in the CK Reporter and Bremerton Patriot on Friday is a reminder that Illahee, and in particular Illahee Shores, has had its share of homicides. No closure in sight for Long's loved ones - Central Kitsap Reporter

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 1/16/10

Illegal Logging - Awhile back we noted that someone was logging on the Timbers Edge properties. Evidently this was reported to Kitsap County enforcement, who reportedly contacted Mr. Jim James, who reportedly stated that someone was stealing the timber. Since we took pictures of the logged stumps, we were called on Thursday by KC Enforcement for more information. We were not home when the call came in and will call on Monday to try and see if can give them more information.

Logging or Dump Truck Seen on Fir Drive? Theoretically someone should have seen a logging or dump truck with trees in it on Fir Drive in November or December. We would like to get some more information on this illegal logging so if anyone has any information please contact us.

Eyes in the Woods. Interestingly we just received information from another Illahee resident who thought we and the Illahee Preserve might be interested in a program called EYES IN THE WOODS, a non-profit organization of volunteers who assist the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) in protection and perpetuation of our natural resources. It is similar to the "Neighborhood Watch" program only for forests and public lands, such as we have around here.

Upcoming EYES IN THE WOODS Training Class. The Tacoma Sportsman's Club is holding training from 7-9 pm on January 27, 2010. For more information contact see the attached pdf file brochure.

Port of Illahee New Meeting Location. We attended the monthly Port of Illahee meeting on Wednesday at their new meeting location, which is 5560 Ocean View Blvd, Bremerton, WA 98311. We asked if we could take a picture, which is attached, and shows from right to left, Commissioner George Schaefer, Commissioner Dennis Sheeran, and newly appointed Commissioner Mike Mantzke. This new location should make it easier for residents to attend the monthly Port meetings, which are at 5 pm the second Wednesday of the month, or for February 10th for next month.

Brown Storm Water in the Bay. Those living along the water have likely noticed the daily brown silt laden water emanating from Illahee Creek this past week. On Friday we watched as a flock of several hundred feeding American mergansers encountered the muddy water. They evidently were unable to see any fish and flew about a third of a mile until they were on the other side of the brown water.

Mussel Sampling Feed Back. We received several emails regarding the mussel sampling and will pass that information on in a later update.

Appeal Information. We like to provide links to articles about Illahee in our local papers. The following linked story is about the Illahee community's appeal of the Timbers Edge project to Superior Court. We send out our community Updates to the local press and they often call us and when they think they have enough for a story, put one out. We think the papers around here do a very nice job with their stories

Visibility Helping With Donations. One of the benefits of visibility from articles such as the one above, is that some donations are coming in as a result of them. We recently had a $300 donation from a friend who heard about what was happening, and after explaining what the situation was, gave the check to the community to help with the legal expenses. We have been told that donations such as these are needed to continue the appeals

Jim Aho

Tuesday Evening Mussel Sampling - 1/14/10

Mussel Sampling at Illahee Dock.  On Tuesday evening, 1/12/10, three Navy civilian personnel collected mussel samples at the Illahee Community dock and we tried to capture the event with this brief report and photos.

Three Separate Sites Selected.  In order to get a representative sample, three separate sites were selected at the dock.  The first site was from the cross sections of the wood pilings.  The second was from a concrete piling supporting the main structure.  And the third site was from one of the outward float pilings.  See the first three photos of the site sampling locations.

Piling Habitat.  The dock pilings provide an ideal habitat for mussels, along with other creatures, including barnacles, fish and worms.  Sea stars, or starfish, keep the lower portion of the pilings clean as they eat the mussels and barnacles.  The mussels grow generally to the mean high tide water mark along with the barnacles that grow from the base of the pilings to above mean high tide.  Note the close up of the sampling site showing the mussels and the barnacles.

