Some Important Illahee Information. The community of Illahee continues to be engaged in a disagreement over the Timbers Edge project. There are a number of issues that are reported to have Illahee citizens concerned, the two primary ones seem to be the negative impact on Illahee Creek and the aquifers, and the fact that most of the lots are very small, approximately 3400 square feet. There are other issues, but these seem to be the two big ones.

Notice of Public Hearing Attached. We received a "Notice of Public Hearing" in the mail on Saturday and today Ryan Vancil, forwarded a pdf file of the notice so we have attached it for those who did not receive copies. As you can see from the notice, the hearing is on Monday evening, on August 24, 2009.

Only 10 Minutes Allowed To Present Arguments. In case you are thinking the Hearing could be long, the community is only given 10 minutes to state their case, which is followed by 10 minutes for the developer. The community has hired a lawyer to do the presentation.

Community Legal Representation. The community early on decided to be represented by legal counsel, first hiring Claudia Newman of the Seattle law firm of Brinklin, Newman, and Dold, and later they hired a more local lawyer, Ryan Vancil, to represent the communities interests.

Contributions Needed. The Illahee Community Club (ICC) has asked that we remind residents that legal representation is costly and that a legal fund has been established to receive contributions. Contributions can be sent to the ICC, Box 2563, Bremerton, WA 98310.

Decision Later? Following the arguments, the Commissioners will likely wait until a later meeting to decide on the appeal, so there probably won't be a decision that evening.

Illahee Proposal Prepared. During the last few months an ad hoc committee and the Illahee Community Club board of directors have been working on a suggested draft proposal for the Timbers Edge project that the community could live with. The proposal took some time to develop since they were working on obtaining unanimous agreement by approximately twenty committee and board members. It represents a serious attempt by the community to see if a mediation type of agreement can be reached that benefits both parties and would possibly avoid continued litigation.

The Illahee Proposal. We have attached the draft proposal we received and have also presented it below. As we understand it, there will either be a meeting to approve it or it will be sent out or distributed for a mail-in vote. We will pass on what we know as it becomes available.

Jim Aho

ILLAHEE COMMUNITY PROPOSAL

The Illahee Community has been working diligently to restore and preserve the Illahee area of Puget Sound, including Illahee Creek, its aquifers, baseflows, wetlands, floodplains, and estuaries; and is greatly concerned about the currently proposed Timbers Edge project and its impact on these areas.

The citizens of the community have had to live with the results of past county approved projects that have been detrimental to the health of the Illahee area, Illahee Creek and Puget Sound. Engineering studies funded by the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Illahee have documented significant problems from these approved and authorized developments in the Illahee Creek watershed, and have concluded that major restoration work must be done to correct the problems. The estimated cost to correct the past failures on Illahee Creek alone is $20 million, which does not include the aquifer recharge issues of Timbers Edge that could result in the death of Illahee Creek as a salmon stream.

The Illahee Community has been successful in the past with litigation regarding stormwater (Rue Villa) and to defeat detrimental projects (fish pens) or mitigate the impacts (Illahee outfall project), the last two being county approved projects (by the Hearing Examiner and the Board of County Commissioners). The community has demonstrated they will stand up and fight for and defend positions they believe in.

With Timbers Edge there are varying concerns. For adjoining property owners there are concerns for the health and safety for children with regard to traffic. For those in Rue Villa and downstream of the project, it is the threat of more uncontrolled stormwater. For others it is the impact on Illahee Creek, the underlying aquifers, the estuary and floodplains. The possible death of Illahee Creek as a salmon bearing stream is unacceptable to the community, and the fact that an EIS or Environmental Impact Statement was not required by Kitsap County is both irresponsible and intolerable. The lack of concern for the creek sends a message that in Kitsap County salmon streams take second place to development.

The citizens of Illahee are not opposed to land development. They would like to work with the developer and the county to insure the Timbers Edge project fits the community, controls the stormwater, and preserves the stream and the natural features of the area.

The Illahee proposal is that the Timbers Edge development project be reconfigured to conform to the current existing zoning for the area. This zoning density, along with low impact design applications, will help insure the protection of Illahee Creek. By itself, the reduced density will by itself improve the traffic safety concerns for the children within this area.

The elimination of major infrastructure costs should be a financial incentive. The proposed sewer system would be replaced by septics. The septic systems will help increase groundwater infiltration, which in turn supports aquifer recharge and the baseflows in Illahee Creek. With maximum infiltration of stormwater through infiltration pits, bioswales, and rain gardens, etc., stormwater overflows do not need to be treated which eliminates the requirement for a stormwater basic treatment facility and piping to Puget Sound. Eliminated also are the following: the required road improvements on Perry Avenue, possible Fir Drive improvements, the anticipated cost of running the sewer line under Illahee Creek, a new sewer pump station, and the cost of repairing Illahee Road for the sewer line installation.

