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

Year End Gifts & More Brush Picking Response - 12/29/10

Year End Gifts?  We have been asked to provide the addresses for the non-profits (501.c.3 organizations) supporting the Illahee Preserve and also the Illahee Community for those interested in supporting them with tax deductible year end gifts.   Letters need to be post marked not later than Friday (12/31/10) for them to be considered for 2010.  The addresses are:

Illahee Forest Preserve (501.c.3)

% Don Jahaske, Treasurer

P.O. Box 3047

Bremerton, WA  98310

Illahee Community Club (501.c.3)

P.O. Box 2563

Bremerton, WA  98310

More Brush Picking Responses.  More responses to the brush picking problem came in shortly after we sent out our Update.

I would like to walk thru the forest with my dog,but now that these people are being confronted-it is possible that I may encounter problems and am now fearful of harm that may occur. I think the police and or some other official needs to step up for public safety. Why clean up a forest area for the public if the public may be in danger using it?

I have a good friend who grew up here who has told me many times about brush picking in our general neighborhood as a boy.  I have seen postings about needs for money to meet your needs.  Might I suggest that an alternative that you folks learn from DNR how they go about leasing the right to pick.

Someone asked what they are doing with what you call “Brush Picking”

In my past career I worked in the floral industry for 30 years.  15 of those years were in the wholesale floral industry as a buyer of foliage and flowers to sell to florist.  It is most likely that these Hispanic people are picking leather leaf fern, huckleberry, and salal (Can’t remember how to spell this) or lemon leaf to sell to the floral wholesale houses in Belfair and Tacoma.  It is most likely that the vans dropping these people off are with one of these wholesale houses.  I would give the wholesale houses a call and let them know that you are having a problem with pickers picking illegally in the Illahee preserve park.  This will also give them heads up that some of the product they are purchasing is Illegal and to not buy the product from them.  The Hispanic people are not aware of the concept of private forest areas.  And yes, most of these Hispanic workers are straight out of Mexico or Honduras and speak little English.  I am from California and have worked with the Hispanic people, who come to America in hopes of a better life, for many years in the Watsonville and Salinas Valley.

Seems like the signs need to go high up on trees. Absolutely nasty to rip them down and then haul them away. Maybe the next step is trail names written into wet concrete poured into the paths

More reason to have more presence in the park by folks that would be concerned, such as the horse riders.

Unless the legal system pushes you probably will not have success with the Hispanic pickers. Know anyone in ICE?

I just wanted to let you know that I have come across a brush picker (one male) on two separate occasions in the forest. I walk my two golden retrievers almost every day along the outer rim trail (eastern most trail) and have been started by this man. The first time I saw him, my dogs alerted me to his presence and he hid behind a tree. Yesterday when I was walking, I saw him picking salal and he didn't even try to hide. I know that brush picking is illegal in our forest without a permit, and as I did not inquire whether he had obtained the proper permitting, I was unsure as to what I should do. I must say, as I often walk my dogs alone in the forest, it is a bit unnerving to have such encounters. Any advice as to what I (we) should do if this happens again?

No Official Advice Yet.  In response to the previous email -- we have not received any official advice yet from Parks or the Sheriff's dept.  Also, it is illegal to brush pick in the Preserve and as such there are no brush picking permits.  We will let you know as soon as we receive any official information or advice on this issue.

Jim Aho

Brush Picking Responses - 12/28/10

Brush Picker Responses Received.  We have received a number of very thoughtful responses to the problem with brush pickers in the Illahee Preserve.  Our policy is not to use names unless specifically given permission, and to italicize information received from others.  We do not ordinarily edit, only report, so you can come to your own conclusions.  We do sometimes choose not to use emails for a variety of reasons, so if you send something in and it doesn't get put out in an Update, please let us know since we have lost emails, or we can explain our reasons.

