Earth Share of Washington

Staff Notes - September 2004

Monthly perspectives from Earth Share of Washington staff members on activities and trends.

Dear Reader:

The busy workplace giving season is upon us. As Earth Share of Washington's (ESW) Campaign Director, I will spend the next several months traveling throughout the Puget Sound inspiring employees at area workplaces to support ESW and the environment through their charitable giving programs.

In doing this, I have opportunities to speak to a wide range of audiences with the goal of connecting environmental support directly with people's health and quality of life. It is the link between a healthy environment and my health that motivates me to do this work, and I believe it is a compelling message to inspire awareness and appreciation in all of us.

Part of this message is also encouraging people to be active and enjoy Washington's outdoors. Getting outside and seeing what our natural environment offers our lives is a great way to motivate our caring and concern for its health. We look forward to reaching many people with our message for the first time, and to talking with those that continue to provide their support year after year.

- Ana Garzon, Campaign Director

Solutions are all about Connections

- submitted by Joelle Robinson from ESW organization Climate Solutions

Over 60 of the region's most active climate leaders have formed the Northwest Climate Connections project. Connections is a network of opportunity whose members are aware and engaged in the rapidly expanding movement for climate protection; part of the solution in their homes, workplaces, and communities, and a growing voice for responsible climate policy.

Of all the places on Earth, the Pacific Northwest poised to best demonstrate potential solutions, and how they help build stronger economies and healthier communities. This region has a tradition of renewable energy and efficiency investment, which includes an infrastructure of businesses, institutions, and public agencies that form the nucleus for a clean energy economy. The central feature of this new prosperity is the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources and efficient systems.

Much of this work is already under way. Thanks to the efforts of Northwest Energy Coalition and Northwest Energy Efficiency Council, over 2600 average megawatts of electricity has been saved in the last two decades, enough to power all of Idaho on a continuous basis. With strong leadership from the Renewable Northwest Project and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, renewable energy production and use is expanding rapidly. The Climate Trust and Seattle City light are pioneering market-based approaches to greenhouse gas reduction. Transportation Choices Coalition, Oregon Environmental Council and Tri-Met are developing innovative ways to reduce car trips and Mt Hood Meadows is "Keeping Winter Cool" with renewable energy. And the list goes on and on.

These organizations, not content to rest on their laurels, formed Northwest Climate Connections. This is a project of Climate Solutions, a state leader is practical and profitable solutions to global warming. The Connections project aims connect those solutions and their sponsors into a winning constituency for the policy and economic changes needed in order to stabilize the climate. Climate change may well be this generation's defining challenge. It's clearly more than any one organization can handle. That's why it's so important that those who are committed to solutions connect.

To learn more about Climate Solutions and the Northwest Climate Connections Project, please visit their website: www.climatesolutions.org.

Neighbors Helping Each Other and Puget Sound

- by Daoud Miller, ShoreWatch Coordinator, People For Puget Sound

Pat Collier shared her beautiful waterfront property on Maury Island with four-dozen 4th-graders in May; and she received some very helpful weeding and watering in exchange. Georgia Hartness' and Mary Heath's classes from Chautauqua Elementary School on Vashon Island visited Pat's place twice in July. The children heard how Pat is removing fields of invasive blackberry and ivy and restoring native plants to her upland property, creating habitat essential for a healthy nearshore environments.

The theme for the class was "Bugs are an important part of the food web." Through several activities and games, the 4th-graders learned that replacing a monoculture of non-native plants like blackberries with a diversity of native plants creates habitat for a variety of terrestrial insects. Pat pointed out the bird box in the middle of her newly restored field of native plants and the pair of violet-green swallows catching insects to feed their baby birds in the box. ShoreWatch program coordinators Mary Beth Dols and Daoud Miller told the classes, "Terrestrial insects are food for a complex web of animals, including as much as 50% of the diet of juvenile salmon foraging in nearshore waters."

Georgia's class was able to explore marine life on the beach during a low tide; and Mary's class played a game demonstrating how insects are an essential part of the food web supporting the lives of salmon and orca whales. The 4th-graders then assisted Pat with the ongoing care of her restoration area by weeding and watering the new plants.

The educational work parties were funded by a "Splash" grant from King County and were in alignment with Chautauqua School's mission "to foster a partnership between students, staff, parents, and the larger community and to teach and practice the principles of respect and responsibility." Teacher Mary Heath exclaimed, "Thank you for a very fun learning day at Pat Collier's. I love everything we've done with People For Puget Sound; you are so organized and professional and good with kids!"

Pat said that she would love to have more educational and involvement programs at her place on Maury Island. "The more children and adults learn about the restoration and care of native habitats in the nearshore environment, the better it is for salmon and animals in Puget Sound."

A Red-tailed Hawk Returns Home

- submitted and authored by PAWS Wildlife naturalist Kevin Mack

On July 22nd, 2004, a Red-tailed Hawk sat timidly at the back of a transport carrier and stared out at the world through an open door. Just a few seconds earlier, that door had been closed, and the hawk had been doing his best to force his way through it to the freedom beyond. The appearance of a human in front of the door had made him less certain about exiting, and he was now torn between his desire to break free and his fear of the being that had opened the door to allow him to do so. His fear was well founded; he had been held captive by humans for nearly two months, and he had no understanding of the reason for his temporary imprisonment. But now, with no physical barriers to contain him, only his own mental barrier was keeping him in captivity. I sat patiently and waited for the hawk's desire for freedom to overcome his fear of stepping through the open door.

