Greetings, Tweets.



While recovering from a triple-bypass heart surgery, Paul Dye,
legendary and world-renowned waterfowl aficionado and breeder died very
unexpectedly late Monday afternoon. Paul successfully and passionately
bridged the gaps between the waterfowl hunting and non-hunting
communities. With his wonderful buoyant personality and boundless
energy, Paul seemed to be a good friend of everyone he knew.



Many of you know Paul, who has been a solid fixture in the Seattle area
conservation community for 35 years. He was one of a very small group
of local conservationists, Audubon members, waterfowlers and a
legislative lobbyist who banded together as The Snohomish Wetlands
Alliance in the 1980's, and are responsible for selection and public
purchase of Spencer Island and a large chunk of the rest of the
Snohomish River Estuary.



He was an absolute expert on the lives of native waterfowl and grouse
and lavished attention on his birds. Building on the knowledge he
gained from Chuck Pilling and others, he has pioneered methods for
breeding threatened and endangered wildfowl. Paul was always careful to
point out that his skills originated on the foundation built by the
knowledge and generosity of his friends and associates. He leaves
behind his lovely wife, Lynn and his beloved breeding "collection" of
more than 600 captive native waterfowl and a few upland birds comprising
more than 55 species.



His 20 acre Northwest Wildfowl Farm is located on Lake Cassidy near Lake
Stevens and Marysville adjacent to the 160 acre Washington State Fish
and Wildlife Corson Wildlife property which Paul donated years ago.
Many of you have visited the property on Paul and Lynn's yearly
springtime pre breeding season tours for Auduboners and others. He was
particularly excited about the dozens of flying squirrels on the Corson
property and has maintained nesting boxes for years.



Paul's death has caught us all by surprise and Lynn will have to sort
our options for the future of the farm now that the dynamo expert is
gone. There are volunteer opportunities for those of you who have
interest in native waterfowl and habitat. You can contact us at our
private email address: smithsnoh at aol.com.



Darrell (and Lorna) Smith