The secondary benefit of the Illahee proposal is a safe and environmentally enhanced development that is supported by the Illahee Community and the Illahee Community Club.

Catch-Up Report - 8/9/09

Back in Town. We are trying to catch up on events after being out of town for awhile.

Illahee Day Report. We heard Illahee Day on August 1st was a success. There was a breakfast of juice (courtesy of the Port), muffins and bagels (courtesy of Costco), and coffee (courtesy of Starbucks) in the morning, and sandwiches and drinks (courtesy of the Port) in the afternoon, and your choice of five work groups in between that were cleaning up Illahee and working in the Illahee Preserve. The Port of Illahee provided fifty bright orange "Illahee" tee-shirts, to the participants that wanted them, and ran out of shirts which is an indication of the turn out.

Illahee Day Photos? If anyone has some photos of Illahee Day and would like to share them, please let us know. We did have Mark notify us via the website that he had posted some videos of Illahee Day on YouTube at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke6N7uxx1-A Thank you Mark!

Illahee 50's & 60's Kids Gathering. The following Saturday, August 8th, found about 40 Illahee kids from the 1950's and 1960's gathering to remember what it was like to grow up in Illahee in times past. We were told the historic part of Illahee was more isolated back then and these "kids" were a close knit group and have been meeting annually in recent years. We will see if we can get some of their stories and pictures to pass on.

Notice of Public Hearing. On Saturday (Aug 8, 2009) many residents received a "Notice of Public Hearing" regarding the appeal hearing for the Timbers Edge project. The hearing is scheduled for the evening of August 24, 2009. The Illahee Community Club appealed the Hearing Examiners approval of the project to the Commissioners.

Illahee Community Proposal re Timbers Edge. We heard the Illahee Community Club has sent a copy of a draft “Timbers Edge Illahee Community Proposal” to the developer and the lawyers involved, and will be forwarding copies to Illahee residents soon, along with scheduling an August 2009 meeting. We will forward this information in another Update early in the week.

Illahee Deer. On recent evening walks we have been surprised at the number of deer observed. Some of the deer still have some of the white markings that have been carried genetically from an albino buck from many years ago. We have observed the diminishing of the markings over the years and thought it interesting to observe twin fawns, one without any markings, and the other with more white than its mother.

Illahee Culvert Cleaning? We are not sure what the status is of the dredging of the Illahee culvert this year. There were a number of residents upset with the poor posting of the county's intentions and the residents are evidently asking how the dredging fits into the long term plan to "fix" the stormwater problems in Illahee Creek. This may be a good discussion item for the August meeting.

Any Missed Items? If we are missing any items that happened in the past few weeks, please let us know.

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update & Other Items - 7/24/09

Eagle Gets Goose.  This past week I went out on the deck to take a phone call.  While on the phone I heard the crows making a loud commotion at the beach and saw a Canada goose that appeared to have fallen down and was using his wings to try to move or get himself up.  Seconds later, and before the goose could get up, a bald eagle was on top of him and immediately started to pick away at his feathers.  There was a slight breeze blowing and soon the beach downwind was covered with goose feathers.  I finished my call and took some pictures and have attached 4 of them.  I was told that two eagles spent most of the rest of the afternoon feasting on the goose.  A similar event took place last year with a single goose, which may be why the geese tend to stay in groups. 

 

Deer Photo.  The other evening on a walk we saw six deer.  The attached photo shows four of the deer - two larger deer are on the left with the mother in the center of the photo and twin fawns to the right.  They were amazingly tame.  The other two deer seen were a mother and her fawn.  Some of you see these scenes daily and others only see the results of their nightly grazing.  The photo was taken at dusk with a flash so some serious editing of the photo was needed to take the glare from the eyes.

 

Illahee Day August 1.  Just a reminder that Illahee Day is next Saturday, August 1st.

 

County Notice Posting of Illahee Creek.  There are some residents trying to figure out what is being planned for the dredging of the Illahee Creek culvert and the placement of the dredging material at the beach.  It is interesting that the project name is "Illahee Beach Nourishment."  Needless to say, some are not convinced, and are trying to get more information.  We are hoping that we can have a presentation on this project at the August meeting of the Illahee Community Club.  The time and place of this meeting is yet to be determined.