Like so many of our patients, the story of this hawk's admission to PAWS starts on the shoulder of a road. On May 30th, a man driving through Olympia spotted the hawk lying alongside the highway, and took him to the Tacoma Animal Emergency Clinic. The next day, the hawk was transferred to PAWS Wildlife Center and entered into our database as Red-tailed Hawk 04-1621.

Hawk 04-1621 had suffered a fractured coracoid bone during his collision with the car. Luckily for him, the bone was well-aligned and required only two weeks of cage rest to heal. Once the bone was stable, the hawk was moved to an outdoor flight pen to recondition his muscles for release. He gained strength quickly, and it was only a few weeks later that he was sitting inside the carrier on private land in Olympia trying to muster the courage to take back his life.

Red-tailed Hawk 04-1621 hopped through the doorway and discovered a wide-open blue sky above him. He spread his wings and shed his frightened, captive persona in an instant. He gained altitude and banked off to the left, heading towards a distant stand of trees. He flew beautifully, and the sun shined brightly on his dark back and rust-colored tail. A few nearby crows protested the hawk's appearance, but he appeared to be unfazed by their vocalizations. For the first time since he had been injured, the hawk was able to fulfill his most pressing desire; a desire that was especially pronounced when humans were nearby. For nearly two months this bird had wanted nothing more than to simply spread his wings and fly away. On July 22nd, 2004, he did.

Birding Trail Brings Birders and Business

- submitted by Hilary Hilscher from ESW organization Audubon Washington

The next route of Audubon's Great Washington State Birding Trail will beckon nature tourists from around the state and country to visit the Olympic Peninsula and Southwest Washington. Local residents have nominated 250 sites from Port Townsend to Neah Bay, from Long Beach to Stevenson, according to Birding Trail Director Christi Norman.

Birding Trails, now found in 20 states, are self-guided driving tours with stops at places to see birds. Bird watching has become the fastest growing outdoor recreation in the U.S., with more than 46 million Americans traveling to watch special birds such as the Olympic Peninsula's Tufted Puffin, Harlequin Duck and Northern Goshawk.

Together with public and private partners, Audubon Washington published the Washington's first route, the Cascade Loop, in 2002 and the second, the Coulee Corridor, in 2003. The new route maps are scheduled for publication in 2005.

Birding Trails are big business in the U.S. They attract visitors to primarily rural areas, which spurs economic development and gives residents increased incentive to safeguard natural areas around their communities and region.

Bird watchers spend upwards of $30 billion annually, including $10 billion on travel. Texas' birding trail, for example, annually attracts more than 1.4 million birders who spend $155 million; on the local level, every 100 new bird watchers generate one full-time job, $2,500 in business income, and $2,000 in tax revenue.

In Brief: Wildfire Coalition formed in Eastern Washington, No-Shooting Zone Expanded, Northwest Exposure Photo Contest

Wildfire Coalition formed in Eastern Washington
Concerns about wildfire continue to drive management of National Forests in Eastern Washington. The passage of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act has given the green light to the Forest Service to move forward on fuel reduction projects.

The Lands Council's (TLC) work on wildfire education issues has led to a collaborative effort known as the Colville Community Forestry Coalition. TLC Executive Director Mike Petersen sits on the Board of this diverse rural group - along with timber companies, a ski area owner, and fire protection agencies. The Coalition will help establish community wildfire plans which provide opportunities to build cooperation with local government, fire districts, public agencies, and community organizations. Community fire plans identify and prioritize hazardous fuels treatment projects, which make it important for the conservation community to be involved. The Lands Council helped create a template for wildfire planning that is being used throughout Oregon and Washington, contributing to the effort to encourage rural communities to co-exist with the forest around them.

No-shooting Zone Expanded
Firearm use is often overlooked as a form of environmental degradation, but in Sultan Basin, it is a major environmental and safety hazard. Wade Holden, founder of Friends of the Trail, a group that cleans up public lands, has asked for more land to be restricted from gun enthusiasts. "The shooters have been using dumped trash for target practice, creating environmental hazards for nearby Olney Creek, and endangering people in the woods," according to Holden. Department of Natural Resources officials said as much as 80 percent of the logs sold by the state several years ago had bullet holes in them. The Snohomish County Council passed the expanded ban unanimously.

Northwest Exposure Photo Contest
Washington Trails Association (WTA) is hosting its annual photo contest called Northwest Exposure. The contest seeks to exhibit the splendor of Washington's wild areas while providing a forum for both aspiring and experienced nature photographers. This annual outdoor photo contest has four unique categories: People in the Wild, Washington Landscapes, Flora & Fauna, and Offbeat Outdoors. So hit the trail with your camera or gather together those images -- a deer on the trail at Mount Townsend, that amazing sunset from Skyline Divide, or hikers in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. WTA will award a grand prize (which will be pictured on the cover of the January/February 2005 issue of Washington Trails) plus first, second, and third prizes in the four categories. You can submit up to one photo in each of the four categories.

For more information, entry forms, and submission guidelines, call (206) 625-1367 or visit www.wta.org. The submission deadline is Sunday, October 31, 2004.