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Current and upcoming projects
Shillapoo Wildlife Area Cleanup
We rallied at Fazio’s Ag shops off Lower River Road for our work party on Wednesday, June 16th, at the Shillapoo Wildlife Area. Sheet metal, rail road e posts, T‐posts and barbed wire fencing were uncovered from prescribed burning done recently. Our group cut and bundled wire, pulled posts and gathered the sheet metal onto trailers. It was good to see Shillapoo Wildlife Area Manager Daren Hauswald and his assistant Zack as we cleaned up the hunt area. Thanks to the LC Chapter members able make the work party: Ted Blade, Dino Mastri, Rick Sco , Al O’Connor, Bill Dose, Cliff Pepper, Dan Hafenbrack, Doug Hargin, Phil Proper and Hobie Herbert. We plan to have another work group later this summer to replace and add blinds (See story on our Access page).
Shillapoo Wildlife Area Blackberry Busters
In late August 2021, Bob Taylor, left in the orange shirt and Daren Hauswald (Shillapoo Wildlife Area Manager) on the right in green, both members of Washington Waterfowl Association, prepare to do some blackberry spraying. Bob volunteered to spray blackberries on Shillapoo Wildlife Area (SWA) in an area Daren has chosen along the north side of Bass Lake. After the blackberries are sprayed Daren will burn the bushes in October or November and seed the area to grass. Burning the blackberries will kill the berry seeds reducing the immediate resurgence of new bushes.
Fazio Brothers who own farmland adjacent to SWA, provide a parking area for WDFW equipment on their land which is a big plus for WDFW and Daren. Daren does not have to worry about vandalism and reduces some travel time.
Bob, who has a spraying license, is filling the 60-gallon tank on the John Deer ATV with water from the large yellow tank which has a Honda pump on the front of the tank platform. Pumping water from the tank reduces downtime. A garden hose is used to fill the large yellow tank during down time. The herbicide is in the plastic jugs sitting in the back of the ATV. Herbicide mixture is Triclopyr Amine Aminopyralid. After filling the tank Bob drives the ATV out to the SWA site. Bob has a smile on his face as he heads to the site because he gets to do some light, nonaggressive ATV driving (the fun part).
Bob is pouring the herbicide into a measuring container so he can get the correct quantity needed in the spray tank. Pictured is the Honda pump to draw the water out of the holding tank and a reel for the spraying hose by the holding tank.
Bob on site ready to spray.
Bob spraying the blackberries along Bass Lake, maintaining the required (or greater) buffer distance from the lake. Bob can change the setting on the nozzle from a pressure stream to fan spray. Usually takes around 1 hour to empty the tank.
Dead blackberry bushes a few days after Bob sprayed. Bass Lake is on the right and there is typically water in the lake during the late fall, winter, spring and early summer. Right now (August) the lake is largely a mudflat. Great location for winter and migrating waterfowl. Daren saw some wood ducks as we pulled up behind the ATV spray rig. We also saw two white pelicans circling above the site. Daren said he had been seeing flocks of a couple hundred for the last couple of weeks above the area. I saw a flock of 20 to 30 white pelicans on the south shore of Vancouver Lake after I left SWA.
Photograph down Bass Lake which is mostly a mudflat now. There is a small pond of water just visible at the east end of the lake. I am standing in grass, smart weed and begger’s tick. The smart weed and begger’s tick are just starting to bud out with flowers. On the left the tall brown vegetation is dead blackberries that Bob sprayed earlier. Where I am standing there is generally a couple of feet of standing water during the wet season. On the right there are large clumps of blackberries on the bank. These clumps of blackberries will be sprayed by a contract sprayer soon. WWA Lower Columbia Chapter provided the funding ($1,500) to pay the contractor. Daren has been using the contractor to spray blackberries in other areas on SWA this year and in past years.
Potholes Planting Project
TBD
Past Projects
Wood Duck Boxes
Most chapters place and monitor wood duck nest boxes and nesting tubes each year, usually in late winter. In the mid-2000's WWA obtained a grant from WDFW and now maintains a statewide wood duck nest box database. Anyone monitoring wood duck nest boxes can provide the data to WWA for inclusion in the statewide database. the best way to become involved in this program is to attend a local WWA Chapter meeting.
City Parks
In April 2023, WWA member Paul McGovern met with the City of Kenmore Parks Manager to discuss nesting boxes in the new kayak launch park, called
ƛ̕ax̌ʷadis (Tl' awh-ah-dees) on the Sammamish River Slough — Swamp Creek shoreline.(aerial view of the park is showing below)They’ve built an incredible new park that’s loaded with waterfowl. Shortly after opening Paul McGovern and member Patryk Kowlaski prominently installed two brand new wood duck nest boxes at the park in Kenmore with the WWA logo.
Samish Unit Blinds
In July of 2019 our NW chapter members constructed 2 new hunting blinds at the Skagit Wildlife Area Samish Unit East. The old blind was removed and volunteers rebuilt a 4’x8’ blind and brushed up the blind with camo materials. Materials were provided by the WWA NW Chapter and WDFW
Also in the summer of 2019, the NW chapter worked in conjunction with Boy Scout Troop 86 out of Stanwood to construct a new blind at the main Samish Unit. This blind was built in support of an “Eagle Scout” service project. The Eagle Scout candidate provided the planning and leadership necessary for project development.
The Blind was constructed adjacent to a large pond at the site. Materials for the blind were donated by Cascade Lumber of Camano Is. and the NW Chapter. The blind was completed in short order and decked out with a roof for those soggy days in the field. This project completed the final requirements for the scout candidates qualifications and he was awarded with Eagle Scout status soon after project completion.
Willapa Bay Eelgrass
WWA has worked for nearly three years to assure that state agencies understand the importance of Japanese eelgrass to waterfowl, particularly wigeon (see photo). As part of this effort, and at the urging of WWA, WDFW began waterfowl counts in Willapa Bay for the first time in many years, and WDFW and WWA have gathered all available historic waterfowl count data from the region to better understand changing duck population numbers in Willapa Bay. This data also will allow us to monitor the potential impacts of eelgrass spraying, over time. WWA understands and appreciates that the spraying of Imazamox likely will help commercial shellfish growers increase their production of, and profit from, manilla clams. Our concern is that widespread spraying of Japanese eelgrass could lead to noticable reductions in available waterfowl food (carrying capacity), particularly in Willapa Bay, but potentially in other estuarine areas of the state.