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Home My WebLink About2011 West End Natural Resources NewsA publication of the NPC MRC, NPC LE and WRIA 20 IB Issue No. 2 July 2011 Inside: Tribal Fishermen Save Birds & Bait p. 6 Washington Coast Sea Otters p. 7 West End RV Dumps p. 9 Coastal Students Learn at Fiero p. 10 Grant Writing Tips p. 10 New Coastal Hazards Specialist p. 11 Ozette River Otters p. 11 Exploring Ocean Change p. 12 Salmon Recovery Projects p. 13 What is the West End Natural Resources News p. 14 This newsletter was published with funding from the WA Department of Fish and Wildlife and the WA Depart- ment of Ecology (Grant #GO900214). Coast Cleanup Gets the Job Done, Again! Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2011 Washington Coast Cleanup on April 23. A great weather day brought out 1158 volunteers who took in 23 tons of trash! Read more at http://www.coastsavers.org. The Whale Trail: A New Partner in Preservation -Ranger Judy Lively, Olympic National Park and Donna Sandstrom, Executive Director, The Whale Trail The Olympic coast is home to over 29 species of marine mammals. Whales, dolphins, otters and seals play an integral role in our region’s heritage, ecology and economy. Each year, more than 3.5 million visitors from throughout the world come to Olympic National Park (ONP). Many eagerly scan the Pacific Ocean looking for whales. The Whale Trail will help them find the best places to begin their search.continued on page 2 continued on page 4 Introducing Cha’ba and NANOOS! - Jan Newton NANOOS Executive Director and Sarah Mikulak NANOOS Education & Outreach Specialist Keep a look out, North Pacific Coast, you just got a new addition to your coastal ocean! During spring and throughout the summer you might see gray whales. They are passing our shores on the longest mammal migration on earth. Each year, they travel 12,000 plus miles from the calving pools in Baja to the feeding grounds off the coast of Alaska and back. Photo: courtesy of Polly DeBari Special thanks to Ernie Penn, Chuck Boss and Phil Dreher (pictured here) for donating their time and four-wheelers to help haul trash up from the beach at the Hoh Reservation. Photo: Tami Pokorny Cha’ba in her new home off of La Push. 2 — West End NR News Summer 2011 A core team of partners including NOAA Fisheries, Olym- pic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, People for Puget Sound, the Seattle Aquarium, and the Whale Museum is developing the Whale Trail. Many members of this core team met when they worked together on the successful effort to return “Springer,” an orphaned orca, to her pod and native waters on the north end of Vancouver Island in 2002. Inspired by the cooperative success of Springer’s rescue, Executive Director Donna Sandstrom founded the Whale Trail in 2008. The Whale Trail’s mission is to inspire apprecia- tion of orcas, other whales, and the marine environment, and to promote stewardship for them. It accomplishes its mission through a website, signs and programs. The Whale Trail was inaugurated with a dedication cer- emony at Salt Creek Recreation Area in August 2010. With twenty locations so far, including eight on the Olympic Penin- sula, the Whale Trail will reach over a million visitors this year. Donna is now working closely with Rangers Kathy Steichen and Judy Lively (ONP), and Bob Steelquist and Jacqueline Laverdure (OCNMS) to add more locations on the Pacific Coast. Many sites feature an interpretive sign, customized to show the marine mammals that can be observed there and when. Some feature iconic Whale Trail markers that let visitors know they have come to the right location. All sites have their own pages on the Whale Trail website (www. thewhaletrail.org). In addition to site-specific view- ing tips, the pages provide timely updates such as recent sightings and upcoming events. The website is blog-based, so that visitors can comment, upload photos, and become part of the wider Whale Trail community. The next genera- tion of signs will use bar codes to link visitor’s “smart phones” to corresponding web pages. For some sites in wilderness locations where signs aren’t appropriate, the web page is the main way to access information. While the tools may be new, the connection isn’t. Whales and dolphins have lived in our waters for millions of years. The Whale Trail is not so much creating something new, as highlighting something that exists, and always has. “Where can I see whales along the Pacific Ocean coast?” Coastal resource interpreter, Ranger Judy Lively, suggests: “Use the Whale Trail map… From the shores of the Olympic Peninsula, go to The Whale Trail More about Further offshore, the nutrient-rich waters of the continental shelf