The NW Chapter team made it happen again! The WWA NW Chapter hosted our annual cleanup at Smith Island in the Snohomish River delta on April 6th. A cool cloudy day and lucky for us the rain held off until we returned to the launch ramp. We met at the Ebey Waterfront Park in Marysville and at the WDFW Private lands Kayak launch. Boats cruised to the area by way of Ebey and Union Sloughs. Plenty of trash everywhere. We had five boats and walkers on the dike. WDFW Private Lands Access Program Biologist Brandon Roozen was on site with a large dump trailer for haul out of the trash. Thanks to Tom Elliott for coordinating the cleanup event. Special thanks to Brandon Roozen (WDFW) for bringing the dump trailer and hauling out all the trash.

Nice work NW Chapter!! From left to right: Andrew and Nicole Wyman, Rick Billieu, Sonya and Mark Behen,
Kaylah, Charlie and Matt Browder, Sid Logan, Tom and Susan (below) Elliot and Ben Mardis (not shown).

A sunny morning for the volunteers at our annual cleanup of the Skagit Wildlife Areas Samish Unit on March 22nd. Volunteers from the NW Chapter started the morning with a big breakfast, all cooked by Matt Browder then swept through all areas of the unit including the 12 Blinds. We collected plenty of trash, shells (spent and un-spent), skads of wads, beer cans, bottles, old decoys and you name it all discarded. Drainage of the unit by WDFW personnel was under way but heavy rains during the prior week keep plenty of water in the unit. We did an assessment of the blind conditions and made a plan to return in August for some needed repairs.

Thanks to these volunteers for their outstanding level of effort supporting this yearly cleanup effort!

Joe Molitor, Jeff Haskins, Matt, Kaylah & Charlie Browder, Ed Farry, Ken Miller, Mark & Sonja Behen, Rick Billieu, Andrew Wyman and Wes McWilliams

By Bruce Feagan

On March 12, 2025, Moses Lake Chapter volunteers gathered for their annual litter cleanup at two boat ramps on Potholes Reservoir. Their efforts help protect vital waterfowl habitat by keeping these areas clean and safe.

This year’s team—David and Debbie Allen, Fritz Kiemle, Todd Teeters, Marc Bruno, Col. Tom O’Dell,Marvin Leahey, Tom Castle, Mark Olmsted, Greg Baltzell, Dan Brown, and myself—worked together to remove a surprising amount of trash, including an RV awning that had to be cut into pieces to haul away.

A special thanks to Greg Baltzell, who transported the collected debris to the dump and covered the disposal fee. Dedicated volunteers like him make these conservation efforts possible.

Their commitment ensures that Potholes Reservoir remains a healthy habitat for waterfowl and an enjoyable space for all who visit

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, railroad 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).

In late August 2021, Bob Taylor, and Daren Hauswald (Shillapoo Wildlife Area Manager), 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 Taylor, left in the orange shirt and Daren Hauswald (Shillapoo Wildlife Area Manager) on the right in green.

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 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.

In 2011, commercial shellfish growers in Willapa Bay successfully lobbied the Pacific County Noxious Weed Control Board to get Japanese eelgrass (Zostera japonica) listed as a noxious weed in the county. In 2012 the County listing was broadened to statewide by the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. These weed listings were sought in concert with application by commercial shellfish growers for a licence to spray the herbicide Imazamox on Japanese eelgrass in their clambeds, where it has become a nuisance, making difficult the harvest of imported manilla clams. It currently appears a permit will be provied by the Washington State Department of Ecology for the spraying of Imazamox on commercial clamshell beds only.

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.

Our thanks go to member Ross Barkhust for his years of observation and knowledge of eelgrass and waterfowl in Willapa Bay and his strong support of WWA and its goals.