Hi all,

I want to clear up an issue which has come up on Tweeters.

I am a birder---for professional and entertainment purposes ( just
wanted to make this clear from the start)

I am involved in a restoration ecology class here at UW. As part of
the course we are to do a mini- restoration project in Montlake fill.
After talking a group of classmates into doing a project with American
Bitterns in mind...we proceeding to find a location to do the project. (i
choose American Bitterns due to the statement in G.Hunn's Seattle Birding
Book (not the exact title) which said that Bitterns were not as common as
they had been in the past)
So i went down there and looked the place over. I spotted Central
Pond, which had been totally cleared of veg and wondered why that had
been done and what was going to happen next. So i asked Kern Ewing
(prof in Urban Hort) and Stuart Mackay (fellow Tweeter and Purple
Loosestrife extraordinare (sp?)) And well....i believed that i had the go
ahead for revegetation of a VERY SMALL part of the pond's shoreline.

Well- for the record....Stuart and I obviously did not understand
each other...he did not realize what i was about to do. This was the
cause of the current talk on Tweeters...
Also for the record....we have NO ASSOCIATION WITH SEATTLE
AUDUBON...that was another communication breakdown between the Montlake
fill managers (Prof Ewing) and members of my project group...I AM VERY
SORRY ABOUT THAT!!!

Let me now explain to all those who maybe interested in what i ( and
my group) are doing out there...

We are planting sedges and rushes along a small portion of the pond
shoreline. We are also placing some down woody debris in the same area.
This area is flagged off right now- you are welcome to check out how big
it is. We fully intend to stick to that area only- therefore allowing
the shorebirds to "have" the rest (majority) of the pond.
I believe it is important to have veg in some proportion along the
pond. Long -toed Salamanders have been spotted aroung the pond and they
need some thing to attach their egg masses to during breeding. Also i
feel that it is within Montlake's bird goals to try the obtain the
highest bird species diversity we can. Since increasing the variety of
habitats is key to increasing the variety of birds...i believe this
project is worthy.

I will be at the potluck on Fri and WILL bring a copy of our project
proposal. I will be happy to explain the project further and field any
questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Seavey
UW- Wildlife Program
jseavey at u.washington.edu