Press Release for Aquifer Meeting 3/29/11 3-17-11

Illahee Aquifer Issues.  Over the years some Illahee residents have been concerned about the increasingly low baseflows in Illahee Creek during periods when there is no or little precipitation, primarily in the summer time.  The baseflows in Illahee Creek are supplied from springs (or seeps) that emanate from the shallow aquifers.  

Base Flows Critical for Fish.  Adequate baseflows during dry periods is crucial for fish survival and are of special concern for those hoping at restoring Illahee Creek's fish (salmonids) population to near historic levels.

Aspect Consulting Report.  A number of years ago Aspect Consulting did an analysis of Illahee Creek during one of the dry summer months to identify the primary locations of the springs supplying the creek and the flows coming from the seeps.  The study noted the importance of infiltration of rainwater into the groundwater systems and aquifers, and noted that a proposal to run stormwater to the Sound could decrease the baseflow in Illahee Creek by 15 to 20%.

Parametrix Report.  When the Port of Illahee and the Department of Ecology funded the engineering firm Parametrix to conduct a watershed study of Illahee Creek, they included a requirement for an Aquifer Protection Plan to be prepared for the creek.  The plan was sub-contracted out to Keta Waters, an engineering firm specializing in hydrology.

June 2009 Briefing.  The Aquifer Protection Plan for Illahee Creek was presented at a briefing on June 30, 2009 at the Norm Dicks Center, during which Dr. Joel Massmann of Keta Waters, noted that the Manette Aquifer, which underlies much of Illahee and Illahee Creek, may be at water balance according to his calculations.  This was the first time many had heard this and in talking to those attending, many did not understand the situation or the implications.  

Water Balance?  As we understood the presentation, the Manette aquifer is recharged solely by the infiltration of rainwater, and that recharge amount is also what is being withdrawn for drinking water and what is being discharged into creeks such as Illahee.  In other words this aquifer may be essentially at water balance.  It will take more studies to confirm this and they were recently authorized, but it will take a number of years before they will be completed.

Implications of Being at Water Balance.  If Dr. Massmann is correct, then it seems to us that we should be paying attention to this situation, and understand possible implications:  such as What happens if we have a relatively dry rainy season, or several in a row, and we withdraw more water than is infiltrated?   Are we in danger of salt water intrusion into the aquifer?

Bainbridge Island USGS Aquifer Study Issued 3/1/11.  Dr. Massmann has been invited back to give another briefing on this subject, and will have some more information which he hopes to get from the USGS study of the Bainbridge Island aquifers.  This will be another opportunity for residents to better understand the groundwater and aquifer system that lies under us, and what we can do to make sure it remains a viable water resource into the future.

The Press Release.  We thought it might be helpful to preface the following press release with our thoughts and concerns in hopes that residents would want to learn more at the briefing: 

GROUNDWATER, AQUIFERS & INFILTRATION REQUIREMENTS

A Briefing of the Manette Peninsula Aquifer and the Illahee Watershed Aquifer Protection Plan by Dr. Joel Massmann

A briefing discussing the underlying aquifers in Illahee and the surrounding area will be held at the Norm Dicks Government Center on the evening of March 29, 2011 from 6:30-8 pm.

Dr. Joel 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. 

In June 2009, Dr. Massmann noted that the Manette Aquifer may essentially be at water balance and the water rights for the aquifer may have been over-allocated. (Also in June 2009 the Kitsap County Commissioners adopted a “Water as a Resource Policy” for Kitsap County.)   Since that time the Kitsap PUD and local water purveyors have funded USGS to conduct a detailed study of the Kitsap Peninsula that will take several years to complete.  In the meantime the implications of local aquifers possibly at water balance needs to be addressed.  Dr. Massmann has been invited back to discuss the aquifer issues again and any possible extrapolations for Illahee from the USGS Groundwater Study of Bainbridge Island that was issued on March 1, 2011.  He will also provide specific recommendations for protecting aquifers, which are the sole source of our drinking water on the Manette Peninsula.

Dr. Massmann has over twenty-five years of experience as a groundwater consultant.  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.

Dr. Massmann’s study of the local aquifers was funded in part over the last few years by grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Washington State Department of Ecology; and by the Port of Illahee, the Illahee Forest Preserve, and the Illahee Community.  