 

Aquifer Meeting Airing on BKAT.  The aquifer meeting was taped and is being rebroadcast on the Bremerton Kitsap Access Television (BKAT) station at the following time:

The last showing of “The Illahee Watershed Aquifer Protection Plan” will air:
7/30      10am
BKAT is Kitsap's local TV channel. 
Channel 12 - Comcast
Channel 3 - WAVE

 

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 7/19/09

Kitsap Sun Article.  We like to pass on newspaper articles about Illahee and there was an interesting one in the Kitsap Sun's Sunday paper regarding the Illahee Community's appeal of the Hearing Examiner's decision to approve the Timbers Edge project.  Reporter Brynn Grimley was in attendance at the Commissioner's work study session where the appeal was briefed to the Commissioners and she wrote the linked article:  http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jul/16/commissioners-preparing-to-hear-appeal-to/ 

Commissioner's Meeting.  There were also 4 Illahee residents at the meeting to listen to the county's briefing which took about 45 minutes.  What is interesting is the Illahee Community will have roughly 10 minutes to present its appeal arguments to the the Commissioners, which may be fine if this was a simple appeal, but in this case there were over 400 exhibits and two days of testimony. 

Timbers Edge Counter Proposal.  The community is reported to be working on a Counter Proposal to be presented to the developer.  The process has been ongoing off and on for two months and reports are they are getting final approvals from the ad hoc committee and the 15 member Illahee Community Club board.  Afterwards it will be voted on by the Illahee community at an August meeting, yet to be scheduled.  We will pass it on in an Update once it becomes available to us.

Copies of Counter Proposal.  We just heard that they are hoping to have copies of the Timbers Edge Counter Proposal available at Illahee Day on August 1, 2009.

Illahee Day on August 1st.  This is a reminder that Illahee Day is next Saturday.

Illahee Day.  Save Saturday, August 1 for Illahee Day 2009.  The theme is the ABC's of Illahee.  A for an Attractive Illahee, B for Breakfast and lunch at the community dock, and C for Community clean-up in-between breakfast and lunch.  Breakfast at the dock between 9-10 am.  Community clean-up between 10am -12 pm.  Lunch at 12 pm.

5 Clean Up Teams.  You can pick the clean-up team you would like to be on. The five of them are:  Team Dock, Team Illahee Road North, Team Illahee Road South, Team Ocean View & West, and Team Illahee Preserve.  The attached brochure provides the details.

Volunteer Receive .....  All volunteers will receive Illahee T-Shirts, and there will be drawings and prizes.  Sign up by sending an email or leave a message with your name and shirt size atdocdmsret@msn.com or call 340-7257.

Illahee Preserve Trash Dumping.  We are attaching a picture of some major trash dumping at the new Illahee Preserve parking lot on Almira.  They are realizing that they will need to open some "windows" through the trees so that those doing the illegal trash dumping might be seen and caught.

Rotary Work.  Thank God for the East Bremerton Rotary Club that has taken the Illahee Preserve on as one of their projects.  Not only are they doing a stellar job of trail work, and promoting the Preserve, they also took care of illegal dumping that occurred (see the attached report),

East Bremerton Rotary completed another successful work party at Illahee Forest Preserve on Thursday evening, July 16th.  10 Rotarians participated in efforts to tidy up the Almira Drive parking lot.  Activities included spreading wood chips around the perimeter of the parking lot and removal of construction debris which had been dumped in a hidden corner of the parking lot.  Thanks to Ron Pettygrove for taking care of this disposal task.  Hooray for Ron!

Wildlife Reports.  Just a few wildlife reports coming in.

Plant Nibbling Deer.  Near nightly nibblings by deer passing through the neighbor hoods have been reported. 

Otter Family Increases.  There are reports the numbers of otters in the area have increased.  We don't know if it is because of new young ones or not.

Blueberry Addicted Goose.  There evidently is a lone Canada goose that has become so addicted to blueberries he is able to repeatedly defeat mesh netting.  We understand the wife paid for an additional four foot high fence around the berries so the husband wouldn't shoot the goose.  We hear that emotions can run quite high as people try to cope with wildlife.

Brownsville Weather Station.  We haven't had time to research the Illahee weather station, but did receive the following information that there is a Brownsville weather station.

I don't know if this would be any use to you.... but the Port of Brownsville has a weather station set up on the dock, it records rain, wind, pressure and such... I have included the web site, http://www.portofbrownsville.org/      on top left is weather and events click that, then just click weather, it's interesting and would be worth a few minutes just to look around, it also gives all the upcoming events such as BAD in September , which is Brownsville appreciation Day, very cool, well I am signing up for the big clean-up on August 1, so I will see you then.