attract humpback, fin and blue whales appear in ever-increasing numbers. the high bluffs at Kalaloch or beaches with broad open views like Rialto Beach or First Beach in La Push. If you like rugged hikes, a whale sighting from coastal wilderness areas feels like a personal visit. Also, look for tell-tale signs, such as a cluster of sea birds that appear to be following a large underwater shadow. Over the years, I have spotted the spouts and flukes of migrating gray whales in spring and the dorsal fins of passing orcas. Remember to bring your binoculars.” Do you know of a place that should be on The Whale Trail, or ideas about how we can work together in your community? Contact us at info@thewhaletrail.org. We’re on Facebook, too! The southern resident orcas (J, K and L pods) were listed as endangered in 2005. Factors contributing to their decline include lack of prey abundance (particularly chi- nook salmon), toxin accumulations, and stress from noise and other vessel impacts. According to a WDFW study, if the current trends continue or worsen, these beloved and iconic animals – the official marine mammals of Washington State – could disappear in as little as 100 years. West End NR News Summer 2011 — 3 Coupeville Anacortes Langley Keystone La Push Friday Harbor Vashon Kingston Bellingham Edmonds Oak Harbor Port Angeles Cape Flattery Port Townsend Tacoma Everett Vancouver Victoria Seattle Olympia 12 18 14 17 16 19 15 1 2 5 7 8 9 11 Lime Kiln State Park San Juan Island National Historical Park The Whale Museum Vancouver Aquarium Coupeville Wharf, Penn Cove, Whidbey Island Port Townsend Marine Science Center Langley, Whidbey Island Jetty Island, Everett Dosewallips State Park, Hood Canal Seattle Aquarium Alki Beach Park Point Robinson, Vashon Island Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium Freshwater Bay County Park Salt Creek Recreation Area Sekiu Overlook Shipwreck Point Cape Flattery La Push Washington State Ferries Whale Trail sites 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 1 2 5 7 8 9 4 3 13 10 6 4 3 13 10 6 Educational facilities Viewing sites The Whale Trail is a series of sites around the region where you may view orcas and other whales or marine mammals from shore. Mission: Our mission is to inspire appreciation and stewardship of whales and our marine environment by establishing a network of viewing sites along the whales’ trails through Puget Sound and the coastal waters of the Pacific 4 — West End NR News Summer 2011 Cha’ba and NANOOS! Maybe you can guess: she’s tall, has a very buoyant personality, and keeps track of ocean conditions on a daily basis. If you guessed an ocean observing buoy, you are right! This buoy, named Cha’ba by the Quileute Tribe (pronounced “chay-buh,” meaning “whale tail”) is part of a new ocean observing array that will be deployed year-round in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) waters off of La Push. The new array was funded by a grant from the Murdock Charitable Trust with matching funds from the University of Washington (UW). It will be maintained as part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observ- ing System (IOOS®) by us, the Northwest As- sociation of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS), an IOOS regional association. Other contributing part- ners include the OCNMS and the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmen- tal Laboratory (PMEL) who provide support for instrumentation on the buoy. A 2007 Resolution by the Olympic Coast Intergovernmental Policy Council (Hoh, Makah, and Quileute Tribes, the Quinault Indian Nation, and the State of Washing- ton) played a role in secur- ing the Murdock grant by demonstrating strong community support and need for ocean monitoring buoys in this area of Washington. Cha’ba was sea tested last June-October and was re- deployed in May 2011. This time, she will have neighbors. Joining Cha’ba will be a sister sub-surface profiling buoy, which will provide profiles of water properties for the full water column, from sea bed to surface. Together with Cha’ba’s surface measurements and sophisticated measure- ments at a few depths, this will provide a comprehensive view of ocean conditions unprecedented for the area. But these are stationary and only collect data from that one spot. The third member of our ocean observing family, a Seaglider, provides a solution to that. Seagliders, which are built and commer- cially marketed at UW, are a type of autonomous underwa- ter vehicle that soars up and down the water column as it propels itself along a programmed route. This Seaglider is uniquely enhanced by fish tracking receivers from the Pacific Shelf Tracking Project (POST). We will work collaboratively with POST to