On Tue, 6 Jun 1995, Dennis Paulson wrote:
> 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.

Fine by me. I guess my point was that if birders as a group could convince
the CUH folks that we can back up our wish list of changes (whatever they
are) with a tangible workforce willing to make them, we might have a better
chance of seeing it happen. No doubt it would require hundreds of
human-hours to begin to make a dent in all the blackberries there, and work
would have to continue each year to keep them at bay. If we are not
willing to do the work, how can we expect CUH to do it for us? It would
be most realistic to start small with a focused goal, e.g., get the pond by
Wahkiakum Lane in shape for shorebirds and target a specific blackberry
thicket to remove.

David Wright
dwright at u.washington.edu