Dear tweets, I'd like to correct something Alan posted. I have never
seen signs on the southern end of Main Pond or along the eastern side
of the pond until now. On the contrary, the trail here used to be a
circular path all around the Main Pond and has been in use for at
least 25 years. Times change, though, and trails must sometimes
change, too. The two biggest changes at the Main Pond have been the
destruction of the cattails that used to rim the pond (a change caused
by encroaching purple loosestrife) and the subsequent succession of
willows and other invasive plants after the loosestrife was
controlled; and the gradual sinking of the land, which has increased
the size of the Main Pond. These changes have effectively eliminated
the circular path around the pond. Areas of mud that used to appear at
the north end of the pond no longer do so during spring migration. The
two big willow trees at the north end used to experience "dry feet"
for most of the year; now they are under water all the time and the
trees are dead snags.

Nature has thus altered the site in such a way that there is no longer
a birder's trail around the pond, so closing it to off-trail slogging
is a good idea. I had talked to Fred Hoyt, who supervises the site,
about maintaining birders' access to the eastern side of Main Pond,
and to the overlook that Alan mentions has been blocked off by the
recent planting of snowberries. At the time we talked, Fred expressed
some interest in perhaps creating a one-way "there and back" trail
along the eastern side of the pond because he knows this is good
habitat for many of the bird species we go to the Fill to see
(warblers, buntings, flycatchers, sparrows, longspurs, etc.). He told
me he hoped that if such a trail were to be made, that it would
discourage off-trail excursions because it wouldn't connect to any
other trail. I hope this is still a possibility. I know that UBNA's
recently adopted 10-year management plan calls for several new
boardwalk trails to be constructed, but given budget constraints,
these might be far off in the future.

Alan is correct that there have been signs posted in other parts of
the Fill asking people to stay on designated trails, and also asking
them to keep their dogs leashed. I'm guessing one reason why the signs
worked only partially is the wording. Designated trails is kind of
indefinite - the language could be interpreted to mean that a well-
trodden footpath is a trail. The new signs ask people to stay on the
gravel trails - much less ambiguous.

I agree that it's important to respect the wishes of the landowner.
However, in this case, the landowner is not a private entity. It is
the state. I think this presents different challenges for decision-
making and enforcement.

I know the UW Botanic Gardens faculty and staff have a lot of
responsibility to run the site for numerous users, including first of
all the students and faculty who use the place as an outdoor
laboratory. They must balance sometimes competing interests from other
university departments and the community. They are also charged with
preserving the habitat of the site. They haven't been given nearly
enough resources to do the things they would like into order to rid
the site of foreign plants, plant more natives, and increase public
access and awareness.

A lot of people use the Fill every day. It is a microcosm of the
challenges that face us globally when it comes to preserving habitat.
I, for one, will be very interested to see what the new signs produce.
- Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com
www.constancypress.com




On May 16, 2010, at 6:04 PM, pan wrote:

> Hi, all,
>
> The new signs at Seattle's Montlake Fill (east of the U. W. stadium)
> don't represent new policy. Identical (or nearly so) signs have
> regularly been posted there in an attempt to prevent social trails and
> habitat disturbance. (The Fill's social trails have come and gone and
> shifted location many times over the last couple of decades. Enough
> people leave the trail near the central pond to have killed some of
> the
> row of big snowberries -- and to form a new social trail around
> them --
> planted this winter to encourage people to stay on the trail.) The
> last
> of the previous generation of signs deteriorated about eight months
> ago.
> Managers told me then they'd prefer to have more and better signs, and
> no lapse without signs, but budget constraints limited them. (I
> presume
> the same could be said about enforcement.)
>
> Optics allow us to see and enjoy the birds of the Fill without leaving
> the gravel trail. Staying on trails is a compromise allowing
> thousands
> of people to enjoy the site and still have it be good habitat.
> Whatever
> our opinions about the policy, it comes to a component of birding
> ethics: respecting the wishes of the property owner granting access.
>
> Today's goodies included YELLOW and WILSON'S WARBLERS, WARBLING
> VIREOS,
> OSPREY, a soaring pair of COOPER'S HAWKS, and a soaring PEREGRINE
> FALCON. The blue camas have set seed.
>
> 16 May, 2010,
>
> Alan Grenon
> Seattle
> --
> pan
> panmail at fastmail.fm
>
> --
> http://www.fastmail.fm - Does exactly what it says on the tin
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters

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