Miscellaneous Items - 1/16/10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jim Aho