Chapter

5

Wetlands

Section 1

Food Store

for the

Web of Life

ByChristopherDunagan

Atthe edge of the Theler Wetlands, a grove of skinny aldertrees stood dripping in the coldJanuary rain. The soft soundsof a million raindrops muffledother noises, such as the slosh

of footsteps through an inch of standingwater.

In the distance, out beyond acres ofbrown, dormant marsh grass, stood HoodCanal, shrouded in the misty rain. Its stonygray color matched the monochromesky,making it impossible to distinguish onefrom the other.

Protecting theTheler -wetlands,bequeathed to thecommunity of Belfair,is oneof themost significant wetlandsprojects in thestaleof Washington.

Within these shallows — somewhere

between the skinny alders and Lynch Cove— lies the innermost point of Hood Canal,some 63 miles from the entrance.

Hundreds of species, from ants tootters, from wild rose to willows, maketheir home in and around this place wherefreshwater flows into saltwater, forming themost productive type of ecosystem known tothe planet.

"When I first came down here, all I saw

was brown grass," said Jerry Walker,sloshing quickly away from the alder grove."It didn't mean a thing to me."

•44*

Walker, a volunteer for Theler Community Center, wanted to find some use forthe apparent wasteland. He sought the helpof biologists and wetlands experts.

"As I saw it through the eyes of otherpeople," said Walker, "I gained furtherinsight. It wasn't long before I realized wehad a real treasure."

Like other wetlands in

Hood Canal, Belfair'swetlands might have beenfilled and used for other

purposes. Not far from town,waterfront housing developments displaced saltwatermarshes adjacent to BigMission Creek and Little

Mission Creek, says localhistorian Irene Davis. Even

Belfair State Park was built

largely on fill,she said.Elsewhere in Puget

Sound and throughout thenation, wetlands have beenfilled,drained and pollutedas long as man has been onthe scene, said Brian Lynn ofthe state Department ofEcology.People simplybelieved they had no value intheir natural state.

A century ago, thedirector of the American

Health Association proposedeliminating all wetlandseverywhere. He claimed theywere a source of disease.

Until the 1970s, federalpolicy encouraged fillingwetlands for farming andother economic development.

It's no wonder that more than half the

nation's wetlands and more than a third of

the state's wetlands no longer exist, according to estimates by the U.S.Fish and WildlifeService.

Hood Canal may have fared somewhatbetter, experts say, though nobody hasestimated the exact loss.

From his vantage point in the marsh,Walker pointed toward the sky.

"Those are brant geese flying there," hesaid. 'They are making their home in thelittle slough (on the property)."

Walker learned to observe wildlife

from individuals he has brought to the

marsh. One day, a professor and a graduatestudent gave him a tip on bird watching.

"I had seen maybe three birds," saidWalker, "and I asked them how many theyhad seen. One had seen 19 and the other 17.1

said, 'How do you do that?' and they saidyou have to stand still and let the birds cometo you."

Naturalists coming toLynch Cove have listednearly 100species of birds inand around the marsh.

Walker's own time has

focused on attracting attention to this place, a place thatgoes unnoticed by hundredsof people driving throughBelfairevery day. The fewirregular trails are too fragilefor unlimited visitors, butWalker intends to changethat. Under his leadership,the community has receiveda series of state grants thatmay establish the community-owned site as one of theNorthwest's premier wetlandnature centers.

Plans call for combin

ing the community's 72 acresof wetlands with 63 acres of

state land along the UnionRiver. Together, the naturepreserve will represent threeof the five major wetlandtypes. It's as if NisquallyDelta and Padilla Bay, two ofWashington's best knownnature preserves, wereconcentrated in one small

spot, says Walker.In terms of wetland values, Hood

Canal is no longer pristine, but it has faredbetter than many places. Wetlands at themouth of Seattle's Duwamish River and

along Tacoma's Puyallup River are close to100percent destroyed, mainly due toindustrial development.

Early settlers often diked and drainedestuaries to provide flat, fertile ground forfarming. The Nisqually River near Olympialost about 28 percent of its function that way.In Hood Canal, about 33 percent of theSkokomish River wetlands were converted

for farming.Major deltas on the western shore of

Hood Canal — the Dosewallips, Quilcene

ThelerWetlands

The North MasonSchool District has

madeenvironmental

study in the ThelerWetlands, deeded

to the Belfaircommunity inthel960s by

Samuel Theler, anintegral part of its

curriculum.

