Hi folks,

This week, I saw the following information in an agency news brief:

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Capital Lake Estuary Restoration: The State Capital Campus Committee has approved the development of an estuary feasibility study for Capital Lake. The Capital Lake Adaptive Management Plan called for such a study, but the Committee put it on hold until a scope of work and budget could be developed. The Dept. of General Administration manages the Lake property. After many months of discussion and education, they came to the conclusion that an estuary feasibility study was the only way to understand the potential of managing the Lake's current stagnant conditions.
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This is potentially good news for the Deschutes River estuary, which has been 'corralled' since the General Administration folks in the 1950s built the dam to form a 'reflecting pool' for the State Capitol - chasing an ill-advised dream of civic promoters dating from 1911. For some reason, many of the residents of Olympia seem to think that this artificial situation is an important 'natural resource' for the community.

Since the dam was built, the Capitol "Lake" has filled in with sediment that would have naturally dispersed into the deeper waters of Budd Bay. There is currently a highly-eutrophic, carp-infested, milfoil-infested stagnant cesspool in the heart of the State Capital.

Restoring the estuarine functions of the mouth of the Deschutes would allow the Bay to resume relatively normal tidal flushing, establishment of estuarine vegetation and mudflats, and return of benthic, fish, and bird life to a living estuary.

State and county entities are spending millions of dollars to restore a few acres here and a few acres there of formerly-diked estuary. These are the most productive natural habitats on the coast, and have been reduced to a remnant of their former size and biological potential. A large portion of the ruined Deschutes estuary could be restored here, with much less cost and effort.

I, for one, would rather bird the estuary of the Deschutes river - watching scoters and horned grebes - than the polluted waters of Capitol Lake - watching domestic mallard hybrids (now that they've 'managed' the Canada geese away....).

After the study, it will be time to start the political process to make this restoration a reality!

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net
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