Aquifer Meeting Airing on BKAT.  We owe the community more information of the aquifer meeting that was held on June 30, 2009.  In the meantime the meeting was taped and is being rebroadcast on the Bremerton Kitsap Access Television (BKAT) station at the following times:

“The Illahee Watershed Aquifer Protection Plan” will air:
7/20      11am
7/22      10:30pm
7/24      3pm
7/30      10am
BKAT is Kitsap's local TV channel.
Channel 12 - Comcast
Channel 3 - WAVE

Illahee Creek Posting Inadequate?  We just got word that a letter sized yellow sheet of paper was stapled to a telephone pole by Illahee Creek.  The posting is a "Statement of Exemption From Shoreline Substantial Development Permit Requirements."  Evidently Kitsap County wants to clean out the culvert again and deposit the material on the beach.  We understand there are some who are concerned about the continued dredging of the stream and are asking if there is a long term plan.  The yellow paper says it was posted on July 10th and needed to be appealed within 10 days of the decision, which was noted on the paper as July 6th.  Some are wondering if this is proper notice and if this provides adequate time to find out what is being planned.  We took a couple pictures of the posting and we'll let you decide. 

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 7/8/09

Illahee Forester.  Illahee is fortunate to have a recognized forester, Jim Trainer, in the community.  Jim often gives wildlife presentations and also tours of area forests, including the Illahee Preserve and the area along Illahee Creek.  We are a little late in reporting on a recent tour Jim gave to the GPC last month. 

 

On June 13 Jim Trainer conducted a hike for the Great Peninsula Conservancy to see the 800 year old culturally modified Western Red Cedar in Illahee.  There were about 25 people and it was reported to be quite a hike. 

 

Hooting Owls.  Last evening there were some owls who were especially noisy along Sunset next to the Illahee Preserve.  There appeared to be about 4 owls having a hooting contest.  We think they were Barred Owls and wish we had a recorder to document their sounds. In the past we have had nearby residents tell of hearing the owls at night and last evening we heard them for ourselves.  It was quite an experience.

 

Garden Tour Interest.  We have had 5 people express interest in working on an Illahee garden tour so we will try to get them connected to see what they will come up with.  Let us know if you know of anyone else who might be interested, or any garden areas you would recommend they consider.

 

Timbers Edge Appeal & Possible Counter Proposal.  We understand an ad hoc committee of the Illahee Community Club is working on a draft counter proposal to be presented to the Illahee community for final concurrence, and then when/if approved, to the developer.  We will try to stay on top of this as we know that many are concerned on what will happen to the community if the project were to go ahead as planned.

 

Rainfall in Illahee.  Since May 20th the rainfall in Illahee is only 0.22 inches which has come in some pretty small amounts, see the attached for the exact amounts which begin on June 19th and end on June 27th. 

 

0.01
0.08
0.07
0.02
0.02
0.02

 

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 7/7/09

Illahee Day.  Save Saturday, August 1 for Illahee Day 2009.  The theme is theABC's of Illahee.  A for an Attractive Illahee, B for Breakfast and lunch at the community dock, and C for Community clean-up in-between breakfast and lunch.  Breakfast at the dock between 9-10 am.  Community clean-up between 10am -12 pm.  Lunch at 12 pm.

 

5 Clean Up Teams.  You can pick the clean-up team you would like to be on. The five of them are:  Team Dock, Team Illahee Road North, Team Illahee Road South, Team Ocean View & West, and Team Illahee Preserve.  The attached brochure provides the details.

 

Volunteer Receive .....  All volunteers will receive Illahee T-Shirts, and there will be drawings and prizes.  Sign up by sending an email or leave a message with your name and shirt size at docdmsret@msn.com or call 340-7257.

 

Aquifer Meeting.  We have been asked when we are going to report of the aquifer meeting that was held on June 30th.  On some of these meetings we wait to see if there is going to be any press coverage, since they do such a good job.  Because there was no coverage we will provide a brief synopsis.  The room was filled and the information was extremely informative.  We received many compliments for hosting the event.  During the question and answer time there was some disagreements as to the extent and influence of some of the deep aquifers.  The consensus is that the USGS needs to do some definitive studies of the area to define the aquifers.  What was not in dispute was the need to infiltrate our rainwater runoff and to do so as close to the source as possible, thereby mimicking natural conditions.  We will provide more information later on the subject.

 

BKAT Coverage & Viewing Dates.  The aquifer meeting was documented by Bremerton Kitsap Access Television (BKAT) and will be broadcast four times.  The dates are:

 

“The Illahee Watershed Aquifer Protection Plan” will air:
7/20      11am
7/22      10:30pm
7/24      3pm
7/30      10am

BKAT is Kitsap's local TV channel. 
Channel 12 - Comcast
Channel 3 - WAVE

 

Thanks to Dr. Massmann, Dave Tucker, & Shawn Ultican.  We want to thank Dr. Massmann for his presentation and helping us better understand groundwater as an important resource that needs to be understood and managed.  We also thank Dave Tucker from Kitsap County Public Works for being there to answer questions, along with Shawn Ultican, from the Kitsap Healthe District who also fielded questions.