I asked my friend ............ what I might say to a brush picker in the park. Her suggestion was "Es ilegal en el parque". It's illegal in the park. I went online and typed "Picking brush is illegal in the park" and the translation was, "Picking cepillo es ilegal en el parque". .................................... She is from Honduras and has friends who pick brush legally. She suggested posting signs and I think that would be a great start. I would even like smaller versions that people could carry with them to show the pickers. I'm sure the signs wouldn't stay up but I'd be happy to help pay for them. I don't want to be confrontational but I do want them to know we are serious. I'm also concerned that if several of us spend some time patrolling the area, they will come back at night.  I look forward to hearing what others suggest.

how about signs periodically stating in spanish "brushpicking prohibited" violaters will be procecucted by the Kitsap  County Sheriff and/or ICE

In Seattle they spray the urban plants near the convention place bus tunnel so they stink and keep the bums from bedding down in them. I walk by this every day while on my way to work. It may simply be a fertilizer they are using, but the smell is quite disagreeable. You might want to contact them to see what they spray on it.  Stinky shrubs probably won't be very attractive to these people. What do they do with this stuff anyway? I don't get it.

My two cents:  If this is a crime in progress, the the proper thing to do is call 911 and get police assistance.  Preferably one should stay with the pickers until police arrive and make note if they leave -- what types of vehicles and license numbers.  Descriptions would also be helpful and cell-phone photos.  If the police choose to ignore this crime in progress, then we should have an issue there, but I believe that they would at least give a token response.

These pickers are just there for the money.  If their 'loot' is confiscated and fines (hopefully) imposed, then that should be enough to dissuade them from such activities -- at least in the Preserve.  Even just having a policeman show up frequently is usually enough to make it easier to find another place to pick.

 

Another solution might involve a telephone tree of responders to come and prevent the removal of the cuttings.  Confrontation, however, should be done with police support.  Keep the profit out of it and it will stop.

 

I don't have my Spanish dictionary handy, but maybe we could print a Spanish statement on the brochure which could be shown to any pickers.

I'm going to research among foresters how to take care of the brush
theives. I also recommend removing "standard Latin response," from
your emails, since this usage, while not intentionally racist, may be
perceived by some as belittling this individual for being
Spanish-speaking, rather than for his envirnomental crimes. Lord
knows, that there is alot of xenophobia directed toward immigrants at
this time, and it wont help our cause to be associate with this
political movement. Perhaps warning signs about vandalism and brush
theft should be bilingual, since it appears that some of the offenders
speak Spanish and not English. Are there members of our group that are
Spanish bilingual who might help with the confronting of these
perpetrators?

I would almost bet that the same folks that are stealing the brush are also stealing the signs for wood projects or fire wood.  These folks

are just barely getting by and live off the land as much as possible.  They just don't understand how we care about our forests and beaches.

They rape and pillage just like they did in their country of origin. ........ They really can't speak much Ingles.  There is no way to convince them that they

are doing wrong, because they just plain don't give a hoot.  The cops won't do anything to them, but if you cut their tires when they are in the

woods, they would work like mad to convict you if they could.  Other than intimidation, I can't think of anything that would work to get rid of

them.  I have jacked up the non Ingles speaking guys on the beach for taking too many oysters.  They just look at you with a stupid look and

shrug their shoulders, duh.  What are you going to do to them, they have no money and nothing else to lose.  The warden looks the other way.

 

Not a New Problem.  Brush pickers are not a new problem in the Illahee Preserve.  We have even encountered a buyer checking out the old growth area of the Preserve (off of Sunset).  He tried to tell us he had a contract with DNR and the Park's Department for brush picking.  While there may be some new brush pickers who are truly uniformed, this has not been our experience in the past.  We have had a bilingual member of the Stewardship Committee talk with Spanish speaking pickers and they have known that they are picking illegally.  They were using the language barrier and a convenient excuse.  We have had groups of unknown nationalities get dropped off early in the day and then later a van shows up and they all jump into it.  We have reportedly had someone at the end of Thompson Lane let brush pickers in when the gate was operational, now they just park along Thompson Lane.  We have also discovered stashes of brush, where they evidently wait until later in the evening to pick it up.  And there are more stories of following some to their residences.  Bottom line is the Preserve is 460 acres of forest and it is hard to keep all the illegal brush pickers out.  But on the positive side, we continue to make progress and with more  people reporting and caring about the Preserve, maybe we can make a significant dent in the problem this year.