develop this technology to understand fish and mammal migrations. Collectively, these instruments will provide data about coastal weather and ocean conditions, including the physical (temperature, salinity), chemical (dissolved oxygen, nutrients, pH, and CO2), and biological (chlorophyll) characteristics of the water. The data collected will be freely available on the web through NANOOS for anyone to use. Some groups who may benefit from these data include: regional tribes and state resource managers to assess water properties and en- able better understanding of hypoxia, ocean acidification, and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs); weather forecasters who lack offshore wind ob- servations; and the boating, fishing, and maritime com- munities who will be able to utilize the wind and weather data. In a special collaboration on ocean acidification, we are working with UW and NOAA PMEL scientists to deploy sensors measuring pH and pCO2. These data will join similar data from other oceanic, coastal, and estuarine areas that NOAA is monitoring, allowing us to measure and track the status of this important issue. These ocean observing assets off La Push join a net- work of instruments and people at work around the Pacific Northwest and the country to deliver timely and comprehen- sive data and information about our coastal ocean, estuar- ies, shorelines and Great Lakes. This NOAA-funded effort is known as the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®), a national effort that includes eleven Regional Associations (RAs) around the nation. The NANOOS is the Pacific Northwest RA covering Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. IOOS, NANOOS, and all the other RAs around the country strive to provide the integral envi- ronmental data that we as a society increasingly need to make decisions about our resources, economy, and safety. more about Eric Boget, Nick Michel-Hart, Matthew Alford, and John Mickett deploy Cha’ba for a test run in Puget Sound during June 2010. Photo: Matthew Alford West End NR News Summer 2011 — 5 At its core, NANOOS is a community of people that provides data through one place for quicker decision-making. This community includes the scientists providing the data; our member organizations that represent tribal governments and organizations, academic institutions, federal, state, and local agencies, industry, and non-profits; and our end-users who represent the five areas of NANOOS emphasis: Mari- time Operations; Fisheries and Marine Biodiversity; Coastal Hazards; Ecosystem Assessment; and Climate. Together, these groups determine the direction of NANOOS and pro- vide input on our data products and tools. Much of our product development efforts go into the NANOOS Visualization System (NVS), where anyone can ) access a whole range of data and forecasts from around the region. The value of NVS is that it is truly a collaborative effort since it pulls in data from many disparate sources, in- cluding buoys and sensors owned and operated by our part- ners in federal, state, and county agencies, industry groups, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions. Now all of these data streams are available in our Google-maps based data portal, NVS. The real-time data collected by Cha’ba and the rest of the array will be available in NVS when they are deployed. For more information, visit us at www.nanoos.org, or “Like” us on Facebook! The NVS portal can be accessed at www.nanoos.org/nvs. The new La Push ocean observing array is comprised of three sensor platforms: (from the left) a Seaglider; a subsurface profiling moor- ing; and the Cha’ba buoy. This schematic also shows the types of sensors that are attached to the mooring lines, as well as their relative placement. For the subsurface mooring in the middle, the profiling package (shown in yellow) moves up and down the line between the two stoppers collecting all the listed data, including temperature, salinity, and pressure with a CTD. The Cha’ba buoy has sensors at set depths, including pCO2 sensors collecting carbon dioxide data, SBE 39 sensors that measure temperature, and SBE 37 sensors that measure tem- perature and salinity. Image: courtesy John Mickett 6 — West End NR News Summer 2011 Tribal Longline Fishermen Save Birds and Bait – Tami Pokorny, Jefferson County Water Quality The CF Todd, a longline fishing vessel, arrives at the fish- ing grounds off the North Pacific Coast on a search for hali- but or black cod. Not long after the first baited hooks touch the water, Quileute Tribal fisherman and councilmember Lonnie Foster remarks to his crew, “Here they come, boys!” A dozen or more albatrosses approach the vessel on a search of their own – for long liners