Comments?  If you have any thoughts on this subject, or even disagreements with our comments, we would like to hear them and will include them in a future update, or you can comment on the blog http://illaheecommunity.blogspot.com/ or Facebook.

Jim Aho

Squid, Theft, KRCC Report - 1-31-11

Squid Fishermen.  Just about every evening during the winter months squid fisherman can be seen at the Illahee community dock jigging their lures, such as we photographed here on a cold winters night.  We like to check in with them every so often to see what they are catching, and to see if they have caught anything unusual (one time someone caught a nice mackerel and didn't want it so we took it home and ate it).  That question regarding unusual catches is when we found out about someone catching a lobster which we will describe in a future Update.  

Larger Squid.  On Monday evening (1/31/11) we noticed one squid in a bucket that was twice the size of any of the others, and asked if we could take some pictures.  After a couple of camera flashes along with lying on the dark decking, the squid quickly changed colors to suit its surrounding, which can be seen by comparing the two photos.

Forage Fish Report.  The other interesting news is that they have also snagged some of our primary forage fish while squidding, which are herring, smelt, and sand lance (candle fish).  (Forage fish are small fish that are preyed on by larger fish.)  While these forage fish are not seen in the numbers of decades earlier, it is encouraging to know they are still around.  If it wasn't for these fishermen's reports, most of us wouldn't be aware that these forage fish are using our nearshore and shoreline areas in Illahee.

Illahee Preserve Rain Garden Thefts.  While getting ready for Saturday's work party at the Illahee Preserve, we noticed that 3 logs and a rock had been taken from the rain garden.  We have attached a photo that shows where the rock and one log were.  This is disappointing as it takes lots of volunteer coordination and volunteer work to make the Preserve and the Rain Garden special and some are wondering if we can install a video camera to cover the parking lot.  If anyone has any ideas or expertise in this area, please let us know.

KRCC Public Meeting Report.  We saw at least 4 Illahee residents at the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council public hearing regarding the Countywide Planning Policy document.  One of the most interesting presentations showed a graph of the projected populations used to determine the urban growth boundaries in the county, and how the actual population figures are coming in at about half the projections.  We don't have all the facts, but understand that is why either the courts or the Growth Management Hearings Board are asking the county to take a second look.  The link to the Kitsap Sun coverage of the meeting is:  http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/jan/28/tribal-members-speak-out-against-large-scale-in/

Community Input.  Two residents testified during the public hearing and we received two comments that were emailed to the KRCC, which we have attached below:

Thank you for allowing public comment to the "Kitsap Countywide Planning Policy" draft document proposed by the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.

I attended the public hearing last evening and I'm not sure I was as clear in my comments as I should have been with my last point.

My concern is with the wording changes in the document that tightened the language by replacing "should" with "shall" when it came to issues such as annexation, and then when it got to Element E (which looks at open space preservation, critical areas, and water quality/quantity), the language was loosened by replacing "shall" with "should".

After hearing the testimony about the importance of natural resources and open space, etc, I don't know how you can not change this wording back to "shall".  

Additionally, I would state that current science has more than ever supported the necessity to preserve and protect critical areas and resource lands, such as critical aquifers.  We know that the Kitsap Peninsula is for the most part hydrogeologically self contained, that our ground water comes from precipitation, and that some areas, such as Illahee, are at water balance, meaning we are withdrawing and supporting stream flow with what is already being infiltrated.  The implications of this fact alone are staggering.

If you really believe that "Water is a Resource" then your wording in this county wide planning document needs to support that policy.

Thank you for considering changing the "should" back to "shall".

Thank you for allowing public comment to the "Kitsap Countywide Planning Policy" draft document proposed by the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.

I am requesting that Illahee be considered for withdrawal from the urban growth area that it has been assigned to. A majority of  Illahee is made up of critical areas: steep slopes, canyons, Illahee Creek, state park and Kitsap County forest preserve, in addition to documented category one aquifer recharge areas. All that is in possible jeopardy if its future is to be annexed to a city.  Under GMA and the definition of UGAs, it clearly spell out the incompatibility of urban growth and protection of important aquifers. Given that population projections have been exaggerated in the establishment of UGAs here in the county, it makes sense for a rural entity such as Illahee  be withdrawn from the UGA.