Wetlands • 45

Experts say asalt marsh can

produce morebiomass (plantmaterial) peracre than a

tropical rainforest, twice as

much as an

upland forest.

46 • The Ecosystem

Estuarine

wetlands are

the most oftenimpacted bydevelopment,but the least

often replaced.— Michael Rylko,

EPA

and Duckabush rivers, for example — werediked and drained to varying degrees.

The Lynch Cove estuary also wasdiked about 1890, but the longest dike wasnot maintained, and saltwater has returnedto much of the original estuarine wetland.

According to Walker, ongoing farmsprovide clues to the colorful history of the

region and he's not particularly eager to seethe existing dikes removed.

An operating farm next door to thecommunity's wetlands makes a pretty goodneighbor, said Walker. Some birds, such asCanada geese, even prefer the open fields tothe more natural wetlands.

For visitors, "the farm gives a contrast

Lynch Cove Wetlands to be Preserved

T^ elfair's soggy back yard, once six years to design and test its newW^ considered aworthless piece of real approach to education, but nearly everymJ estate, ishelping the community student already has visited the wetlandsforge a new identity around an environ at least once, said Pickel.mental ethic. Gary Seelig,a third-grade teacher at

"This has become the key wetlands BelfairElementary, says his studentsproject for the state," says Jerry Walker, focus on the subjectof salmon, amongwith no hint of overstatement. "Virtually other things. Sciencewill teach themall the natural resource agencies have about the biologyand ecologyof fish,hegotten involved." said. "Butwe're also writing about them

Walker is director of the Hood in English and learning about them inCanal Wetlands Project,an environmental social studies."

education program that promises to turn This integration of a topic throughthe Lynch Cove wetlands into a new all the subjects taught is a key concept innature center, complete with a trail North Mason's new curriculum.

system and classroom complex. BelfairElementary is privileged toBut the wetlands have taken on an have a stream running through its

even greater meaning as they become a schoolyard, a stream that eventually spillssymbol for environmental awareness in out into the wetlands. Seelig hopes one ofthe community, said Marie Pickel, his future classes can restore a salmon run

superintendent of the North Mason in the stream.

School District. Meanwhile, North Mason's SandIn 1990, the district was invited to Hill Elementary School already is raising

become part of an exclusive project chum salmon and was to begin releasesknown as Schools for the 21st Century. A into the Union River in 1991.

state grant of $600,000 will help the little At North Mason High School,district design a new curriculum that will students are advanced enough to do basicprepare students to live in the next research on plant and animal life in thecentury. wetlands, said biology teacher Karen

When North Mason first applied for Lippy.thegrant in i988, proposing some innova In addition to producing an inventive ideas for incorporation into the tory of the plants and animals in thedistrict curriculum, application was marsh — an important contribution to thedenied. The second time around, the future nature center — some students are

wetlands were brought into the picture. doing "four-season" studies of small areasThe district proposed incorporating the they picked out themselves, areas thatwetlands into studies at every grade level. may change dramatically when spring

"The environmental issue was the arrives, said Lippy.trigger that has gotten us going," said Thanks to a grant from the PugetPickel. "The other things we already Sound Water Quality Authority, the highknew and were incorporating them bit by school students have been working in thebit." marsh alongside students from The

The $600,000 grant gives the district EvergreenStateCollege, who are con-

to show that's the way we used to do it," henoted.

Ecologists say wetlands are a criticallink in the food chain for many fish andwildlife. State officials list more than 175

important wildlife species that use wetlandsfor primary feeding habitat and more than140species that use wetlands for primary

ducting formal inventories."It is really unusual that a school

district can own a piece of property sovaluable and so close," said Lippy.

North Mason School District has

agreed to share the use of its wetlandswith school districts in KitsapandJefferson counties. About 52,000 studentsare within a 40-minute bus ride of the

wetlands.

Walker, who moved to Hood Canalin his retirement, got involved in thewetlands project in 1988 when an openingwas announced for the board of directors

at Theler Community Center, whichoversees the wetlands. He soon found

himself involved in discussions about

what to do about the property deeded tothe community by Samuel Theler some 20years before.