 

Brown Tap Water.  Every now and then Illahee residents experience a brown coloring in their drinking water.  We have had several instances where people have forwarded their questions to us, and we have asked them to call North Perry Water.  Attached is George Smalley's recent response to a resident in the area south of Illahee State Park.

 

Just thought you should know that it is not a harmless bacteria in the water that causes a brown color when water is taken from a fire hydrant at a high rate of speed. It is typically sediment build up, or a concentration of a harmless mineral called manganese. The District does work hard to provide clean water to its customers by  flushing the water mains on an annual basis to try to keep the build up of these minerals and sediments down.The water is safe to drink however it is not to appealing to look at. The problem was caused by a brush fire on E.30th and Parklane Sunday morning 7/5/09.The fire dept. had to hook to a hydrant and flow water. We are sorry for the inconvenience however these things happen and they are beyond our control.The District did flush the area for most of the day on Monday the 6th.
Please call the District office if you are still experiencing discolored water.

360.373.9508

Thank you,

George Smalley
NPW GM

 

Cat Chasing Deer.  During a walk on Monday morning a resident reported watching a large deer walking on the roadway past a house when a black cat took off after the deer, chasing it down the road and into the Illahee Preserve.

 

Mediation Clarification.  In our last Illahee Community Update we linked the Kitsap Sun article that discussed the County's new mediation process and made some comments.  Scott Diener, Manager of Policy and Planning for DCD, sent us the following  info and link:

 

The article title is misleading.  The approvals made by the BCC only allow the Hearing Examiner to authorize mediation (as well as reconsideration).  The actual process language (when mediation is optional and when it is required) is going to the Planning Commission on July 7 for its initial work study (after being remanded back to them by the BCC in Dec 08).

To follow the mediation language development beginning with the Planning Commission process, go to http://www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/pc/default.htm

 

Where Did the Canada Geese Go?  Some of the residents with waterfront yards report they haven't seen the Canada geese since the 4th of July and wonder if they just moved elsewhere in Illahee, or if they left the area because of the fireworks.

 

Humming Bird Photos.  There are lots of humming birds in the area, and we were surprised to find them in the Illahee Preserve the other day when collecting water quality samples for the health department.  Katrina Knutson, the Kitsap County Planner who helped prepare the Illahee Community Plan sent us the following link to some amazing hummingbird photos.

 

BIRTH OF A HUMMINGBIRD                                              
This is truly amazing.                                            
                                                                     
Be sure to click on 'NEXT PAGE' at  the bottom of each page; there  
are 5 pages in all.                                                 
                                                                                                                                        
A lady found a hummingbird nest and got pictures all the way        
   from the egg to leaving the nest.  Took 24 days from birth to     
   flight.  Because you'll probably never see this again in          
   your lifetime, enjoy and share.  The very last picture is         
   amazing.                                                                                                                                
CLICK THIS ADDRESS....                                                                                                                   
   http://community.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM                

 

Timbers Edge Appeal.  We have heard the community's appeal of the Hearing Examiner's Decision to approve the Timbers Edge Development, may soon go before the County Commissioners.  There is a group that is working on a counter proposal to be given to the developer to see if there can be an acceptable resolution of differences.  The group needs to complete their work soon if they plan on getting it done before the appeal is heard by the commissioners.

 

Dry Conditions In Illahee.  It has been some time since any appreciable rain has fallen in Illahee.  There is an official or semi-official rain gage in Illahee where rainfall is measured.  That is about all we know and hope that we can find out more, maybe even some photos of it, along with any current reports.

 

Jim Aho

Corrected Link To Mediation Article - 6/30/09

Wrong Link to Mediation Article.  We provided the wrong link to the Kitsap Sun article regarding mediation.  Our website person quickly caught the mistake.  We are sorry for the error.  The corrected link is provided below:

 

Illahee Mentioned in Mediation Article.  The Kitsap County Commissioner's have added a mediation step to their land use process and said it was because of the Illahee Community's outfall fight (which was to keep the 42" diameter stormwater pipe from being installed under the Illahee Community Dock).  While the community came to an agreement with the developer, the primary problem was with Kitsap County for allowing the outfall in the first place.  We hope the mediation process also includes the Kitsap County employees, who in spite of being paid by the citizens, do not always act in their best interests of local communities.  The corrected link to the article is:    http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/24/kitsap-commissioners-ok-new-land-use-mediation/

Miscellaneous Items - 6/30/09

Aquifer Meeting Tonight (6/30). This is a reminder of the Aquifer meeting tonight (6/30) a 6:30 pm at the Norm Dicks Center.