Your Thoughts?  Let us know how you feel on the issue of annexation, which is what is being proposed as a "shall" in the Countywide Planning Policy document.  

Community Meeting Discussion Item?  We would like to suggest this be a discussion item at the next Illahee Community meeting that has just been scheduled for February 23, 2011 at 6:30pm at the Sylvan Way Library.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 1/31/10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for your interest and help with the sampling!

-bob

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update and Monday Invite - 9/5/09

Blue Parrot Update.  We were hoping the lost blue parrot notice that we sent out Monday evening (8/24/09) would have resulted in some success, but the parrot did not return and no one reported seeing it. 

 

Fish in Illahee Creek.  The last four years we have been walking up Illahee Creek to do upstream water quality monitoring.  This past year, moreso than other years, we have been concerned about the low flows in the creek and not seeing fish.  However, on Tuesday, September 1, 2009, during our water quality trek up the stream, some fish were finally seen, though not nearly as many as in past years.

 

Turtle in Illahee Creek.  Also on Tuesday's trip up the creek, we saw a turtle in the stream, a first for us.  Someone said it must be a Western Pond Turtle, since they are what would normally be around the area.  We have attached a photo that may help with any identification.

 

Moles.  Lots of mole activity has been seen recently, including a baby dead mole on the pavement along Sunset.  We have attached the photo. 

 

Illahee Preserve Fair Info.  It was nice to see information on the Illahee Preserve at the Kitsap County Fair last week.  One of the most picked up items was a map of the Preserve.  Many people have gone into the Preserve, which is forested, and have gotten lost and have been requesting maps.  The architectural firm of Rice, Fergus, Miller designed the map and brochure.  Let us know if you need a copy.  Attached is a photo of the information that was available at the Fair. 

 

Monday Get-Together Invite.  Iris Friday, who lives next to the area where the Timbers Edge project is planned to go in and next to the Illahee Preserve, has invited residents to see the area and share some food.  Her email invite is below:

 

As a resident of Illahee and one of the families most affected by the Timber's Edge project,  I am once again vehemently stating my opposition to the Timber's Edge project that stands to drastically impact our day to day routine here at 4829 Charmont Lane NE.  Where, you say, is Charmont Lane NE?  Well, imagine for one moment that you and your family found yourself tucked at the end of a Cul de sac with neighbors to your south and east.  To the west, you found nothing but old growth and blackberry brambles.  imagine again, that your only exist consisted of a primitive two lane street with no sidewalks, but treacherous hills (think Dec 2007) storm.   But, first, you must exit off a single dirt road up a very treacherous hill.  And, then imagine your precious six year old daughter walking up a hill with no sidewalks which now has 200 vehicles exiting above her exit street (with no lights) on their way to work. The lots in our neighborhood far exceed those proposed by the developer and we don't have sidewalks.

 

This labor day weekend, I invite you to come and join us at 4829 Charmont Lane Ne on Sept 7th so that you can see for yourself the unrealistic plans proposed for Timber's Edge.  Please mark your calendar for Monday, September 7th at 1:00 P.M.  Please feel free to share a salad or just hang out.

 

Thanks!  Thanks for all your input to these Updates.

 

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

Wildlife Update - 11/3/08

Squid Fishing. Squid fishing is a nightly event at the Illahee Community Dock. We are attaching some photos of squid taken this weekend.

Juvenile Salmon Jumping. Along the near shore areas juvenile salmon approximately 12 - 15 inches in length were seen in schools with some of them jumping completely out of the water. They were assumed to be salmon rather than cutthroat because they were in schools and because of their silvery color.

Dog Fish, Sand Sharks, Spiny Dogfish Sharks. We watched a gill netter take small sharks from his net today. We attended a lecture recently by Vincent Gallucci of the UW fisheries department who sited some interesting statistics about the small sharks that are so abundant in our waters. They don't get very big with a maximum length of 54 inches, but they are long lived approximately 80 - 100 years with documented ages from 85-107 years. Local females don't reproduce until age 35 and have live litters of from 6-12 pups. Their gestation period is nearly 2 years, longer than elephants. They have essentially been fished out on the east coast and there is concern by some for their numbers on the west coast. They were originally caught for oil for lamps in the 1800's, and then for vitamin A in the 1940's, and now are caught for fish and chips in England with their bellies to Germany where they are pickled and sold in bars. This is from memory from the lecture so we're hoping someone will check this out on the Internet.