In the late 1970s, the board hadproposed filling the wetlands to createballfields, but state and federal officialswere beginning to restrict wetland fill. ButWalker had a grander vision for whatcould be done, based on nature centerssuch as the Nisqually Delta near Olympia.Since1988, he has worked steadily andwithout pay to develop that vision intoreality. The success that Walker and hisfellow volunteers have experienced isnothing short of amazing.

The group commissioned development of a master plan with a grant fromthe Department of Ecology. The plan callsfor a series of trails throughout thewetlands. In more fragile areas, boardwalks and bridges will be used to avoidimpacts to the fragile wetland. Aneducation center with exhibit areas,classrooms and offices is also proposed.

The sudden recognition by numerous state officials has Walker, schoolpersonnel and many North Masonresidents riding a wave of enthusiasm as

breeding habitat.Waterfowlare dependent on wetlands

for nesting, food and cover. Many species offish spawn in freshwater wetlands. Juvenilemarine fish avoid predators by hiding inshallow saltwater marshes.

Experts say a salt marsh can producemore biomass (plant material) per acre than

they realize their wetlands are notwastelands at all, but rather wonderlandsof nature.

"There's a feeling of satisfaction, aswell as surprise," said Walker, "that somuch attention has been drawn to this."

ByChristopher Dunagan

Wetlands • 47

Theler Wetland Master Plan

1 he Theler Wetlands Master

Plan would give the publicextensive access to the mouth

of the Union River where it

empties into Hood Canal. Theplan features nature trails,interpretive displays andviewing platforms for thestudy supportedof estuarine life. trail

Boardwalk/wood chip trail

Highway3

48 • The Ecosystem

a tropical rain forest, twice as much as anupland forest.

More than 150kinds of plants havebeen identified at the Theler wetlands next to

Belfair. Dozens of insect species feed on theplants and each other. The insects, in turn,become food for larger creatures.

"Some people say the plants in a saltmarsh are far more valuable after they aredead," said Lynn of Ecology.

Bacteriaand fungi go to work on thedead plants, turning them into material thatis consumed by worms, which are eatenbybirds and fish, for example. Decaying plantsalso provide nutrients for plankton,whichare consumed by fish, shrimp and oysters.

"Ifyou dig into the mud, you will findworms, shrimp, crabs...,"said Lynn. 'Thevalue of a salt marsh is buried in the stinkymud flats, and that is one reason nobody everthought much of them."

In addition to wildlife values, wetlandsmaintain water quality by trapping sediments and filteringout pollutants. Wide riverdeltas that have not been channeled for

agriculture, as wellas many upland marshes,can hold an incredible amount of stormwater,

thus reducing the level of flooding.Wetlands can reduce erosion from

waves, wind and river currents. Studies haveshown that coastal wetlands, such as thosearound Hood Canal, absorb the energy ofstorms and protect upland areas. Propertyowners who insist on replacing their wetland

beaches with concrete or wooden bulkheads

tend to transfer this violent energy toneighboring properties.

'The bottom line in ecosystems is thatnothing is isolated," says Linda Kunze, awetlands specialist with the state Department of Natural Resources. "We human

beings tend to think of ourselves as separatefrom the ecosystem. But what we do affectsthe entire ecosystem — including ourselves.

"It seems to me," she added, "that thepeople who live around Hood Canal arestarting to think that way, and I'm veryencouraged and excited by that."

Some wetlands around Hood Canal

remain largely untouched. An estuary atFoulweather Bluff near Hansville has been

protected by the Nature Conservancy as wellas private property owners. Some areas havesimply escaped development until recentyears when government began to play astronger role in protecting wetlands.

On the North Shore of Hood Canal, notfar from Belfair, the Hood Canal Land Trustis protectingother valuable wetlands undera philosophy of preservation, as opposed tothe goal of encouraging visitors.

Walker's footsteps squished over dampleaves as he entered a flat, grassy meadow.

"Some people tell us there was once afarm here," he said. No remnants of anybuildings remain, but the site has beenproposed for a future interpretive center,including officesand classrooms.

piky, wooden poles poke upthrough the shiny ice at Lilliwaupwetlands as if planted by somecrazed power company employee inthe middle of a pond in the middleof a marsh, miles from civilization.

This is not the work of a person at all,

but of another creature known for its

engineering ability. A huge mound of sticksnearby marked the home of Castor canadensis,the beaver.