Questions Already. We have some residents who have to work evenings or have other meetings and cannot attend the aquifer meeting. We took some their questions early which include these:

1. We have a development that wants to put in high density homes with sewers along the Illahee Creek corridor. The adjoining residents would like to see lower density homes with septics. Should we be concerned about nitrates from the septics getting into the aquifers?
2. Over the years there have been conflicting reports of where our ground water is coming from. Some of us remember hearing it was coming from the Olympic Mountains. Now it is said to come locally as our rain water infiltrates down through the soil and into the aquifers. Does anyone really know where our water comes from? And, how can we be sure the latest information is correct?
3. If groundwater and aquifers are so important, how come we haven’t heard much about them from our government officials? Who is in charge of managing the groundwater and aquifers?
4. I’m concerned about the low flows in Illahee Creek. Who is supposed to be watching out for our streams? The state, the county, the federal government? Does anyone really care? The only group we ever hear about caring is the tribes because of salmon. Should we be talking with them?
5. Do things like rain gardens and infiltration pits actually work? And what happens when we get a major downpour like what happened on December 3rd of 2007 and the rain gardens and infiltration pits can’t absorb all the water?
6. If the stormwater contaminates that are polluting Puget Sound are infiltrated into the ground, won’t they eventually pollute our groundwater?
7. I live some distance away from Illahee Creek, about a mile, and want to know if my infiltrating of my roof rain water will help?
8. What about people who have zinc strips on their roofs, or copper impregnated shingles, to keep the moss off? Won’t those metals harm the groundwater? And, what about pesticides and other lawn chemicals?

Canada Geese Eating Up the Blueberries. While we like our wildlife we have reports the Canada geese have developed a taste for green and ripening blueberries. They have already devoured the berries on some of the small bushes and are working on the big bushes. Time to put the nets up.

Another Deer Solution. Thank you to all who provided your remedies to keep deer out of garden areas. Here is the latest:

Just thought I'd throw my two cents in on the subject of critters in the garden .... so here's a couple more suggestions ....not only does human hair work, but dog hair works great too, put it in old nylons and hang it around your garden area, chicken house,etc..... and it will keep those critters at bay, I have a friend who lives on a farm in Hungary and this is how she keeps the foxes out of her hen house....and deer out of her garden.

Fly solutions, For those of you who have trouble with those little flies that come in when you leave your door open and just circle around in the air this is an "old wives tale" that works....put water in a plastic baggie and hang it above your doorway or let it hang on little rope and you will never have one of those pesky little flies in you house....

Community Garden Tour Response. Just a few responders to the idea of having an Illahee gardens tour. We will see what that group wants to do and report back. Let us know if you would like to be part of the group.

New Format. We were asked to eliminate the underlining in our Updates as it makes it more difficult to transfer them to the illaheecommunity.com web page.

Eagle Attacking Ornamental Chicken Article. When we posted the "eagle attacking ornamental chicken" item in a previous update, we didn't have a picture of the chicken. The next day the Kitsap Sun did a front page report, complete with a picture. The chicken looked very real so we now understand how this happened. Click on the following for the picture and article. http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/23/eagle-eyed-misguided-bird-leaves-illahee-empty/

Illahee Mentioned in Mediation Article. The Kitsap County Commissioner's have added a mediation step to their land use process and said it was because of the Illahee Community's outfall fight (which was to keep the 42" diameter stormwater pipe from being installed under the Illahee Community Dock). While the community came to an agreement with the developer, the primary problem was with Kitsap County for allowing the outfall in the first place. We hope the mediation process also includes the Kitsap County employees, who in spite of being paid by the citizens, do not always act in their best interests of local communities. The link to the article is: http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/24/kitsap-commissioners-ok-new-land-use-mediation/

Illahee Referenced in Rob Woutat Article. There was a recent article by Rob Woutat in the Kitsap Sun where he mentioned what it was like living in the Illahee community. Unfortunately, the Kitsap Sun has not made that article available on its website. When it shows up, we will provide a link to it.

Jim Aho

Why Attend Tuesday's Meeting? - 6/28/09

Interest in Tuesday's Meeting. There have been questions about, and interest shown, concerning Tuesday's meeting at the Norm Dick's Center (a presentation by hydrologist Dr. Joel Massmann beginning at 6:30 pm on 6/30/09). Some very busy people wanted more information and have asked us some blunt questions about attending.

Why should I attend Tuesday’s meeting? We were asked the following question “Can you give me a good reason why I should take the time to attend Tuesday’s aquifer meeting?” When we started to respond with a detailed explanation we were asked for the short version. Our responses are therefore a short version and a longer more detailed version.