and a meal. Longlining is a commercial fishing technique where baits are attached to a line at regular inter- vals. As the baited line is unspooled off the back of the boat, it sits on the surface of the water briefly before sinking. Ten or more baits may be exposed to albatrosses and other seabirds at any one time, and the birds are sometimes killed while attempting to scavenge the bait. Quileute and Quinault tribal fisherman are among the first in Washington to deploy gear, called “bait savers,” designed to protect the birds and reduce bait loss. According to the Save the Albatross Campaign, longline hooks present the biggest mortal threat to albatrosses. World- wide, long lines kill an estimated 300,000 seabirds every year, of which 100,000 are albatrosses. Off the North Pacific coast, shearwaters, fulmars and gulls can also get hooked and drown. The situation with albatrosses is most serious because their reproduction rates are slower than other seabirds. Three species of albatross range the North Pacific – the short-tailed, black-footed, and Laysan albatrosses. The short-tailed alba- tross is listed as an endangered species and the black-footed is being considered for listing. A bait saver consists of pieces of brightly colored rubber tubing spaced along a line. Originally developed by Japanese fisherman and called tori lines (tori means ‘bird’ in Japanese), bait savers are extended behind the vessel above the fishing gear. As the tubing flaps, it frightens birds away from the baited line. Studies have shown that the bait savers can be extremely effective in reducing albatross mortality and bait loss, and versions of them are used increasingly in longline fisheries around the world. The term “bait savers” was coined by the research group led by Ed Melvin at Washington Sea Grant who first devel- oped and tested the effectiveness of tori lines aboard demersal longliners in Alaska in 2001. As a result of using bait savers, albatross bycatch was reduced in the Alaska longline fleet by 86%. Based on this success, USFWS and NOAA fisheries provided bait savers to all long line fleets in Alaska, and now intend to introduce them to the Washington, Oregon, and California fleets. Troy Guy and Ed Melvin at Washington Sea Grant delivered bait savers to tribal longliners in Washington as a first step. Although the use of bait savers is not manda- tory in Washington (it is in Alaska), Troy sees them as an important best practice for saving birds, catching more fish, and improving the fisherman’s bottom line. “They’re so effective it’s incredible,” says biologist Scott Mazzone of Quinault Department of Fisheries. “Our fish- erman like that the bait stays on the hook. It’s a win-win situation for them. They can do their part for seabirds while Black-footed albatross Photo: NOAA Fisheries Service A bait saver in use. Photo: Washington Sea Grant West End NR News Summer 2011 — 7 enhancing their way of living.” Lonnie Foster started using the bait savers in 2009. “We don’t want to overharvest anything or have any kind of effects that will harm the future of our kids. Because that’s the most important thing – what we do and what happens on down the line,” he says. Lonnie and John Schumack, owner of the longliner vessel Ocean Radiant, and other fishermen along the coast have developed tricks and modifications to im- prove ease of use and effectiveness of the bait savers. Lonnie invites questions from other fisherman interested in trying the device. Contact him through the Quileute Tribal Council Office at ph: (360) 374-6163. Fisherman interested in obtaining a bait saver can contact Troy Guy at Washington Sea Grant, ph: (206) 616-1260. At Home on the Washington Coast with Sea Otters -Tami Pokorny, Jefferson County Water Quality The more you learn about sea otters the more engaging they become, but the most wonderful thing about Washing- ton’s sea otters is their remarkable comeback along our coast. Sea otters are marine mammals. They’re a member of the weasel family and one of the few mammal species to use tools. Under each foreleg, otters have an area of loose skin. Inside one of these areas of loose skin, a sea otter may be car- rying a special stone that it likes to use to break open shellfish and clams. Sea otters once numbered up to 300,000 in the North Pacific but were hunted extensively for their pelts between 1741 and 1911. The world population fell to 1,000–2,000 individuals as a result of harvest as part of the maritime fur trade. By the early 1900s there were no otters remaining along Washington’s coast. That changed in 1969 and 1970 when a total of 59 sea otters were translocated from Amchit- ka Island in the Aleutians ahead of a nuclear test there, and released back to the