On this frosty morning in January, nobeavers were in sight. But Jerry Gorsline, abiologist with Washington Environmental

Wetiands • 49

Section 2

Nature's

Purification

System

ByChristopherDunagan

Freslrwater wetlands,

likethis beaver pondnear Lilliwaup, performimportant waterpurification, stream flowregulation and wildlifesanctuaryroles.

50 • The Ecosystem

Beaver dams

are one ofnature'swaysof creatingawetland. It is

illegal todestroy a

beaver dam

without a

permit fromthe state

Department ofWildlife.

Council, stood upon their stout dam andexplained how beavers, like man, alter theirhabitat to suit their own needs.

Gorsline'swords were accented by a"hack,hack,hack..." sound comingout ofthe woods. A downy woodpecker's hammering echoed in the hills as the birdsearched for bugs in a dead tree.

Time and evolution have made the

beaver an integral part of the wetlandecosystem, creating habitat not only for itselfbut for birds, fish and other wildlife, saidGorsline.

The beaver had dammed this tinystream, a tributary to Lilliwaup Creek on theeastern side of Hood Canal. Water behind

the mud-packed beaver pond had drownedthe roots of the alders, but now some birdsand animals were finding the trees morevaluable dead than alive.

"People say that's terrible, beaverskilling trees," said Gorsline. "Beavers havetraditionally been regarded as enemies, butthat attitude is turning around."

Beaverponds provide wintering areasfor salmon and trout. In fact, more than halfof all fishsold commercially in the PugetSound region rely on wetlands for someportion of their life cycle.

The frozen beaver pond is one ofseveral such ponds around Saddle Mountain, north of LakeCushman. But it's not justthe beavers that make this place valuable.

Gorsline and his associate, CarolBernthal, have documented dozens ofunique plant and animal communitiesspread out over 6,000 acres around SaddleMountain. They are doing their best toconvince the state to protect the area as anatural preserve.

The area is home to migratory andresident elk herds, numerous waterfowl andseveral sensitive plant and animal species,they say.

"If you wander off," said Gorsline,"you will find yourself in a vast mosaic ofwetlands and forests, thousands of acres."

Gorsline and Bernthal have petitionedthe Department of Natural Resources, whichmanages the land, to avoid harvestingtimber in the wetlands and connectingforests and to limit logging activities in otherparts of the 6,000-acrearea.

'This type of wetland ecosystem isreally, really rare," said Bernthal. 'There isnot much left like this in the Puget Soundlowlands."

Before the arrival of civilization, anunlimited mosaic of wetlandswas spreadthroughout the Hood Canal watershed.Where the topography and soils wereright,fresh waterformed pondsnaturally. In otherplacesbeaver dams helped slow the movement of freshwater back to the ocean.

But that was another time, almostforgotten now.

To early trappers, beaver pelts weremore valuable than beavers.To earlyloggers,free-flowing streams were morevaluablethan beaverdams. To early farmers,dry land was more valuable than wildlifehabitat.

What remains of the wetland mosaic

today can be found in undeveloped regions,suchas theTahuya-Dewatto riverdrainagesin Southwest Kitsap County. But the land isfragmented by multipleownerships, andeach owner has plans for his own particularpiece of land. Freshwater wetlands still existthroughout the Hood Canal area, but it's as ifpiecesof the puzzle are missing.

Thafs why it is so important topreserve the largest areas still remaining,such as the proposed Lilliwaup Wetland/Wildlife Area, argue Gorsline and Bernthal.

Arden Olson,division manager forDNR's Land and Water Conservation

Division, said his agency is considering theWashington Environmental Council'snomination, submitted by the two biologists.

Some or all of the area could be taken

out of timber status and listed as a "natural

resource conservation area," he said. Sincethe land belongs to the state's school trustfund, the schoolswould have to be compensated with other land or money, he said.Somefunding sourcesexist,but they arevery limited.

"We have a real interest in not impacting the wetlands in that area," said Olson.But how much of the area might be preserved has not yet been determined.

In addition to unusual swamps, bogsand near-pristine lakes, the Lilliwaup areacontains a few scientific oddities.

"This area," said Gorsline, standingnext to a frozen, shallow pond, "is incrediblydry throughout most of the year."

In fact, he added, the area is so dry thatfew plants will grow, except Columbiasedge, a prairie-type plant rarely seen on thewest side of the Cascade Mountains.