THE SHORT VERSION. The aquifers that supply our drinking water and the water to Illahee Creek may be over allocated. According to the numbers, If everyone used their water right allocations our aquifer levels and the low flow in Illahee Creek would steadily decrease. We need to understand what is happening and what we can do to help make sure critical water resources are sustained into the future.

THE LONG VERSION. Rainfall A Problem? Water is a key ingredient to life and in Illahee all our water comes from aquifers that are recharged by local rains. At one time experts thought our water came from the Olympic Mountain area and only relatively recently discovered that it is the infiltration of our own rainfall into our aquifers that supplies our drinking water. When we thought there was an over abundance of water, we and the county treated our rainwater (stormwater) as a problem rather than a resource. The state and county developed regulations to dump our rainwater (stormwater) from our roofs, driveways and roads through drains and pipes into nearby creeks and into Puget Sound, with little thought of infiltrating it back into the ground.

Aquifer Issues Not Getting Attention. While things are beginning to change with a new emphasis on controlling stormwater and Low Impact Development (LID) applications (primarily because the stormwater is polluting Puget Sound), the importance of infiltration to replenish our aquifers hasn’t gotten the commensurate attention by the public or the press.

Illahee Studies Conducted. What got the attention of many Illahee folks on this subject, was a concern of the low flows (or baseflows) in Illahee Creek, along with high flows (storm surges), both of which are damaging to fish in the stream. Years ago the Port of Illahee was concerned enough to begin discussions with Kitsap County on how to control the surges that sent brown silt laden sediment flows for miles into Puget Sound, which led to the Port applying for grants to study the problem. When a new development planned to install large concrete detention vaults on the steep and unstable slopes of Illahee Creek, the Port and the Community hired experts to study the impacts to the creek (which eventually resulted in a change to some of their plans).

Aquifer Importance Identified. Those studies documented that Illahee Creek was entirely fed by shallow aquifers during non-precipitation periods and concluded that high density development in the area will decrease the baseflows in Illahee Creek. We learned the area is designated as a critical aquifer recharge area by Kitsap County. The studies were also instrumental in the area being down-zoned in 2006.

Why Attend - Replenishment Rate Unsustainable? So why attend? According to the Illahee Creek Aquifer Protection Plan (part of the recent Parametrix “Illahee Creek Watershed Surface Water Management Plan") as we read it, the water rights exceed the replenishment rate for the Manette Peninsula and within the Illahee Creek watershed. In other words, if each holder of water rights fully utilized those rights, the aquifers and creek levels could not be sustained.

Why Attend - Illahee Creek Aquifer Not Being Replenished? Secondly, those residents watching and monitoring Illahee Creek are alarmed at the current low flows and wonder if there are areas around the creek where the aquifer is not being replenished. They are concerned that this lack of replenishment could spell the end of Illahee Creek as a fish bearing stream. In this day and age we should not be destroying a stream’s ability to support fish.

Why Attend - To Understand and Act? Finally, we need to understand what is happening with our drinking water and stream flows, and what we can do to help make sure our critical water resources are sustainable.

Answers on Tuesday. Dr. Massmann should be able to explain our situation and give us some answers.

Other Responses Later. We have received other responses regarding this meeting and will publish them later.

Jim Aho

Important Aquifer Meeting & Rain Garden Report - 6/24/09

Important Illahee/Aquifer Meeting on Tuesday, June 30th.  Hydrologist and ground water consultant, Dr. Joel Massmann, will be presenting a briefing on GROUNDWATER, AQUIFERS & INFILTRATION REQUIREMENTS - A Briefing of the Manette Peninsula Aquifer and the Illahee Watershed aquifer Protection Plan from 6:30 - 8 pm at the Norm Dicks Center on Tuesday, June 30, 2009.

 

Who is Dr. Massmann?  When the Illahee Community was concerned about the low flow in Illahee Creek a number of years ago they went looking for the best independent hydrologist they could find and hired Dr. Massmann to conduct that study.  He is a groundwater consultant with over 25 years experience. He is the founder of Keta Waters and was previously a faculty member in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington.

Also Part of the DOE Grant Team Studying the Illahee Watershed.  Dr. Massmann was also a member of team Parametrix assembled to develop the Illahee Creek Watershed Surface Water Management Plan for the Port of Illahee and as part of a Department of Ecology grant.  Dr. Massmann wrote the Aquifer Protection Plan for the final report which he will likely be including as part of his presentation.

Presentation Items.   Dr. Massmann will discuss the underlying aquifers and groundwater recharge on the Manette Peninsula and within the Illahee Creek watershed.  The presentation will address questions regarding how much fresh water is in these aquifers, where does this fresh water come from,  and where does it go.  These questions will be described in the context of relationships between groundwater for municipal supply and groundwater to support stream flow and wetlands. 