waters off Point Grenville and La Push. For over 30 years, biologists Steve Jeffries with the Wash- ington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Ron Jameson, retired from the USFWS and USGS, have been conducting annual surveys to count Washington’s sea otter population and watching it grow. Recent counts show that sea otter numbers off the Olympic Peninsula coast have tipped 1,200 animals. They primarily occur along the rocky outer coast Photo from the July 1970 translocation to the WA coast from Amchitka showing sea otters in floating pen in the Quillayute River at LaPush. Newspaper photo: WDFW archives Lonnie Foster aboard the CJ Todd preparing for a halibut opening in early May. Photo: Tami Pokorny 8 — West End NR News Summer 2011 near kelp beds between Tatoosh Island and the Hoh River. The waters surrounding Destruction Island, located offshore of Kalaloch Beach, are a particularly important refuge for sea otters. Other important areas are the rocks, reefs and kelp beds off Sand Point and Cape Alava. Small numbers of otters live in the Strait of Juan de Fuca as far east as Pillar Point with an occasional individual straying into the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound all the way down to Nisqually. “It’s great that they’re back on the Washington coast, and people can enjoy them. The otters are around Sand Point or Cape Alava anytime of year. It’s good exercise to get outdoors and see what’s out there in the wild,” says Steve. This year, the annual sea otter count will happen the week of July 11. The count does not involve public participa- tion, but you may see agency volunteers out on the beach that week with high powered telescopes and binoculars scan- ning the water for sea otters. Weather permitting, the count will also include aerial surveys up and down the coast to cap- ture high resolution digital images of areas with the highest concentration of otters. Counts focus on the midday period when sea otters are typically resting in groups at the surface. Sea otters exude charisma. There’s no denying their cute- ness. But when cornered for capture, for example after an oil spill, they can pack a powerful bite. Deanna Lynch, the USFWS’s Washington sea otter lead, has heard them likened to ‘chainsaws with fur.’ “Biologists have to handle them very carefully,” she says with emphasis. A sea otter can twist its head around inside its loose skin to easily reach the fur, or any fingers, on its neck or back. This ability allows a sea otter to groom its entire body and maintain its coat for maximum warmth. This is especially important be- cause, unlike other marine mammals, sea otters have no blubber and depend on their fur for insulation from the frigid waters. Healthy sea otters are rarely seen on shore. Sea otters sleep, rest, eat, mate and give birth on the water, so boaters need to be careful to watch out for them. “Those little floating brown blobs aren’t necessarily logs,” says Deanna. The Marine Mammal Protection Act forbids approaching them within 100 yards. By the way, river otters are not sea otters! River otters are not considered marine mammals although they may spend a lot of time in saltwater and estuaries. River otters are com- monly seen on land and are known to enjoy meals on docks or boats. While sea otters swim and float primarily on their backs, river otters swim belly down. In Washington, sea ot- ters can weigh just over 100 pounds while adult river otters rarely exceed 30 pounds. Occasionally sea otters get caught in fishing nets, but the biggest threat to sea otters, is oil spills. “An oiled sea otter is almost as good as a dead one,” says Ron. He responded to the Exxon Valdez spill and would know. Every year or so, Deanna and the other stranding coordinators offer a training as part of the Northwest Marine Mammal Stranding Network: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/health/networks.htm. If you see a dead or distressed sea otter, please stay back, keep your pets away, and report the finding to this toll-free number: 1-87-SEAOTTER (1-877-326-8837) If you’d like to see sea otters, don’t try to approach them on foot or by boat. Instead, watch them at a distance of at least 100 yards using binoculars or a telescope. They’re also great fun to watch up close and are on public display at the Seattle Aquarium, the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport OR, and the Van- couver Aquarium in Vancouver BC. For more information, read the Washington State Recov- ery Plan for the Sea Otter at http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/pub.php?id=00314 A rare sight: sea otters hauled out on a north coast reef soaking up the sun at low tide. Photo: Joe Evenson with WDFW West End