Subject: [Tweeters] Floodplain inundation
Date: Mar 19 12:42:55 2007
From: FLECKENSTEIN, JOHN - JOHN.FLECKENSTEIN at dnr.wa.gov


Scott et al,
I've got mixed emotions about this. Every habitat change brings some
benefit and some loss. Of course another industrial or residential
development benefits house sparrow, starlings, and not much else. But a
change like this benefits water birds and shore birds. And no matter
how put off you are by the salmon-centric nature of much coastal habitat
management, I think you'll have to admit that floodplain restoration is
a pretty important thing.

I also wonder about the ecological impact of an action versus the impact
on me, personally. When the new development goes in down the road, I'll
miss the birds that pass through my yard. And I'll miss the cat control
- err coyotes - that sometimes den there. But given that those folks
are going to build houses, is it better to have them within the area
that's already built up or outside town in an undeveloped area? The
first has a big personal effect; the second probably has a larger
ecological effect.

John Fleckenstein
Olympia

Message: 21
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 09:33:09 -0700
From: "Scott Atkinson" <scottratkinson at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Tweeters] Everett-to Marysville flood plain inundation
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Message-ID: <BAY117-F1717EB758F15330F9EC87FC9760 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Tweeters:

As on Fir Island, the dike-breaching effort is about to make its impact
felt
in a greater way southward--in Snohomish County. The dike-breachers are

about to inundate the heart of the Everett-Marysville CBC circle soon.
Word
has it that the Harnden Tree Farm (visible on right of I-5 heading
northbound, opposite the boats of Dagmar's Landing) and the Biringer
Farm
(also visible on right northbound on I-5 as you near the first
Marysville
exit) have both thrown in the towel under pressure, selling their
properties; just east, at the dead end of 12th Street SE (this is the
overpass right over I-5 from Dagmar's Landing just north of the Everett
STP), the property here (immediately northeast of the Everett STP) of
and
along Union Slough is to be flooded.

This is a real blow for a number of birds and other wildlife here.
Admittedly, the habitats are highly altered, heavy with non-native
vascular
flora, but the wildlife in the area is unmistakable. This last CBC
again
showed this is the best area for wintering sparrows in the count circle
(8
species, including 4 Swamp, 1 Harris', 35 Lincoln's and 257 Song
Sparrows),
raptors (the low ground north of the Everett STP produced, among others,
3
falcon sp including the CBC's first Gyrfalcon, along with roosting Barn
Owl
and a SE Owl), rails (including wintering Sora sometimes), and others.
N.
Goshawk, Snowy Owl, Golden Eagle and other goodies have shown in winter
here
as well.

Once the rodent and small-bird rich weedy scrub is eliminated, one has
to
expect a decline in raptors. If nearby Spencer Island is any clue,
expect a
decline too in the sparrows, especially Lincoln's; note too the loss of
walking access along the dikes compared to before the breaching. When
live
roost trees are killed by salt-water inundation, one would expect that
birds
reliant on those will disappear, such as roosting owls. One gets the
sense
that inundation will also be executed to the northeast, that is, right
below
Sunnyside Blvd, coming up close to the s.e. corner of Marysville.

One would think that birders above all would be following in this trend.
At
the very time when we are losing other terrestrial habitat at a meteoric

rate to residential development, especially in the lowlands of Snohomish

County, the loss of such areas is alarming to this observer.

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

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