Thank You For Responding So Quickly.  We had so many responses we decided to get these out before we loose track of them and will publish more responses if they come in.  We will also see how the Parks Department and the Sheriffs office want us to respond and will report that when we hear from them.

Jim Aho

Wildlife & Miscellaneous - 12/28/10

Deer Photos.  The last set of deer photos we forwarded received some interesting comments.

Multi-Colored Deer.  Over the years we have heard many comment about the white markings on a good number of the deer in Illahee.  We thought it was the remnant (recessive) markings from a reported big albino buck from many years ago.  What we received the other day in an email indicates it could be otherwise.  Here is what we received (note we have removed the names, since we only use them if given specific permission, and we italicize the responses, so you know they were written by others): 

I think this has come up before but I thought I would forward it anyway.  I showed my brother-in-law the photo of the multi-colored deer that you sent.  He became very interested and looked up what he could find about it.  We recently saw a piebald deer in our yard but it we don't think it was the same one as in your picture.  If this information is of any value do with it as you wish.

You have a Piebald Blacktail Deer living in your neighborhood.  Pretty rare.  In fact this may be one of the best close up pictures on the internet.

Piebalds:

The term Piebald means "of different colors".  This term is usually associated with horses, though we normally refer to such horses as pintos, paints, or Appaloosas. A piebald animal is one whose hair or fur has a spotted, rather than a solid color pattern.  Depending on what part of the U.S you are from piebald deer are sometimes referred to as pintos.

A genetic variation or "defect" is what produces the piebald condition in deer.  It is not a result of parasites or diseases. Piebald deer are colored white and brown similar to a pinto horse. Sometimes they appear almost entirely white.

Many piebald deer have some of the following conditions associated with the coloration; bowing of the nose (Roman nose), short legs, arching spine (scoliosis), and short lower jaws.

It is said that Piebalds consist of less than 1% of the deer population

Many people confuse the piebald deer with the albino deer.


Albino:

Albino deer are totally white, and true albinos have pink eyes from a lack of pigement in their eyes. Albanism results from recessive genes.

White deer are naturally easily mistaken for albinos, which they are not. The true albino, besides having all white hair, also has pink eyes and pink hooves, something the white deer do not have.

Both the white deer and the albino deer, and perhaps, to a lesser extent the piebald deer, are at a disadvantage in the wild as they are easily spotted except in conditions of heavy snow. This lack of camouflage, along with poorer health keep the population of these abnormally colored deer low.

Melanistic:

Melanistic deer are the complete opposite of an Albino.  Being very dark, often approaching totally black. Melanism results from overproduction of pigment and is far less common than albinism or Piebald.

Biologists Often Respond.  We have several biologist who receive these Updates and will respond on issues like these.  We will let you know if they do and what they say.

Another Culvert Cleanout?  While on a walk on Monday (12/27/10) it appeared the County was cleaning out the Illahee Creek culvert again.  Upon a closer look (see attached photos), they were removing logs from the cleanout area where they were last week.  Why they would be removing logs, or woody debris at the downstream end of a culvert is beyond understanding.  Normally biologists look at adding what they call LWD, or large woody debris, into streams.  We could understand them wanting to remove it if it was blocking a culvert, but to remove it at the downstream end, and close to the mouth of the stream, just doesn't make sense to us.  We did hear it was at the request of the landowner, and it could be that the sediment removal caused a nearby tree to fall into the stream, but at some point we need to let streams go where they want to go.  That is why we have channel migration zones, or a CMZ.  Theoretically streams are supposed to be able to flow unimpeded in a CMZ and especially in a flood plain.  Upstream Illahee Creek migrates back and forth in the flood plain, which has caused problems for some of the property owners, and is understood to be part of the natural processes.  We hope a biologist will step in and help us understand why there are different approaches taking place upstream and downstream.

