David Wright's suggestion is a good one, and I'd be willing to help.

But I'd still like to point out that Montlake doesn't have to have a lot of
native shrubs planted on it to make it a good place. There are woods full
of salmonberry and red-flowered currant, full of the Rufous Hummingbirds
that feed on them. Why do they have to be at Montlake too? What is wrong
with a tract of land with nothing more on it than herbaceous weeds and a
series of ponds? It would be a unique and pretty terrific habitat to have
right in the midst of Seattle.

I suppose I will never quite understand why the desire to make Montlake a
little Northwest ecosystem, when we in fact have the other components of
that ecosystem all around us. There are elements of this that prompt me to
compare it with the growth mania that infects every aspect of our society,
so that Safeway has to have an espresso bar, coffee shops have to sell
T-shirts, gas stations have to have pull tabs, and Montlake has to have
more habitats. But that's another gripe session indeed.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416