Random Catch-Up -12/30/10

2 More Brush Picking Comments.  We have published most of the comments regarding the illegal picking of brush in the Illahee Preserve and unless something new comes in these will be the last.  The second suggestion may be the approach that is needed, unless we hear something different from the authorities.

The brush picking sounds like 'no good deed goes unpunished' !!  After all your hard work to make the preserve available for the enjoyment of the public, some people have to take advantage and start stealing the foliage !!

I feel very sad for you and others that have worked so hard to enrich the public experience.

Hey, just responding to the brush picking e-mail, we had a problem where I used to live about people coming to our community property and taking all kind's of brush, plant's, fern's, tree's, we put up all kind's of sign's in spanish and in english, it didn't seem to matter, deep down inside these people know it's illegal, as a community we felt violated, we resulted in taking walk's caring camera's and cell phone's, we finally took enough picture's to catch these people in the act, and had enough evidence to contact the police, shortly after, no more brush picker's, I will try to make my way around the entrance's in my everyday travel's, to see if I see anything out of the ordinary, my girlfriend and her kid's like walking the preserve, and would hate for that to end. Thank You

Salal Leaf Bundles.  If there was any question as to what the brush pickers were doing, we found two bundles of salal today at the Almira parking lot (see photo).

Car In Rain Garden.  The Almira parking lot was slippery this morning and some were having fun sliding around.  The guy in this photo said his brother wanted to drive his new car and it ended up in the rain garden.  We found him waiting for someone to pull him out.  The good news there wasn't much damage to his car or the rain garden.

Paper Work Authorizing Levee.  Also attached is the Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) for removal of alder trees that fell into the cleanout area (that we covered in our last Update) and permission to install a levee "to prevent flooding of adjacent property."  While the county received emergency authorization from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to install a levee, they did not do so.  This is an interesting predicament for the State of Washington and Kitsap County in that they are supposed to let streams like Illahee Creek follow their natural processes in a channel migration zone and in a flood plain.  And concurrently, they supposedly have a mandate to protect private property.  So, what happens when you can't do both?

Legal Question?  We don't know whether letting a stream follow its natural course takes precedent, or if protection of private property takes precedent?   And, does the fact that the property owner was advised to not build in the stream's migration zone and flood plain influence a decision?

Levee Thoughts?  We would like to know what your thoughts are on this predicament.

Seals Are Back.  For those who were concerned about the status of the seals in the area after the seal eating orcas came through here earlier this month, the seals are now back and can be seen on area floats.  We think this group escaped predation as the regulars all seem to be there.

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update - 12/19/10

Illahee Orca Video Makes KIRO TV News.  We were surprised to get a phone call Friday evening from Issaquah that they saw the Illahee orca video on the Channel 7 News (they called for permission but we didn't think they would use the video), and calls from others who saw it on the Kitsap Sun website.  If a little video gets that much exposure, we are optimistic the professionally made video of Illahee's watershed issues (currently being filmed) will get even more.

Lost Cat.  While cats aren't really wildlife, they do get lost and we have always tried to pass on quickly notices such as these.  We only attached one of the photos.

A stray cat showed up at our house on Rue Villa yesterday (Saturday, 12/18).  She is a large female cat, gray with black strips, 4 white paws and a white bib.  She has no collar.  She was very hungry, but appears to be healthy.  She is friendly and used to humans and other cats.  I have attached 2 pictures.  Would you send them out to see if anyone has lost her?  They can contact me at JoannaBaas@gmail.com

Seals Vacated Float.  Since the seal eating orcas came through here we haven't seen any seals on the float north of the Illahee community dock.  We attached some photos to show what it looked like nearly every morning this fall, that is until this week.

Cormorants.  When the seals would leave the cormorants would normally take their place as you can see from this photo.

Deer Pictures.  We received some remarkable photos of deer and a couple of pileated woodpeckers.  At one time we were going to have a place for photos such as these on the Illahee Community Website.  This is something we hope to check on, as we can only include a few of the pictures sent.

Humming Birds.  We have seen lots of humming birds around this winter because people are feeding them.  The attached photo shows 2 males that are in a territorial standoff on a weather vane.

Thank You For Sharing Your Photos.  We want to thank you for sharing your wildlife photos.  We have been told by a number of you that is what you like best about the Illahee Updates.  We are still learning how to present photos and we have yet to learn how to title individual photos, so please bare with us.  We are still trying to come up with photo file sizes that are big enough for people to see the subjects, but not too big so they won't exceed the size of their email systems.  We hope these all come through.