Other Input?  We know there are others concerned about the culvert and would like to know your thoughts.  In a later Update we will discuss the massive deposition of sediment that has been deposited at the mouth of the creek.

Jim Aho  

Preserve "The Good, Bad & Ugly" - 12/27/10

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.  The Illahee Preserve is confronted regularly with "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly," (the title of a Clint Eastwood western from years ago) and this season is proving no different.

The 'Good' Items First.  Some really good items recently have been the installation of new trail signs by Justin McAlister for his Eagle Scout project, and the completion of a new trail map and brochure by the architectural firm of Rice, Fergus and Miller.  The first batches of the brochure were printed up and will be placed in the new information boxes at Almira and Thompson Lane that Justin installed as part of his trail sign project.  We also heard today that the Rotary Club of East Bremerton is scheduling work parties in January to take care of the wood chips that have been delivered, primarily in the parking lot at Thompson Lane.  We also heard that this past weekend another 9 trees were removed from the trails by the Rotary's volunteer trail crew, making a total of 41 trees removed (by both Rotary and Stewardship crews) that came down across trials from December storms.  Without volunteers like these the Preserve would not have such a great area for hiking, biking  and wildlife.  Thanks to all those who help with the 'good' for the Preserve.

The 'Bad.'  We also heard today that the brush pickers have shown up again.  Attached is the email message we received tonight (12/27/10) indicating this person's frustrations.

This afternoon I received a voice mail call from a walker at Illahee Preserve.  They had witnessed several brush pickers near the Amphitheater.  He "gave them an ear full" and got back the standard Latin response of not knowing English.  He said they had already harvested an impressive collection of plant materials.  It seems to be a pattern for brush pickers to hit us hard during winter months.  As I recall, these plant pirates rigorously picked us for several months until March or so.  They tended to pick during the weekdays and during the middle of day.  At least that's the pattern from my reports on last year's shrubbery swipers.  Today's call came in around 12:45PM today, Monday, December 27th.  The broken gate seems to be their target for access.  I had reports of vehicles parked along Thompson Lane which were the suspected collection points for the brush pickers. 

 

These guys abused us last year.  I would love to create a lasting impact upon our faithful brush picking visitors.  How can we stop this?  Does anyone have a plan on how we can change the behavior of these forest thieves?  I welcome any thoughts.

Let us know if you have any ideas that we can pass on to the Stewardship Committee or the Park's Department. 

The 'Ugly.'  We regularly deal with what some have called anarchists in the Preserve, i.e., those who are intent on destroying the good that has been done.  Within less than a week after the trail signs were installed, at least 7 of them were removed and are nowhere to be found.  Also, in the last few days one of the recently installed restoration signs was "ripped out of the ground" and evidently hauled away.

The New Brochure.  We have attached the pdf file (FRONT) (BACK) for the new brochure and thank all those who keep this information up-to-date, and then print it at no cost to the tax payers.  As we have stated before, the Illahee Preserve is nearly a completely volunteer effort to plan, support and maintain a major Kitsap County park and wildlife Preserve.  Again, THANK YOU volunteers and supporters, and in anyone is interested as they consider their tax situation, the Illahee Forest Preserve is a 501.c.3 non-profit corporation dedicated to the support of the Illahee Preserve, and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Jim Aho

Emergency Culvert Clean-out Completed - 12/23/10

Emergency Culvert Cleanout.  The Illahee Creek culvert under Illahee Road received an emergency clean-out on Tuesday (12/21/10).

What Was The Emergency?  We have been asked "What was the emergency?" and as stated in the request from the county it was excessive sedimentation in the culvert that posed a safety problem and a threat to private property.  The problem is the culvert continues to fill with sediment and has local residents and the county concerned that at some point it could fail and possibly washout the road, the safety issue.