At the water's edge, long strings oflichen hang from a tree like green spider

webs mussed by the wind. Mounds of crustyearth push up through the ice,probably asthey did a million years ago. To form thiswetland/prairie requires just the right soiland groundwater conditions, according toGorsline.

"A forester who doesn't relate to visual

clues such as this would take one look at this

place and say it isn't awetland at all because it is so

dry throughout much of theyear," he said.

Clarence Martin of Port

Orchard, a member of KitsapAudubon, spent much of lastsummer in the Lilliwaupwetland area. He and his

wife, Dorothy, recordedhundreds of species to assistwith the nomination.

"She (Dorothy) recorded everything, plants,insects, animals, birds," saidMartin. "We lived in the back

of a truck and moved around

a lot. A neighbor loaned us abrand new canoe and we

explored all over. It's abeautiful area."

Price Lake, five acres insize, is the largest lake in the6,000-acres of state land.Ducks fly into the lake allwinter.

At Melbourne Lake,several golden eyes —saltwater ducks — were

swimming in an unfrozenpart of the lake.

'They will breed andnest here," explainedGorsline.

At Osborne Lake, something triggeredGorsline's enthusiasm. He pointed first toone plant, a dryland species calledkinnikinnick, and then to a sedge at thelake's edge.

"This is the only place I can think ofwhere you have such a range of plantdiversity in a 10-foot distance," he said.

Nelsa Buckingham, a leading expert onOlympic Peninsula plantlife, says theLilliwaup area includes an array of "unusualhabitats," including some rare plants, but itis typical of wetlands before the arrival ofwhite man.

to Western Washington as well as some thathave been imported from other continents.Even an untrained eye notices that nativeplants seem to speak in softer, milder tones,as if an artist had painted the landscape withno dominant elements.

If people are careful — if they wash thebottom of their boats and keep their cars

back from the water's edge— this area may avoid aninvasion of loud, harsh,obtrusive plants such asscotchbroom, which can out-compete the natives forspace, said Gorsline.

"We should think

about directing recreationaluses so as not to introduce

exotic plants," he said.A dozen years ago,

when the Lilliwaup propertywas owned by SimpsonTimber Co., several dilapidated cabins were still

standing near Price Lake. Butthose cabins were removed

after the state traded forest

lands for the property, saidBernthal.

Still, lots of peoplecome to the area to camp inthe summer. In the winter

months, the gates are lockedto protect elk herds that mustconserve their energy tosurvive the colder weather.

Non-migrating elk aredependent on the area bothwinter and summer. Migratory elk move to the higheralpine areas in the summer.

"Forage and cover arethe primary factors that limit deer and elkpopulations, and the health of the herd isdependent on the availability and quality ofboth," said Bernthal.

Other animals known to use the

Lilliwaup area are bear, cougar, bobcat andnumerous small mammals as well as

amphibians and reptiles — the same animalsthat occupy other unpopulated regions ofHood Canal.

Red legged frogs, beavers and musk-rats are dependent on wetlands during allphases of their life cycle. Rough skinnednewt and many aquatic birds spend most of

LilliwaupWetlands

The extensivefreshwater

wetlands thatremain in the

Lilliwaup Riverbasin contain

unusual bogs andpristine lakes, andis homefor animals

rangingfromwinteringducks to

the endangeredfisher.

The area contains many plants native their lives in lakes or ponds but nest in the

Wetlands • 51

In addition to

unusual

swamps, bogsand near-

pristine lakes,the Lilliwaup

area contains a

few scientificoddities. One

is an area so

dry that fewplants will

grow, exceptColumbia

sedge,aprairie-typeplant rarelyseen on the

west side ofthe Cascade

Mountains.

52 • The Ecosystem

cavities of trees, such as those created bywoodpeckers.

Lilliwaup is the last known location onthe Olympic Peninsula for the endangeredfisher, a little weasel-like creature nowbelieved to be extinct throughout much of itsoriginal territory. According to Martin,wildlife experts have talked about reintroducing the fisher to the area by takinganimals from BritishColumbia, where theyare more common.

The greatest concern Gorsline andBernthal have is that the area will be loggedoff to bring income to the state. The trees arenow 60-70years old, the ideal time forharvest. DNR has invested money in fertilizing and thinning the trees, said Gorsline.