Jim Aho

Orca Video & After Storm Issues - 12/15/10

Orca Sightings in Illahee.  About 9 am today (12/15/10) we received a call that some orcas were going north through Illahee.  By the time we looked out they had disappeared.  Then later in the day we were notified there were several out front.  We grabbed a camera and got some video as they passed by.  It wasn't until we looked at the video tonight that we realized there were two adults and a young one.

Kitsap Sun Report.  In Thursday's Kitsap Sun will be an article about others who saw them and where they have been.   Click on the following link to read the article:   http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/dec/15/transient-killer-whales-seen-in-kitsap-waters/

Seal Seen Hugging the Beach.  We also had a report that as they went by a seal was seen close in by the beach, evidently trying to stay away from danger.

Video on YouTube.  With some help from one of our children, we were able to upload the video of the orcas on YouTube.  The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rduYVcEyS1w

After Storm Pictures.  With a borrowed camera we were able to take some pictures of the effect of the storm on the Illahee Creek culvert and the tons of sediment deposited near the mouth of the creek.  

Notification of Emergency Illahee Creek Dredging.  It also appears the county will be dredging material from the downstream end of the culvert.  See the attached email from WDFW.  We have also attached the signed HPA (Hydraulic Project Approval) form.

I just wanted to give you a heads up that an emergency request was made by Kitsap County to remove sediment at the downstream end of the culvert. They will likely be mobilizing in the next few days. The HPA is attached for your information.

Thanks,

Gina Piazza

Area Habitat Biologist

Washington Dept. Fish and Wildlife

450 Port Orchard Blvd, Suite 290

Port Orchard, WA  98366

Phone: 360 895 3965

Fax: 360 876 1894

Response to the Dredging.  We received the following response to the dredging from Judith Krigsman, who gave us permission to print her concerns.

I find the current plan to clean out the culvert located at 5140 Illahee Road most concerning.  As the property owner at the inlet side of this culvert I can’t imagine how this is going to help the current situation.  It appears that the problem existing on my side of the culvert at 5171 Illahee Road is the side that needs fixing.  As I watch the floodplain rise on my property and see the amount of sediment that is all but totally filling this newer culvert, the ticking time bomb will still exist for road washout even if an emergency cleanout is activated.  The actions by others including the work done by the current owner of this property is creating havoc on the flow of this amount of velocity of water and sediment during these storm events.  The kink which has been taken out of the stream which served a purpose of slowing down the water during these events is now being allowed to wash out the entire point.  Just look where all the sediment is now resting on the property adjacent to the site of the proposed cleanout.  I do believe a meeting should be held immediately to talk through some of these issues before another cleanout takes place.  Illahee Creek is a dynamic water system; this practice of emergency clean-outs is not the fix which needs to take place, let’s talk!

Our Thoughts.  After seeing the amount of sediment that has been deposited at the mouth of the creek by this last storm, literally tons, there is no way that removing a few dump truck loads of sediment will do much of anything.  It is a nice gesture, but it isn't getting to the sources of the problem, which are the storm surges coming primarily from the area north of the golf course.  

Not a New Problem.  The culvert issue has been known by the county for some time, but they needed a watershed study before they could do anything.  The Port of Illahee put in for a grant with DOE and together they paid for a comprehensive watershed study that was completed by Parametrix.  The fixes come with a multi-million dollar price tag, which emphasized the need for the county to obtain the golf course, as it is the logical place to try and restrain the problematic storm water surges.  The community is crossing their fingers that the golf course gifting paperwork will complete soon so that stormwater restraining projects can begin.

Raised Flood Plain.  What is interesting about the Illahee culvert situation is we are essentially dealing with a flood plain that steadily increasing in elevation with each storm.  A Timbers Edge report stated the elevation downstream of the culvert increased 18 inches from the December 2007 storm.  Upstream of the culvert, the reservoir that Dr. Schutt put in years ago, has filled with sediment.  With the flood plain rising on both sides of Illahee Road, and short of digging out the whole flood plain, the only solution many see is raising the height of the culvert. 

Your Thoughts On This Issue?  Please let us know your thoughts on the stormwater/culvert issues as a possible failure of the culvert would affect everyone who travels this portion of Illahee Road.