What Was Done?  At the downstream end of the culvert an excavator dug out a large hole (we estimate it was about 12 feet wide, and went downstream about 15 feet and into the culvert about 7 feet, and went down about 6 feet) which would contain about 60 yards of sediment.  We counted 10 truck loads, each containing about 6 yards, which also would equate to 60 yards of sediment removed.

Will It Help?  The real question is will it help?  It should help some in the short term, that is, until the next big storm.  The problem is the continual need to dredge is a maintenance headache and not the ultimate solution (which is to correct the upstream surges that bring down the sediment).

Future Culvert Meeting?  The Illahee Community Club (ICC) has asked for a meeting with county representatives to discuss the culvert situation and the public works has agreed, though they would also like to see if the golf course gifting will go through, as that is the logical place to stop the surges.  We will ask the ICC and the county when such a meeting might take place.

Culvert Photos.  We have same pictures of the excavation and the culvert before the clean-out and during the clean-out, and when the current 0.6 inches of rain, which has filled the stream and is putting brown silt laden water out into Puget Sound stops, we will take some photos and measurements, to see it the clean-out has begun to work.

Jim Aho

Shoreline Issues - 12/22/10

3 Plus Miles of Shorelines in Illahee.  The Illahee Community has just over 3 miles of shoreline that runs from the north end of the Cheney Estates (or 30th Street) to University Point (see attached).

Changes Coming?  Kitsap County is currently in the middle of an effort to update their Shoreline Master Program (SMP), which is required by the State and is being funded by the Department of Ecology.  The update will effect communities and the shorelines of the county and will most likely affect the Illahee community.

"No Net Loss" Requirement.  One of the requirements of the state is that the county's SMP have the goal that there be "no net loss" of ecological functions.  This is one of the goals the Task Force (established to help advise the county) is working on, and will soon be looking at shoreline classifications.

Current Illahee SMP Classifications.  The current classifications of the shorelines in Illahee ranges from Conservancy to Rural to Semi-Rural (see second attachment). 

Task Force Meetings.  Monthly SMP Task Force meeting have been going on for some time and they will reportedly start discussing whether the current shoreline classifications should be changed.

Shoreline Inventory First.  Before the Task Force can start on classifications a Shoreline Inventory and Characterization (I&C) Report had to be submitted to the Planning Commission for its approval.  The I&C is a new product for the SMP and some have questioned both its intent and supposed lack of breadth (see link to Kitsap Sun article in a following paragraph).

I&C Report Size.  The I&C report covers all the marine beaches of Kitsap County by drift cell and further breakdowns the drift cells into "Nearshore Assessment Units" or NAUs    In other words a drift cell may have many AUs.  For example Illahee is part of drift cell 56, which runs from Manette to University Point (5.69 miles), and contains 17 NAUs.  With 228 miles of shorelines in Kitsap County the report is a massive nearly 500 pages.  The I&C report can be found online at the county's SMP website:  http://www.kitsapshoreline.org

Planning Commission Public Hearing.  The Planning Commission had a public hearing on the Inventory and Characterization (I&C) report on December 7, 2010 and is taking written comments until January 4, 2011.  The Kitsap Sun covered the meeting and the article can be read by clicking on the following link:  http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/dec/08/planning-commissioners-scrutinize-first-document/

Our Thoughts.  We have been part of the Task Force and also attended the public hearing.  Since the process is ongoing we are waiting to learn more and are reluctant to say much until we have completed the process and we have all the facts.  We do have some thoughts on the Inventory and Characterization report.  As with any new product it is a work in progress.  It is easy to document where the bulkheads, boat ramps, piers and floats are.  It is more difficult to document the biological diversity and ecological functions of shorelines, not to mention those beaches that are degraded or impaired.  In other words, there haven't been many studies that look at our individual beaches for the biological and ecological processes that are going on.  And further, the shoreline area is defined as 200' upland and 1000' waterward (intertidal), for a total of 1200' to be considered.  The I&C Report, nevertheless is a starting point, for looking at individual stretches of the shoreline.

