Hi Tweets,

I jyst received this message concerning the Nisqually Dike breaches and thought
it would be of interest to many of you.

Mike Scuderi

______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________
Subject: Nisqually Refuge update
Author: "CULLINAN, Tim" <tcullinan at audubon.org> at Internet
Date: 3/7/96 6:19 AM


NISQUALLY UPDATE 3/6/96

The recent flood damage at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge has reopened a
decades-old debate about whether the natural estuarine ecosystem on the delta
should be restored by breeching the dikes that currently impound about 1,000
acres of freshwater wetlands and upland fields. Recent reports in the news and
on E-mail suggested that damage to the dike system was extensive, and that
refuge managers would soon have to make a decision whether to make repairs or
to allow nature to reclaim the delta.

I spoke with several sources (including refuge staff) on Monday, 3/4, and found
that the situation is neither as critical nor as urgent as first reported. The
recent damage is nowhere near as extensive as that experienced in the 1975
flood. Most of the dike damage will be repaired by the end of this week, and
damage to plant communities in the impounded area is expected to be short-term
at most.

Apparently, this is what happened:

Flooding on the Nisqually River in February caused dikes to break in three
places, all of which were toward the south (upstream) end of the refuge. The
largest hole was on the access road, a second was near refuge headquarters, and
a third was on the Brown Farm dike between HQ and the barns. Water poured
through these breaks while the river was at flood stage, but after the flood
subsided no more water entered the impounded area. This is in distinct
contrast to the 1975 break, which was far enough downstream to allow salt water
to flow into the impounded area on every high tide.

A water control structure on the north (downstream) end of the impoundment
allows the water to drain out during low tides. Recently, some salt water has
been entering due to a broken valve, but this problem is minor and is unrelated
to the flooding caused by the broken dikes.

The flood water is receding, and the break on the access road dike has already
been repaired. The other two breaks are expected to be repaired (with
temporary fill) by the end of this week. The valve on the water control gate
will be fixed as soon as possible too. The refuge staff has applied for
emergency funding to cover the cost of repairing the flood damage.

The refuge manager apparently received requests from some members of the public
to leave the dikes unrepaired, or to create new breaks, to allow the impounded
area to revert to a more natural estuarine system. He felt he was unable to
comply with those requests and proceeded with the repairs. Reasons he gave
were as follows:

1) The "Approved Conceptual Plan" for the refuge prescribes management of the
1,000 acre impoundment for freshwater and upland plant communities. This plan
was adopted with extensive public input, and refuge staff are not at liberty to
violate its prescriptions. To do so would risk violating NEPA.

2) Any drastic departure from the Approved Plan would require going through
the NEPA process, complete with an entire new round of public review and
comment.

3) Beacause the Brown's Farm Trail (which runs along the top of the dike) is
on the national registry of trails, refuge staff must also comply with federal
regulations limiting changes to established trails.

4) Even if there were consensus among the public to return this part of the
refuge to tidal influence, the current breaks aren't the proper places to
breech the dikes to obtain the desired result.


The refuge manager acknowledged that maintenance of the dikes is expensive, and
that as long as the lower reaches of the river are confined by dikes there is
likely to be more damage in the future. He expressed optimism that when the
refuge takes ownership of the farmlands east of the river, the dikes protecting
those lands can be removed. This will restore that part of the natural delta
east of the river and north of I-5. An added benefit is that this will take
some of the pressure off the Brown's Farm Dike, making future damage less
likely.

It appears then, that the crisis discussed in earlier E-mail messages is not as
critical as initially described. We can still have our debate over what is the
desired future condition of the Nisqually Delta, but without the sense of
urgency originally suggested.

Finally, Black Hills Audubon and Tahoma Audubon have expressed interest in
tracking the recovery from the flooding and in assisting refuge staff in
repairing damage to trails and other facilities. If you are interested in
being part of this, please contact Ron Shultz at 360-786-8020 or leave a
message for Helen Engle at 102032.2444 at compuserve.com or 206-564-3112. You can
also contact the refuge at 360-753-9467.

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From: "CULLINAN, Tim" <tcullinan at audubon.org>
Message-Id: <9602078262.AA826208394 at audubon.audubon.org>
Subject: Nisqually Refuge update
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