Jim Aho

Various Items - 10/6/10

Illahee Preserve Incident.  We received a copy of an email this evening (10-6-10) that someone walking in the Preserve about 6:15 pm when an "individual came around a corner wearing a hooded sweater with a very shady appearance, and had a gun in his hand and was attempting to hide it behind his back".  The lady said she and her dog turned and ran back to the parking lot.  It left them quite shaken.  The email was sent to the sheriff and the Parks Department.  That is all we know, but will keep everyone informed if we hear more.

Illahee Preserve Dedication.  We saw the Illahee Preserve dedication plaque that is to be placed on the big rock in the Almira parking lot.  The dedication is to take place when some of the persons responsible for the purchase of the Preserve can all be there, but definitely sometime in 2010.  We expect that someone will soon be working grinding down on flat area on the rock for the plaque.  We will let you know when the dedication is scheduled.

Illahee Store Cleanup?  We had a number of people inquire about what was happing with the cleanup in front of the Illahee Store (which is at the corner of Ocean View Blvd and Illahee Road and just across the street from the Illahee Community Dock).  We also noticed that the area had been cleaned up and took the attached photo.  If anyone knows what is happening, please let us know.

Wildlife Updates?  No unique items to report, but just the continued reporting of the animals we live with everyday.  

Deer.  Some have had the group of five deer, two does and three young ones, regularly visiting.  They even ate a bunch of miniature pumpkins off some door steps.  Attached is a picture of a peach tree they seem to be especially fond of.

Seals.  There are often a few seals on the raft shown in the attached picture, but beginning now until spring, the raft fills with seals that can be seen nearly every morning.

Coyotes.  Attached is a coyote report we received this morning.

 Last evening about 10:30 PM the coyotes that apparently have a den on the Keller Lots next to me were howling and yipping for several minutes. Earlier this week they woke me up very early in the morning. I've spotted one crossing my field during the day on occasion.

Petition Response.  We are still waiting to get an update of the status of the Petition response, so in the meantime what we know is that the Illahee Community Club (ICC) appears to be way short of the getting the 500 and has ended up with somewhere between 100 and 200 responses.  Of the responses that have come in so far the number of favorable response has been over 90% for, with those against being primarily opposed to any tax increase.

ICC Board Meeting.  We also heard that the ICC Board met at the end of September and voted to approach the Port of Illahee to see if the two groups could work together to find an interested land trust to purchase the Timbers Edge property.  Evidently there are land trusts out there with money to purchase properties for a variety of reasons, and it is up to groups like the ICC and Port to make the case for the purchase.

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update & Preserve Info - 9/11/09

Missing Cat.  We were asked if there was a picture of the cat that went missing that we reported in our last Update.  Before we had a chance to check on one, someone forwarded a photo of the actual cat.  If anyone has seen "Fiona" let us know and we will pass the information on.

 

Owl Pictures.  Thanks to Ed who told us how to access the owl photos from an email.  The owl in a barred owl, and looks similar in color to a spotted owl.  The difference is the breast feathers on a barred owl are vertical, while those of a spotted own are horizontal.  Some were hoping it was a spotted owl as the picture was taken close to where the Timbers Edge project is proposed to go in.

 

Dead Blotted Seal.  We were advised by one of the local Area Habitat Biologists to report the dead seal to the Marine Mammal Investigations, which we did.

 

Missing Doe?  The doe one resident was worried about is still around, according to those responding back.  On a walk this evening we observed five dear with none having the distictive white markings of the deer in question.

 

Illahee Preserve Work Party Sunday Morning.  We receive the following notice regarding an Illahee Preserve work party scheduled for Sunday morning.

 

ILLAHEE FOREST WORK PARTY.  We are planning a work party for this Sunday to accomplish a couple tasks within Illahee Forest Preserve.  The work will include gathering up limbs (which have already been cut) and piling onto an adjacent parking lot AND removing pieces of an abandoned car body which has already been dismantled & cut into manageable pieces by Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue.  We had hoped to utilize some Navy volunteers but they have not yet confirmed.  We welcome any volunteers who may be willing to help.  Our target was 16 people for 1.5 to 2 hours.   Gloves would be handy.  Meeting location is the Almira parking lot at Illahee Forest Preserve located behind/above Lowe's in East Bremerton near the corner of Fuson and Almira.  Target time for meeting is 9:00 AM this Sunday morning, September 13th.  Muffins and coffee to be available. 

I welcome any questions.  Thank you.

Vic Ulsh
WK (360) 479-6900
HM (360) 373-4824

 

Illahee Preserve Damage to Red Elderberry.  We just received the following email regarding what looks like deliberate damage to red elderberry plants in the Preserve.  Let us know if you see anyone doing the damage.