What Next for Illahee?  We know we have at least two major degraded or impaired shoreline areas according to residents, due to stormwater runoff problems.  The Rue Villa beaches and the Illahee Creek area beaches have had excessive sedimentation from stormwater surges that have fouled local beaches and shellfish beds.  Only the community residents who have seen the 'before and after' differences can really note the damage.  Those long time residents need to be interviewed and the impaired areas need to be mapped so they can be included somewhere in the I&C Report.

SMP Presentation at Illahee Community Meeting.  Some who attended the Illahee Community meeting, where the county gave a presentation of the SMP Udate process, probably have a better understanding of what is going on.  This is a long process and the issues are extremely complex.  The county does have a good website where all this informaiton resides (which was noted earlier).  We anticipate there will be other area or community meetings where more information regarding shoreline classifications will be presented. 

Submit Comments on I&C Report.  In the meantime, it would be good for the Planning Commission to hear your comments regarding the I&C Report.  This is important because the document establishes the baseline for the "no net loss of ecological functions" requirement of the state.  

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

Some During Storm Pictures - 12/14/10

Storm Pictures.  We have been asked where the storm pictures are since our last Update had some 'Before Storm' pictures.

Non-Water Proof Camera.  We got up early last Sunday morning and took a few stills and some video of the effects of the storm.  We found out that the use of cameras during heavy rain events does not work well for non-water proof camers.  Our camera was sent to the manufacture on Monday in hopes it can be repaired.  Our film maker, Shelly Solomon, did some good photos in the afternoon.  When we walked to the mouth of the creek and were amazed at the number of golf balls that had been washed down the creek and out on the beach.

Some Pictures Were Retrieved.  We got some help retrieving some of the photos from the camera and will look at how to get some of the videos on an Update, or at least linked.  This is a learning process for us.

Illahee Creek Culvert.  The Illahee Creek culvert was running nearly full.  The attached photos show the brown water and the culvert.

Brown Water.  Those who live along the water regularly see brown water coming from the creek anytime there is a rainfall of over an inch in a short period of time.  During major storms the brown water is much more distinctive as shown in the photo from the Illahee community dock.

Phone Calls & Emails.  Thank you for the phone calls regarding the storm and for the emails.  Attached are two that go into some detail.

Ran down to the Illahee culvert about an hour ago and the water is within 12 inches of the top.  The velocity and volume of water is such that no sane person would attempt to cross the creek.  

Wash-out at the top of Oceanview with baseball size rocks in the roadway.  I unplugged 4 catch basins on the upper half.  The water has cut nearly a foot below the blacktop up hill of the debris and I am going to call this into the county immediately.

Found a plugged culvert at the bottom of 3rd Street on the South side of the road.  The results are gravel, and washout debris on Illahee Road.

Took a tour of the stream channel as it appeared after the waters have had a chance to settle down.  The picture presented today shows a culvert which has vastly changed as is as close as it gets to failing.  We were within probably 2 inches of complete failure as the banks of the floodplain took a real beating.  The incised area along the stream showed that we had over 30 inches of water trying to get through the culvert and ended up spilling onto the floodplain.  All it would have taken was for one of these logs to try and get through the culvert.  They are now in a position to move forward with the next storm event.  I must say that this is very discouraging for fish and folks like the Krigsman's who own the land that this failed  culvert sits on.  We need to notify the county that they have installed a product  that needs replacement.  Additionally, by taking the bend out of the stream on Mossano's side they are losing the entire Schutts  point.  How is it that those in the know, fail to understand the dynamics of water and how the velocity controls everything? 

Amazing Deer Photos.  We received some amazing deer photos we will include more in a future wildlife update and have attached one to this email.  

Thanks For Sharing.  Thanks to all those who share your photos and for your comments!

Jim Aho