'They (DNR officials) are pretty much

driven by the need to produce income for thetrust," said Gorsline. "It's just outrageous thelack of protection these wetland areas have."

It appears unlikely that DNR will allowlogging to the edge of a lake or wetland, "butif that's all you have, you are leaving outmajor components of the ecosystem," saidBernthal.

She would prefer protecting the entirearea from one ridgetop to the next, but sherealizes that isn't realistic. Her proposal topreserve 6,000 acres would permit carefullyplanned logging uphill from the low-lyingwetlands.

But without state money to offset theloss of timber potential, Olson said, thefuture of the property remains unclear.

Celia Parrot keeps -watch over a -wetlandarea owned by the Hood Canal Land

Trust near Lynch Cove.

Theturnaround in governmentalattitude toward wetlands is trulyamazing, says Bob Wiltermood, aprivate wetlands consultant andconservation chairman for KitsapAudubon.

Folks like Wiltermood have alwaysunderstood the importance of wetlands, butit has only been recently that government —federal, state and local — has begun to insistthat property owners preserve the wetportions of their land.

Today, sensitive developers hireWiltermood and other biologists to preventdestruction of fragile wetlands. At the sametime, state and local officials are growingever more vigilant in their role of protectingnatural resources.

"Two years ago," said Wiltermood,"we were slamming the county for what washappening to the wetlands in Silverdale.Now, I think the county is doing a damngood job— and without even a wetlandsordinance."

Wiltermood offered his opinion duringan unofficial visit to one of Kitsap County'smost prized wetlands, the Foulweather BluffWildlife Preserve near Hansville. He was

joined at the saltwater estuary by Ron Fox, ahabitat biologist for the state Department ofWildlife.

"This is a fantastic place," saidWiltermood, looking through his binocularsat a widgeon, one of many types of ducksfound at the wetland.

The estuary has been preserved, thanks

Wetiands • 53

Section 3

Trying to

Save a

Valuable

Ecosystem

ByChristopherDunagan

54 • The Ecosystem

In terms ofwetland

values, HoodCanal is no

longerpristine,but it has fared

better than

many places.About 33

percentof theSkokomish

River wetlands

were converted

for farming.

to effortsof the Nature Conservancy andprivate property owners in the area.

Fox explained that hundreds of smallwetlands have been destroyed becauselandowners were able to convince government officials that their little wetland was

unimportant in the overallschemeof things." 'Small, isolated wetlands.' You hear

that term over and over," said Fox. "Well,they may be small and isolated, but thatcreatesdiversity of habitat. In ecology,everything is connected."

"You can even ask," injectedWiltermood,"whether there is such a thingas an isolated wetland."

Wetlands oncewere strung likepearlsthrough the creeks, streams and rivers ofHood Canal. Now, the strings are brokenand fragmented by development.Buttheyremain important islands of habitat — foodand shelter for a large number of species,said Wiltermood.

The losses make the remaining wetlands even more valuable because the

houses, roads and shopping centersbeingdeveloped cause more and faster runoff,saysJoy Michaud in her book "At Home withWetlands."

With development, she said, "we notonly create the need for more of the environmental functions of wetlands, we alsodestroy or damage the resources thatprovide those functions."

In addition to wildlife habitat, wetlands offer water filtration and purification,flood protection, shoreline stabilization andgroundwater recharge.

But state wetlands specialist BrianLynn warns that "not all wetlands performall those functions equally well. Some maybe great for flood storage without providinga lot of habitat. It's important to look at eachone individually."

Just 20 years ago, the Department ofAgriculture encouraged farmers to fill theirwetlands and grow crops to feed the world.Today, as a result of the state's new GrowthManagement Act, many of Washington'scounties are rapidly coming to grips withtheir role in protecting natural resources.

Washington's fastest growing countiesare now required to identify their resourcesand approve protection standards, includingprotections for wetlands.

Of the three Hood Canal counties —

Kitsap, Mason and Jefferson — MasonCounty could have opted out of the state'sprogram. But the county commissioners

actively entered the struggle to managegrowth, especially in the North Mason areawhere homes are rapidly going up nearHood Canal.

MasonCounty, which had practicallyno controls on development in 1989, hasimplemented a grading ordinance, strengthened shorelineregulationsand tackledlong-range planning, said Erik Fairchild, thecounty's planning coordinator.

