Allyn:

In this case I think it is silly to promote the recovery of a single species
at the expense of many others, and with corresponding loss of access to
public lands in a territory already short of good accesses. Further, one
has to ask what the likely salmon gain will be given the cost on all other
fronts. I've heard that Canadian studies of similar breaching/reclamation
wetlands have shown limited results for salmon gain without provision for
predator control (including birds) in new wetlands. Further, these are
lands that are PUBLIC, purchased and maintained through the years with
public funds for a variety of interests, not the domain of a single special
interest group.

I'm not aware that birder presence at the Skagit WMA has had any negative
impact on "sensitive species", I'd be interested to know which one(s) you
have in mind, Allyn. Shrubby/weedy areas at the Skagit WMA did increase
with the dike system, and--imagine this--the evil humans' changes vastly
enhanced bird diversity as a result!

Salmon, to the best of my knowledge, Allyn, do not interact with Spotted
Owls. If the last two seasons are any clue, Chinook salmon already appear
to be in the midst of a dramatic recovery; Bald Eagles are already common
in the area.

As a final point, birders may be interested to know that the same lobby
wanting to breach the Skagit WMA dikes wants to "take back" adjacent
farmland also through a purchase-and-convert to wetlands program. Other
than very high cost, more excellent bird habitat will be forfeit, in this
case for raptors and other species that utilize the open spaces, such as
roosting shorebirds. Oh well--I guess now that we want salmon recovery,
nothing else matters....

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com




>From: Allyn Weaks <allyn. at tardigrade.net>
>Reply-To: allyn. at tardigrade.net
>To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>Subject: Re: News flash: F & W wants to breach Skagit WMA dikes
>Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 19:13:47 -0700
>
>On 5/9/2003, Scott Atkinson wrote:
> >Look out, Skagit WMA birding fans!
> >
> >The Dept. of Fish & Game and the Swinomish Tribe are promoting a plan to
> >breach the dike that forms the loop trail from the boat launch parking
>lot
> >to the parking lot by the bathrooms at the Skagit WMA main access (aka
> >headquarters, off Wylie Rd). This would cause the weedy fields and scrub
> >area between the dikes to be flooded by salt water inundation/incoming
> >tides. The idea is to promote chinook salmon habitat restoration, a
>worthy
> >cause no doubt, specifically to link up Wylie Slough to the Skagit River.
> >Word has it that when the dike was built, it ruined salmon breeding
>habitat
> >in Wylie Slough.
>
>Wonderful! I hope them every success. I find it peculiar that people
>who proclaim to love birds would be so upset by habitat restoration.
>Yes, the species in that area will change--back to what should be
>there. Yes, human access will be harder--but that's often better for
>the birds and other wildlife; they'll have a better chance to avoid
>disturbance, so sensitive species will have as good a chance as
>generalist species. Shrubby areas may be less common these days than
>50-100 years ago--but that kind of habitat is mostly a human construct
>in the first place in our region. Wetlands and estuaries are more
>natural, and far more endangered.
>
>Don't forget that improving salmon habitat increases salmon runs, and
>this is not only important to fishermen--it's crucial for forest
>health. The adult salmon literally fertilize the forest as their
>bodies are eaten and carried off by bears, eagles, etc. This is how
>and nitrogen, phosphorus, and many other nutrients come back from the
>sea, where otherwise many would be lost for geological time. Without
>healthy salmon runs, you'll have fewer eagles and spotted owls.
>
>So hooray for the breaching of the dikes!
>--
>Allyn Weaks allyn at tardigrade.net Seattle, WA Sunset zone 5
>Pacific NW Native Wildlife Gardening: http://www.tardigrade.org/natives/
>"The benefit of even limited monopolies is too doubtful, to be opposed
>to that of their general suppression." Thomas Jefferson

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