 

Just wanted to let you know about an evolving challenge at Illahee Forest.  For reasons I cannot explain, somebody or somebodies have been wreaking havoc with red elderberry plants in the Forest.  They are bending/breaking the stalks and leaving the damaged plant material to die.  Mostly near the trail system, but some of the carnage is off trail.  We had another round of damage to red elderberry shrubs in the past 1-2 days.  This seems rather odd.  The damage is only to red elderberry, but it's torn up pretty badly.  As always, let's keep alert and monitor/investigate any suspicious behavior.    Thanks.

By the way, I think there is some type of dead animal very near the Thompson parking lot, but I could not determine just where.  Peeeeewwww!

 

 

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update - 9/9/09

Predator Gets Cat?  Attached is an email we received the other day.  If this cat escaped and you have seen it, please respond to this email.

 

On Friday night, at midnight I was coming home and when I opened the door my cat, Fiona, scooted out passed me.  She is a 10 lb. brown/black Maine Coon cat with long hair, of course and a black stripe down her back.  Fiona is new to going outside and had not ever been outside until a couple of months ago, when I would let her and her sister out during the day when I was at home, so she does not know about the dangers of the outdoors and especially at night since she does not go out at night.  I fear that she is gone for good, but I hope that she is out there just scared and that I will get her back.

The incident is as follows:  I live a couple of doors up from the old store across from the Illahee Dock, for sake of location.  I have a completely fenced yard and Fiona was in the backyard.  I tried to get her about every 30 minutes from midnight until the incident and she would come close and talk to me, but would not come in, and she has the aloof personality that cats are known for and she wanted to stay out longer.  At 2:30 Saturday morning I went out and called her and she once again came to the corner of the house and spoke to me, but would not come in.  I went back inside and sat down and then I heard the noise like she was in a fight with one of the neighborhood feral cats, I got up immediately and went outside and there was nothing to see.  She made the fighting noise for no longer than 10-15 seconds without growling like in a cat fight.  I took a flashlight and search the property, calling her name the whole time right after this happened.  Saturday, I searched the property at least a half a dozen more times calling her name and there was no response.  She was so happy with her new house and yard.

As I say, I feel that she is gone for good, but I hope if anyone finds her they will contact me.  As you can imagine, I am devastated.  A friend of mine that works with Fish and Wildlife as a wildlife biologist for the feds says he thinks it sounds like an owl that just swooped down and got her.  I don't know, but I want others to be aware so that they don't loose their pet in the same way.

 

Illahee Creek Turtle.  We had several identification responses as to what type of turtle it was that we saw in Illahee Creek.

 

Looks like a painted turtle (Chrysemys picta)

 

That is a Painted Turtle (Chrysemys pieta).  The Western Pond Turtle is dark brown with little other coloring.  The Painted Turtle is more common in eastern WA but many have been introduced in the Puget Sound area.  Not that too unusual.

 

Owl Pictures.  We recently received some great owl pictures, but are having a hard time figuring out how to get them off an email and attaching them to this update.  We will keep trying. 

 

Have You Seen This Doe?  We have seen this doe with her two fawns, but not recently.  The two fawns have been seen on their own so some have been wondering if something happened to the doe.  If you have seen her recently, please let us know, and we will pass the information on.

 

Blotted Dead Seal.  This just floated in Wednesday morning.  A few years ago a dead sea lion floated in and decomposed on the beach.  It wasn't a pleasant sight and the odors were even worse.

 

Jim Aho

Lost Dog Found & Photos - 1/5/09

Lost Dog Report. When we found out about a lost dog, Laurie Jones our web manager put the information on the illaheecommunity.com website and we also sent out the information on an Illahee Community Update email that goes out to about 300 recipients. It appears the email did it this time. Alison O'Sullivan, a biologist with the Suquamish Tribe, forwarded the following:

Happy Ending!!

I forwarded your email to a friend of mine who still works at the shelter. She went out and checked the kennels and sure enough the dog was there. She called them and they came and got the dog @1p Friday.

Local Seals Resting Photo. There are a number of local seals that use area floats to get out of the water. There have been reported more than twenty seals on this float at one time. It is also used by river otters, cormorants, shorebirds, seagulls, and bald eagles.

Snow Goose Photo. Every now and then a snow goose is seen with the Canada Geese. This photo shows the snow goose on Sunday (1/4/09) eating along side the Canada geese and wigeon ducks.

Squid Fisherman in the Snow Photo. Last evening (1/4/09) during the snow storm we were surprised to see two hardy squid fisherman at the Illahee Community Dock.