Fish & Worm Habitat.  We were surprised to see that small fish remained high up on the pilings hiding in the mussels and barnacles during the low tide.  See the photo of the prickleback or gunnel fish in the sampling bucket.  The next photo shows the orange eggs from these fish, whatever kind of fish it was.  It appeared to us to be a gunnel, but the scientists called it a prickleback, so maybe someone can help us with the difference.  We think the picture was more eel like, which to us would indicate a gunnel, but we were not sure so we labeled the photos 'pricleback or gunnel.'  And as for the worm, Robert Johnston, the leader of the Navy team and a Phd, and on the Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel, explained what it was, but we didn't write it down in the rain and will need others to help us name it.

Results?  The samples were going to be sent to the Battell Labs in Sequim a the results will eventually be shared with the Port of Illahee and we will get a copy to share with the Illahee Community.

Thanks to the Navy.  We want to thank the Navy and Bob Johnston and his team for letting us observe and photograph the event.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 1/10/10

Response to White-Fronted Goose Report.  We are amazed at the responses we often get to our updates, and also where they are read.  The attached is an example.

That appears to be the same white-fronted goose that appeared in our waterfront Poulsbo yard on November 4.  He was with a larger flock of Canada geese.  They hung around for three days, then left.  I assumed that they had resumed their southward migration.  Evidently, they did, but only as far as Illahee. 

Whitefronts are the first North American goose species to head south in the fall.  They typically winter in deep southern California, Mexico and the Gulf Coast.  I was surprised to see one still here as late as November.  Now here it is January and he is still here!  Evidently, he plans to stay with the local Canadas through the winter.

Small Squid Being Caught.  We were at the Illahee Community Dock the other night and saw some of the smallest squid we've ever seen being caught.  Attached are a couple of photos.  These photos were taken the same night North Perry Water had shut down the water for a couple of hours while they fixed a leak on the waterline going along Illahee Road.

Mussel Testing at the Illahee Dock.  We were info'd on the attached request and hope to get some pictures of the collecting of mussel sample at the Illahee dock on Tuesday evening.  The Port approved the request and asked that they share the results with the Port.

As part of the Navy's ENVVEST ambient monitoring program for Sinclair
and Dyes Inlets we are coordinating with the Puget Sound Mussel Watch
Program to establish additional mussel sampling stations within the
Sinclair/Dyes system and would like to establish a mussel sampling site
at the Illahee Port District pier.  We would like to collect mussel
specimens from the pier for residue analysis of heavy metals, PAHs,
PCBs, stable isotopes, and lipids to assess long term environmental
quality trends in the area. We are currently targeting the sampling at
the Illahee Dock for the evening of Jan 12 (during low tide). I have a
scientific collection permit from WDFW and we will be following the NOAA
Mussel Watch sampling protocols.

Appeal Hearing Dates.  The dates for the two upcoming appeal hearing have now been established.  The Shoreline Hearings Board appeal date was established earlier as April 12, 2010 and the Superior Court hearing date was set on Friday as April 20, 2010.

Appeal Questions Being Asked.  The most frequent question asked is whether the developer has responded to the Community's most recent letter requesting a lower density?  The answer is NO.

Next Question Asked.  The next most asked question is do you think the Community has a chance of winning?   Our response is we certainly hope so as some of the issues, like the fairness doctrine, is clearly stated in Washington State statutes and was clearly violated, though the county will likely argue otherwise.

Favorite Questions.  The questions we think the Community likes best are the ones we have heard like who do I make the check out to? and what is the address of the Illahee Community Club (ICC)?  The ICC has informed us that they do need additional financial support for the two appeals and contributions can be sent to the ICC, P.O. Box 2563, Bremerton, WA 98310.

Costly Appeals.  We just heard that this years financial report for the ICC indicated over $15,000 was received and roughly the same amount was expended in 2009, with most of the costs for legal expenses.  In 2008 the amount was roughly $20,000 with most of that going toward legal expenses that resulted in a mediated settlement to eliminate the proposed outfall at the dock.  

Another Possible Mediated Settlement?  We talked with some who are hoping the latest Timbers Edge appeals will also end up with a mediated settlement beneficial to the community, and that the legal battles in Illahee will soon end so we can move on to more productive projects.  We couldn't agree more.

Thoughts or Comments?  We welcome your thoughts and comments on these Updates.

Jim Aho