Gillnetter Success. We have long wondered how the gillnetters are doing when they set their nets in Illahee waters. We went out in a kayak today to watch the operation and have a few photos of the Sea Spirit out of Suquamish. The salmon were all chum with some dark and some still bright. They had a small pellet gun to try and discourage a seal from raiding their catch. They found the chum were running more on the Bainbridge Island side than towards Illahee. The one set we watched the total catch after about a half hour, was 7 chum salmon and one dogfish. They had done better earlier they said.

We have some other photos of the gillnetter boat taken from the shore and will semd them out when they come in.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 10/11/08

Dock Smelt Fishing. We visited the Illahee community dock on Friday evening and were surprised to find one of the squid fisherman catching smelt on his squid jig. See the photo.

Gilberton Creek Culvert Ceremony. We heard there will be a ceremony on October 23rd at 10 am to celebrate the completion of the Gilberton Creek culvert and paving work on Illahee Road. There will likely be more information on this later that we will pass on as we receive it.

Realtors Reject the Illahee Community Plan. We heard the Kitsap County Association of Realtors sent a letter to the county commissioners and county officials asking them to reject the Illahee Community Plan for a number of reasons including one that evidently states there are enough county subarea plans and they don't want another one. This might be a good opportunity for Illahee residents to contact their realtor friends to find out who this group is and how representative they are of individual realtors. If someone can get a copy of the letter, which we assume is a public letter, we will put it out in an update.

Sewer Public Notices. A number of people who live along the Timbers Edge proposed stormwater and sewer lines did not receive the county notice dated September 18th, that was actually received by the community members beginning on September 26th, with one property owner in Everett receiving his notice on October 1st, one day before the written request deadline of October 2, 2008.

Written Request for Hearing? We heard that in spite of the late notification, several residents sent in written requests for a stormwater and sewer hearing.

November Hearing Date? We additionally heard that a November hearing date was being contemplated by the Hearing Examiner, but only for a sewer hearing, not a stormwater hearing.

Notice Problem. We think the problem with the notice was the map, which was used to determine the notice recipients.

Sewer & Stormwater Lines Not Shown. The sewer and stormwater lines were not shown on the map and therefore many of the recipients who live along the route were not notified.

What Next? We know the county is aware of the problem with the notices not being delivered in a timely manner. We also know the county is aware that the notice did not go to all the affected residents. We are unsure what the county is planning on doing to rectify the situation.

Community Thoughts. (1) Proper and timely notice of the proposed stormwater and sewer line plans need to be given to all the affected residents. (2) The Illahee community needs to ask for a public meeting for the county to explain the sewer issues and the sewer infrastructure plans for the Illahee community. (3) A hearing should be held so the community can respond to the proposed Timbers Edge stormwater and sewer plans being planned for Illahee.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 10/6/08

We wanted to pass on some recent photos of rare sight in Puget Sound that occurred last week on Bainbridge Island.

Attached also are comments regarding the photos.

Jim Aho

Hello Kitsap Beach Naturalists and friends- I thought you might be interested in seeing this fish that washed up on a Bainbridge Island beach (off Sunrise, north of Day Road for those familiar with the area). Kim and Ela Esterberg took the original pictures and sent the images to Marcia Lagerloef who is a beach seine volunteer on Bainbridge. I included comments from fish biologists. Hope you all enjoyed the autumn weekend! JEff

---------------------------------------------------

It's a longnose lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox). Occasionally seen washed up on coastal beaches, but I've never seen one, or heard of one in Puget Sound. They are typically deep-sea dwellers, but make vertical migrations to the surface to feed. I'd be interested in seeing it if it's still around.

Jim Brennan

Marine Habitat Specialist

Washington Sea Grant

I saw a photo of one from a beach near the Port Townsend marine science center not that long ago. An interesting and uncommon fish to run across!



Doris Small, WDFW Watershed Steward

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

Wildlife Update - 9/27/08

Send in Your Wildlife Reports. The wildlife updates are the reason many have requested to be on the Illahee Community Update list. We will try to keep these updates coming, but we need your input. And, don't hesitate to remind us as we receive many emails each day and sometimes important items get overlooked.

