I thought I would throw a couple of comments into this topic about the
breaching of dikes at Fir Island and the Skagit Wildlife Area. I too will
miss being able to walk the same trails and seeing some of the bird
species that frequent this area right now, but as avid of a bird watcher
as I have become, I am an even more avid supporter of taking steps to
help salmon species recover from their current plight. The decision to
breach dikes on Fir Island in order to add more tidal habitat for young
salmon seems easy to me. No bird species rely on the Skagit WMA for their
survival, but salmon that use the Skagit River have no choice to go
elsewhere to spend their critical young years while they make the
transition from freshwater to saltwater habitats.

Hopefully the WDFW can find a way to open trails on the remainder of
habitat at the Skagit WMA, and it will be really interesting in the
coming years following the breaching of the dikes to see how bird species
react and adapt as the area takes a step back to its natural state. To
me, this will make the Skagit WMA even more interesting in the coming years...

Rob

Rob McNair-Huff ---------- mailto:rob at whiterabbits.com
White Rabbit Publishing -- http://www.whiterabbits.com/
Mac Net Journal ---------- http://www.macnetjournal.com/
The Equinox Project ------ http://www.whiterabbits.com/weblog.html