Other Bird Sightings. A female loon on 1/5/09, which are usually seen only in the fall and spring. And the following:

Pileated woodpecker at our suet feeder this morning (10:40) AM. Also, a downy woodpecker.

Jim Aho

Missed Miscellaneous Items - 1/2/09

Seattle PI Guest Columnist. We were forwarded the attached article from the Dec 14th Seattle PI and asked why we have not passed it on. The column appear first in the Olympian and then in the Post Intelligencer. The link to the article is http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/392115_firstperson15.html

Robins Here are Not Local. We sent out an Update yesterday that stated the robins being observed this winter were local. We were wrong. According to the Audubon experts, they are not local Robins as noted in the attached response received, but rather migrants.

Hey Jim:

By the way, an interesting note from my aunt. The robins we have here in the summer are not the same as the ones we have here in the winter. They all migrate north/south during those seasons. Our winter robins spend summer season nesting further north of here. Our summer nesting robins spend winter further south. Robin behavior dictates they flock-up during winter, then pair up for nesting activity in spring.

Other Wildlife Notes. We were also remiss in not noting that one of the local ravens appears to have a cold or something because of his strange cawing. They are mostly heard around the Illahee Preserve.

Some seals were reported working the shoreline after corralling some kind of fish and one of the bald eagles was able to get a fish in the process. There were even a river otter trying to get in on the action.

A red breasted sapsucker was sighted when the persons cat became interested in a nearby tree. One of the sounds made by the red-breasted sapsucker is a meow like a cat. They didn't hear the "meow" sound but surmised that something attracted the cat to the tree.

More Snowbrush Bush Information. Attached are two websites with more information on Snowbrush bushes, which are native plants in this area.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CEVE

http://www.cwnp.org/photopgs/cdoc/cevelutinus.html

Thank you for keeping us informed. We get a number of emails everyday and sometimes get behind. We don't mind reminders. We especially like emails where can simply paste your comments.

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update - 12/6/08

Wildlife Updates. We have added some new email addresses and need to explain that feedback tells us that wildlife reports are what people like most about the updates. We depend on your passing the information on to us and we thank those who passed on this information. If you want credit for your stories and pictures, let us know as we presume anonymity.

Seals. Last year we had about 20 seals on one of local floats, this year a few less with about 15 seen every morning. As the seals leave the float the cormorants take their place.

Sea Lions. We have only seen one sea lion this year, whereas last year there were many seen feeding on small salmon.

Ravens. Periodically the ravens can be seen flying near the shoreline. We haven't seen them fly over the water yet and we mostly see them around the Illahee Preserve.

Mergansers. Only a few Red-breasted Mergansers have been sighted this year along the Illahee shoreline.

Scoters. The Surf Scoters are back in about the same numbers as last year. They are the ones that make the whistling noise when they take off. They are usually out in deeper water as they are deep divers and feed on shellfish.

Mallards. There is a flock of about 30 mallards that seem to be making the Illahee North detention pond their winter home.

Wigeon. The American Wigeon are common visitors to the nearshore area and local ponds. We used to see big numbers at Schutt's Point and they could be seen flying away whenever an eagle would fly over.

Golden Eyes. This area seems to be a wintering spot for both the Common Golden Eye and the Barrows Golden Eye. We had a report on Saturday of a large flock of the Barrows Golden Eye along the northern Illahee waterfront. Earlier in the week we had a few Common Golden Eyes north of the Illahee Community Dock.

Cormorants. The cormorants are back this winter, as stated earlier, spending most of the day on area floats.

Bald Eagles. There are at least two regular Bald Eagles frequenting the Illahee waterfront. We had a report a few weeks ago of a Bald Eagle chasing down a seagull. This was a first for that long time waterfront resident.

Deer. At the County Commissioners' hearing for the Illahee Community Plan our planner, Katrina Knutson, noted that she saw an albino deer while looking over the area for the View Protection Zone. We just had a picture sent to us earlier this week of two deer, one of which is partially white, which we are attaching.