Bird Data Near Gilberton Creek. Vic Ulsh recently spoke with Kate Kuhlman of Great Peninsula Conservancy (GPC). GPC is working on potential grant opportunities which could lead to their acquisition of property at/near the mouth of Gilberton Creek. As you know, this creek was severely altered during last December's major flood event. GPC already owns land along this creek. They are contemplating additional land with hopes of habitat restoration work. One area of information which they are looking for assistance is any bird inventory data, including shore birds, in this area. Might anyone in the Illahee Community have any insight on bird activity near Gilberton Creek? Please provide feedback to Vic Ulsh at (360) 479-6900 or vic@bradleyscottinc.com

How Many Salmon Were There In Illahee Creek? The other day we noted that the community was trying to restore salmon to near historic levels and someone asked whether Illahee Creek was a significant salmon stream and just what were the historic levels. The text below is the answer we provided and now others are trying to talk with other old timers to see what they remember. Let us know if you have any additional historical fish information or information of on whether Dr. Schutt had salmon in his reservoir.

When I got involved with Illahee Creek that was one of my first thoughts was what was this stream like before the area was settled. Was this small stream, that flows year round, ever a significant salmon stream?

It does have a history of people getting salmon from it. Ed Fischer, who is now 94 years old, tells about going to LaMotte Creek (Illahee Creek) to get salmon for his mother to smoke and can. Other old timers talk about residents filling up wagons with salmon from the creek. Dr. Ray Schutt (who started the Schutt clinic) put in a small dam on the creek, which then was referred to a Schutt Creek. (Seems like the creek was named by whoever lived at the mouth, until it was finally officially named Illahee Creek.) There were reports of lots of fish and deep pools along the creek corridor during those intervening years, though evidently not the salmon runs of the earlier years.

Illahee Road was put in in the 1930's with two 36" culverts which were noted by some as being salmon barriers. They were replaced in 1999 with a box culvert 14' by 9' which was slowly been filling up with sediment. During the December 3, 2007 storm the culvert filled up almost to the top and was recently cleaned out by the county.

I don't think Illahee Creek was ever a big producer of salmon like some of the other creeks. Because it is a small stream it was likely very easy for early settlers to clean out the salmon. Ed Fischer said they would simply "scoop" the salmon out of the creek.

The salmon I have personally seen in the stream are chum and coho, and some pretty good sized ones at that. When the county cleaned out the culvert I got a chance to watch them move some of the coho fry from the upstream net past the work area and I, like the workers, were surprised by the numbers considering the Dec 3rd storms impact on the creek and culvert. Another of the old time residents who died a year ago and was in his 90's was Meredith Jones, a sheet metal planner and estimator, who talked about watching steelhead follow spawning salmon to eat their eggs. Something that can only probably be seen in small streams like Illahee Creek.

I think the reason for it not being a top producer is of its small size and short length, coupled with the fact that it was probably decimated early on by the locals taking too many of the easily accessible fish.

There have been a number of fisheries biologists who have looked at Illahee Creek over the years. The latest was part of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant. They recommended the Schutt dam be taken out or broken up. They said the sedimentation problems have filled up the pools necessary for good salmon habitat. And they recommended that beaver be used to help with getting more pools in the creek. We will soon get another report regarding getting control of the stormwater surges as part of a Department of Ecology grant. Lots of action for a small stream, but if we don't do something we will end up with another road washout like happened with Gilberton Creek.

Owl Reports. We heard from residents near the 3rd Street wetland areas that they regularly see owls in the area, along with deer.

Squid Report. The squid being caught at the Illahee Community Dock the other night were plentiful, but small.

Cutthroat Jumping. Another report by a waterfront resident noted that cutthroat have been seen jumping along the shoreline.

Nudibranch at Brownsville Marina. This might be a new term for many. These are "soft-bodied, shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks, which are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms." We saw one earlier this month at the Brownsville Marina and thought it worth including in this update, see attached photo. Jeff Adams of the UW Sea Grant program identified it for us as "Giant nudibranch - Dendronotus iris - to 12" long," and "...ideal underwater video subject, for either its feeding lunge at a tube-dwelling anemone or its entrancing dance in the water column, well off the bottom." Picture credits go to Bob Stephens of Knoxville, Tenn who was on the boat with us and had his camera ready. 

