Subject: Geese and wetlands
Date: Oct 30 09:28:26 1994
From: Burton Guttman - guttmanb at elwha.evergreen.edu


Saturday morning I went up to the Everett area to look for the Emperor
Goose reported on the RBA to be in a buffalo pasture at 134th and 35 St.
S.E. I don't think there is a 134th--the pasture is actually on 132nd,
about a city block east of 35th. Although there were about 70 Canadas in
the pasture, there was no Emperor. (*sniff!*) But driving south on 35th
to search for 134th, I pulled off into an area that looked promising,
apparently land owned by a local topsoil company. As I got out of my car,
a guy pulled up in a company truck to find out what I as doing there.
When I explained that I was just birdwatching, looking for the goose, he
was very nice and warned me to just be careful because a lot of
construction was going on. Explaining why he came to check on me, he
said, "They were afraid you might be taking pictures." "Oh?" sez I to
myself, "afraid of what?" Well, it took me about ten seconds to realize
that this is a _wetland_ (quite a few dowitchers and assorted ducks there)
being "developed" --that is, _destroyed_. It isn't totally ruined yet--
they've done a lot of bulldozing and put in some gravel roads--but it's
well on its way to ruin.

Now, forgive my ignorance but I thought we had at least _some_ laws in
this state to protect wetlands. Can any Joe Schmoe just buy himself a
wetland and proceed to rape it as he pleases? Were they afraid I might
be taking pictures as evidence against their illegal activities, or to
gather evidence in support of stronger wetlands legislation, or what?
Does anyone know what kind of nefarious activities are going on up
there? Is anyone who lives in the area in a position to investigate?
This may be completely legitimate, but it smells like an affair that
someone ought to look into.

Burt Guttman guttmanb at elwha.evergreen.edu
The Evergreen State College Voice: 206-866-6000, x. 6755
Olympia, WA 98505 FAX: 206-866-6794