'The North Mason Water QualityProtectionPlan has been adopted as part ofthe comprehensive plan," he noted, addingthat wetlands still don't have the protectiontheydeserve.But the county is attempting todeal with the problem through the newgrowth management effort.

None of the three Hood Canal counties

had a wetlands ordinance in 1991, such asone proposed by the state Department ofEcology.The model ordinance definescategories of wetlands and establishes non-development buffer zones,depending onlocal conditions. When impacts to wetlandscannot be avoided, the ordinance providesfor mitigation, such as creatingor enhancingan area larger than the wetlands beingdamaged. All three counties have receivedstate funding to develop their own wetlandsordinance along similar lines.

"The problem we have," said CraigWard, wetlands specialist for JeffersonCounty, "is that we have no way of definingwhether something is a wetland. We have noconsistent procedure for dealing with them."

Jefferson officials review maps developed by the Fish and Wildlife Service fromaerial photos, said Ward. They try to identifyand protect wetlands on a case-by-casebasis,but the maps are not always accurate. "Weacknowledge that what we have is inadequate," he said, adding that the countyshould have a stronger program readybefore long.

Kitsap County follows a similarprocess, but may have more staff to examineproposed development sites.

"I think Kitsap County has been realaggressive on wetlands over the last coupleof years," said Larry Ward, a Poulsbohomebuilder who works on growth issuesfor the Building Industry Association ofWashington. "I think they have been fairlyeffective.They have thwarted a number ofdevelopments that would have degradedwetlands."

Developers want predictable regulations but also must face the fact that every

new rule puts the price of a new home out ofreach for a few more people, said Ward, whois not related to Craig Ward.

"Wetlands are absolutely vital to HoodCanal," he said. "I want to keep it as pristineas it was when I got here, and I will standwith everyone else when the canal is threatened."

A few developers intentionally destroywetlands to avoid tangling with the regulations, he acknowledged, "and I think thatgovernment can and should come downhard against them."

But that's easier said than done.

It's up to counties to enforce Gov.Booth Gardner's policy calling for "no netloss of wetlands," but there are only general

laws not specifically designed to protect thefunction of wetlands.

The federal Clean Water Act and state

Shorelines Management Act, for example,have numerous exemptions for small, inlandwetlands. Only about 10 percent of the 2,000acres of wetlands lost every year in Washington state are subject to federal regulations,according to Michael Rylko of the Environmental Protection Agency.

And state shoreline rules don't applyto most smaller streams. Clear Creek, which

is associated with wetlands in Silverdale's

urban area, is too small to fall under shorelines jurisdiction, said Renee Beam, KitsapCounty's shorelines manager. A shorelinespermit is required for developments within

Wetlands • 55

Wetlands of Hood CanalUnspoiled Wetlands Are A Key Component In The Survival Of Hood Canal

Key

Selected

Hood Canal

Wetlands

Hamma Hamma

River

Delta

LilliwaupSwamp

V

Skokomish River Delta

Source:

PugetSoundCooperativeRiver Basi/i Team

Squamish Harbor

LakeLeland//* Tarboo BayClu Thorndrt

Bay

Lower Hood Canal Watershed 1990

JLj achwetland has its

own plant andanimal community

uniquely suited to localconditions. Saltwater marshes are

formed at the mouths of most rivers and

streams. Fresh water marshes result from

particular soil and drainage patterns.

56 • The Ecosystem

250 feet of Hood Canal's major rivers, butnot generally the creeks and streams, shesaid.

State fisheries and wildlife experts canhelp the counties identify wetlands thatweren't noticed before, but their role isstrictly to protect fish.

"We don't really stop anything," saidFox, who is in charge of the permits for theWildlife Department. "We just try to mitigate damage and prevent loss of fish habitat."

So it falls to the counties to imposerestrictions on specific developments,something not always easy to do, despite theno-net-loss mandate.

The situation should become more

predictable when the counties classify theirmost important wetlands and adopt newprotection rules, said Larry Ward.

The state also recognizes the importance of purchasing wetlands. Money hasbeen approved for purchasing and preserving valuable wetlands, and various taxincentives are available for individuals

willing to protect privately owned wetlands."One of the worst things we face," said

Fox, "is when you're called out to a site andthe place is stripped bare. Then someonesays, 'Oh, we have a wetlands?' That is mostdepressing."

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