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update - 7/25/08

Midshipman Fish. One of the more common fish in the area is the midshipman fish, though seldomly seen. Recently when showing some visitors the beach area during a low tide we lifted some rocks to see what was under them. What we saw were yellow eggs on the underside of the rock and a midshipman fish underneath.

The midshipman is a nocturnal fish that buries itself during the day. During breeding season the male digs out an area under a rock and sends out a 100 hertz humming sound to attach females who them lay their eggs on the underside of the rock. She then moves on and he continues to try and attract more females and also guards the eggs.

When talking with some long time residents they say these fish have always been around and one said they call them croakers because when touched on the head they emit a croaking sound. There is much more on these fish on the internet. Someone reported they are under every bigger rock in Illahee and discovered three fish under one rock. We will try to get some photos for a future update.

Illahee Dock Report. The report from the dock is that it has been a good year for red rock crab. There are also lots of shiner perch (poggies) around and also large schools of small salmon seen swimming by. One poggie fisherman caught a 10 inch Chinook salmon which had its adipose fin cut off indicating it was a hatchery fish. We are beginning to have a better understanding of why the nearshore beach areas are so important for a healthy Puget Sound and for Chinook. Some rock cod have been caught, but no reports of catches of piling perch that used to be common around the dock.

Sediment Depth at the Dock. A check on the amount of mud or sediment at the base of the shore side float revealed the depth of the mud was 30 inches at the south end, and 24 inches at the north end. Not that many years ago divers would collect squid jigs that had gotten caught on the rocks under the floats. The good news for jiggers is that they aren't losing their lures, but the bad news is sediment is accumulating under the dock at an alarming rate. It is an indication of the amount of sediment that is coming down from Illahee Creek during storm events, and the reason the Port of Illahee is concerned about the creek and the depth of water at the floats.

White Pigeons/Doves? We received several emails regarding the white pigeons/doves, but nothing about who might be raising them or where in Illahee they might reside. We also received a sighting of a parrot that evidently got lose. Here are two of the pigeon/dove responses.

Of course it's hard to tell without seeing the bird in life, but it looks to me like a white variant of your basic rock dove (Columba livia), which is the bird that hangs around in parks and that everyone calls a pigeon. I found a nice pic of a white pigeon at a University of Hawaii web page: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/biology101/birds/campus_birds.htm

Another candidate might be the ringneck dove (Streptopelia risoria), which is the kind that's commonly kept as pets and inappropriately released at weddings or other celebratory events. I can't be certain from the photo, but the size and shape of what the folks have been seeing at Illahee looks a little more robust than a typical ringneck dove. Here's a link to a page with a bunch of color variants of S. risoria: http://www.dovepage.com/species/domestic/Ringneck/ringneckcolorlist.html. You can see that most of those individuals look a little daintier than the birds that are in the photo you got from Jim.

The following response was received from a former president of the Seattle Audubon Society.

Pigeons:

Varieties of domesticated pigeons are all descendants from the Rock Pigeon Columba livia , (formerly called Rock Dove).

These appear to be a white morph (form) of the Rock Pigeon. You can see many of these morphs just by looking at a flock of "city pigeons", almost all Rock Pigeons fit into one of these morph patterns. They may have been bred by someone to dominate the white morph. Cornell University has done a great deal of study of Rock Pigeon morphs and these can be seen by Googling their website or other Rock Pigeon websites.

Pigeon Color Morphs

blue-bar

This bird has two black or dark gray stripes or "bars" on each light-gray wing. It has a dark-gray body and shiny, rainbow-like neck feathers.

red-bar

This bird has two red stripes or "bars" on each light-gray wing. It also has a rusty-red or brown shade to its body.

spread

This bird has one dark color spread all over its body.

red

This bird has a rusty-red or brown shade to its body and light-gray bars on its wings.

checker

This bird looks a little like a checkerboard. Its wing feathers have checks of light and dark.

pied white

This bird has white as well as other colors on its body. The "pied white flight" has white wing feathers, which are easy to see when the bird is flying.

pied splash

The "pied splash" pigeon has one or more spots of white.

white

This bird is solid white. This color morph is what some people call a dove of peace.

Keep sending us your reports. We will eventually get them out to the community.


Jim Aho