Send Reports and Pictures. Please send us your reports and pictures of wildlife and we will try to forward them on.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 10/29/08

Boat Information. Last weekend we had residents ask about an anchored boat named the "Rogue" that was here for a few days. It turns out it is a fish processing ship that buys fish, most likely from the all the gillnetters that were in the area. Someone sent in the ship details which are noted below:

Data found in current database.
Vessel Name:ROGUE USCG Doc. No.:944290
Vessel Service:FISH PROCESSING VESSELIMO Number:8990809
Trade Indicator:Coastwise Unrestricted, Fishery, RegistryCall Sign:WAI6526
Hull Material:STEELHull Number:14
Ship Builder:GIDDINGS BOAT WORKS, INC.Year Built:1989

Length (ft.):85.6
Hailing Port:SEATTLE WAHull Depth (ft.):8.4
Owner:LIGHTSHIP INC
16721 104TH AVE NE
BOTHELL, WA 98011-4020Hull Breadth (ft.):24.4
Gross Tonnage:162
Net Tonnage:103
Documentation Issuance Date:March 25, 2008Documentation Expiration Date:March 31, 2009

Seals or Sea Lions Barking. Our report on whether the barking is from seals or sea lions brought the following response:

Do not know if the reported barking is from the California Sea Lion critters that have been fall and winter visitors to Shilshole Bay and the marina in Ballard to feed on the fish at the ship canal, but I can assure you that their constant barking is a real nuisance. They congregate there for the salmon and Steelhead runs and rest on the breakwater at the marina and sometimes on the boat docks and on boats. 800 to 1000 # critters can be a problem at the marina. There would have to be a plentiful supply of fish to attract them here. Sea Elephants can also be seen at times near Shilshole Bay, they are really big and ugly.

Illahee Community Plan Letter? We heard there is a group working on a letter to distribute to Illahee residents regarding the recent opposition to the Illahee Community Plan by the Realtor Board and the KAPO Executive Director. We will try to find out more and if possible print the letter.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 10/5/08

Gilberton Creek Road Report. We received the following update from Kitsap County on the progress of the Gilberton Creek culvert and road repairs:

ILLAHEE CULVERT REPLACEMENT PROJECT STATUS

Status: October 1, 2008

This project replaces the roadway and culvert that was washed out during the December 2007 storm. Construction started on August 18, 2008. A new fish passage friendly 10-foot diameter culvert has been installed, streambed material has been added, and backfill for the roadway embankment has been constructed. The project is nearing completion. Installation of utilities are currently underway, asphalt paving is scheduled for the week of October 13th, followed by guardrail installation, and paint striping for roadway channelization. The roadway will be opened to traffic when all work is complete, which, pending any weather delays, is scheduled for October 31, 2008.

The Open Line
 Kitsap County Public Works
 (360) 337-5777
 www.kitsapgov.com/pw

Illahee Creek Culvert Report. We were surprised how much sediment has been moving into the cleaned out Illahee Creek culvert recently. The opening is remaining in the 40 inch range with roughly 20-25% of the excavated deeper hole already filled up. We will try to attach a photo looking downstream through the culvert to show the recent buildup.

Recent Rain. We have a rain reporting station in Illahee and I talked with Barney Bernhard who said we received .94 of an inch the other day and interestingly Barney said the same storm dumped 1.9 inches at the same latitude at Hood Canal.

Barred Owl Goes After Dog. We had a report from a jogger in the Illahee Preserve who had his border collie with him, evidently in front of him, and told how the owl swooped down on the dog and evidently realized it was larger than it thought, and about 3 feet away abruptly pulled up. The owl retreated to a nearby tree which allowed the jogger to identify the deep seated dark eyes characteristic of a barred owl.

Small Hawk Snatches Small Bird. Another jogger reports a small bird along the road east of the Preserve being attached and carried off by a small hawk and said it happened about 20-25 feet in front of him and happened so fast he could hardly comprehend what happened and marvelled at the lightning speed of the hawk.

Salmon Jumping. Periodically salmon have been seen jumping along the Illahee shoreline.

Winter Sea Life Beginning to Emerge. Seals are starting to be seen along area floats in larger numbers, along with cormorants. Also some of the wintering seabirds and ducks have just been spotted.

Timbers Edge. We heard the expert witness reports all made it in by the deadline of September 30th and they were all well done. We will check to see if we can pass them on in an update or possibly put them on the website.

Sewer Hearing? We heard that there were several residents who asked for a sewer hearing by the Oct 2nd deadline and we are wondering how that will be noticed since there were many residents along Illahee Road who weren't notified. We briefly saw one of the sewer letters and would like to have someone scan the document into a pdf file and send it to us so we can pass it on to those who aren't aware of the new one-mile proposed sewer line being run through Illahee.

Keep the Wildlife and Other Reports Coming. We have many tell us they like to read the updates so keep the reports coming in. We will report what you pass on to us.

Jim Aho