Questions & Answer Session.  There will be an opportunity to ask questions of Dr. Massmann.  Additionally, Dave Tucker, from the Kitsap County Publlic Works Department is planning on attending and will also be available to answer questions.

Why Attend?  The Manette Peninsula aquifer is the primary source of the stream flows in Illahee Creek. Illahee Creek is fed entirely by the aquifer when there is no rain and already has low baseflows during these non-rainy periods.  It is those low baseflows that jeopardize the ability of the stream to support salmon, not to mention that the creek is also affected by the stormwater surges that produce the storm surges that tend to flush out the salmon.  Some feel the stream is already approaching marginal baseflows and it will be unable to withstand the added pressures of developments like Timbers Edge.  That is why the Illahee Community Club has appealed the Hearing Examiner's decision to approve the Timbers Edge development.  This is an opportunity to get some answers from a recognized expert who is familiar with the aquifers and the Illahee Watershed area.

Infiltration Needed.  One of the messages we think we will hear from Dr. Massmann is the need to infiltrate the rains we receive, rather than trying to pipe the water to Illahee Creek or Puget Sound.  We have heard that infiltration should be as close as possible to surfaces like roofs, driveways, and roadways, and thus the emphasis on bioretention features like raingardens, bioswales, infiltration pits, pervious surfaces, and the like.

Rain Garden Class.  We had an Illahee resident who attended a Sea Grant and Kitsap County rain garden class this past Saturday and thought this might be a good class of the Illahee community, since our soils are generally very permeable (note that there were a number a gravel pits in the area in the recent past) and we need to replenish the aquifer that supplies Illahee Creek.  We will provide more information on this in a following update.

Questions?  The meeting is on Tuesday at the Norm Dicks Center on 6th Street in downtown Bremerton.  Evening parking is readily available.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 479-1049,

Jim Aho

Wildlife Items - 6/23/09

Eagle Goes After Ornamental Chicken.  There are several farms in Illahee and this one is unique in many ways, including how they have learned to live with the wildlife. 

 

..............we've been having some Eagle problems.  However they were here before us so they might have been E-mailing (that's Eagle-mail) to each other about humans getting in the way of their way of life over the years!  They probably also E-mail that Honeyhill Farm is easy pickins.

We are fairly certain that an eagle got our male Guinea rooster in the pasture 3 days ago...........only tons of feathers left, and coyotes can't get into the pasture because of the hot fence we have around the bottom of the fencing.

The day after that I heard some banging noises on the front porch.........and ran to look.  There was an eagle trying to steal a fake rooster that I use for decoration.  It is a realistic, life size plastic/fake with chicken feathers glued all over it.  There were several crows dive bombing the eagle.  I chased it off and put the fake rooster back on her "perch."  Now they'll probably E-mail that some of Honeyhill's chickens are really tough!!

At this point I'm worried about our mini dachshund and my cats.  We still have 4 chickens left but I'm sure they are plenty tender.   I guess that's the price we pay for living in their territory.

 

Illahee Eagle With Fish.  We were talking with an Illahee waterfront resident who said she snapped of photo just after an eagle had gotten a fish from the bay.  She gave us permission to send out her photo, which is attached.

 

Sunflower Sea Star.  Sea stars, or star fish, can come in many different species and colors.  We found a number of small sunflower sea stars at Schutt's Point on Monday including the bright orange one in the photo.  Some interesting facts about sunflower sea stars: it is the largest and fastest sea star in Puget Sound, it can grow to 3 feet in diameter and can mover over 3 feet per minute.  It eats nearly everything, including clams, crabs, snails, sea cucumbers, urchins, and other sea stars.  They have an interesting water-vascular system, or hydraulic system, that allows them to move by moving water in and out of small tube feet in each of their arms.

 

Low Tides & Clam Digging Success.  We also came across a father and son digging for geoducks and they had mistakenly dug a horse clam.  We asked if we could lay the horse clam next to a goeduck so we could take a picture to show the difference between the two big clams.  The horse clam is on the left and the geoduck is on the right.

 

Midshipman Fish.  Last year we gave a report on midshipman fish and decided to check under a rock to see if there would be a midshipman fish and some eggs.  We found two fish under the rock along with some eggs.  The male midshipman fish digs out the hole under the rock and then emits a croaking noise to entice female fish to come in and lay her eggs, which are deposited on the underside of the rock.  Sometimes there will be many eggs of different colors under a rock, indicating the male has been successful in attracting several females.  The second photo gives a better picture of what these fish look like.  They are nocturnal so they aren't likely to be caught by those fishing during the day.

 

Jim Aho