NR News Summer 2011 — 9 A Handy List of RV Dump Stations Located in the West End Area # C l i p a n d S a v e ! Location Owner/Manager Address/Directions Notes Fairholme National Park Service West end of Lake Crescent on Hwy 101 April 2-October 24 ($3-$5 fee) Hoh National Park Service Upper Hoh Road off Hwy 101 Year round weather permitting ($3-$5 fee) Kalaloch National Park Service Hwy 101 Year round ($3-$5 fee) Mora National Park Service Mora Road, off of La Push Road Year round ($3-$5 fee) Sol Duc National Park Service Hwy 101 to Sol Duc Road Open all year, but no water Oct. 25 through March 26 (snow may close road in winter) ($3-$5 fee) Quileute Oceans- ide RV Park Quileute Tribe 330 Ocean Drive, La Push Open to registered guests only Hobuck Beach Resort Makah Tribe Hobuck Beach Road, south of Neah Bay Open to registered guests only Bogachiel State Park WA State Parks Hwy. 101 6 miles south of Forks Year-round. Dump station fees are $5 per use. If you are camping, this fee is included in your campsite fee. Van Riper`s Resort Motel Private 280 Front Street, Sekiu Summers only $5 Olson’s Resort Private 444 Front Street, Sekiu February to September $3-$5 Cape Motel and RV Park Makah Tribe 1510 Bayview Avenue, Neah Bay April to September $7 For more information: www.sanidumps.com Location Owner/Manager Address/Directions Notes Fairholme National Park Service West end of Lake Crescent on Hwy 101 April 2 to October 24 ($3-$5 fee) Hoh National Park Service Upper Hoh Road off Hwy 101 Year round weather permitting ($3-$5 fee) Kalaloch National Park Service Hwy 101 Year round ($3-$5 fee) Mora National Park Service Mora Road, off of La Push Road Year round ($3-$5 fee) Sol Duc National Park Service Hwy 101 to Sol Duc Road Open all year, but no water Oct. 25 through March 26 (snow may close road in winter) ($3-$5 fee) Quileute Oceanside RV Park Quileute Tribe 330 Ocean Drive, La Push Open to registered guests only Hobuck Beach Resort Makah Tribe Hobuck Beach Road, south of Neah Bay Open to registered guests only Bogachiel State Park WA State Parks Hwy 101 6 miles south of Forks Year-round. Dump station fees are $5 per use. If you are camping, this fee is included in your campsite fee. Van Riper`s Resort Motel Private 280 Front Street, Sekiu Summers only ($5 fee) Olson’s Resort Private 444 Front Street, Sekiu February to September ($3-$5 fee) Cape Motel and RV Park Makah Tribe 1510 Bayview Avenue, Neah Bay April to September ($7 fee) Location Owner/Manager Address/Directions Notes Compiled May 2011 10 — West End NR News Summer 2011 Coastal Students Learn about Small Creatures: Big Impacts at Feiro Marine Life Center -Deb Moriarty, Feiro Marine Life Center Students enrolled in middle and high schools in the coastal communities are invited to experience “Small Crea- tures: Big Impacts,” an evolving program at Fiero Marine Life Center developed by director Deb Moriarty and funded through the North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Com- mittee (NPC MRC). “We had students come down to the Center last semester who wanted to connect with the local science community but didn’t know how to do that. They participated in our program, met scientists and it all came together,” she said. Long-time Port Angeles resident and University of Puget Sound graduate, Kendra Fors is program coordinator. Students learn about harmful algal blooms including the one in September 2010 that caused a large seabird ‘wreck’ on the coast. They also study the ways in which the nearshore is affected by land use through discussions on stormwater run- off, point and non-point source pollution, sediment deposi- tion and dam removal on the Elwha River. Small changes in ocean pH have huge ramifications. A hands-on activity helps students understand the process of ocean acidification – what it is and what it means for the future. Through discussion and activities, Small Creatures: Big Impacts helps students understand how we are affecting the ocean and how the ocean affects us. The teachers of all schools from Clallam Bay to Queets are reminded to schedule their field investigation at Feiro Marine Life Center by emailing kendraf@feiromarinelifecenter.org or calling (360) 417-6254. Mr. Hunter’s class from Forks High School 2010 Photo: Deb Moriarty So You Want to Write a Grant -Katie Krueger, Quileute Natural Resources Experienced grant writers can skip this but if you are new at the game, here are some tips. tMake sure you, or your group, is qualified to apply! tIf the grant names a contact, absolutely do call and discuss the grant with them. They are there to help and often provide useful tips of their own. tCheck out what won before on a grantor website, if it exists. tGather partners together and do it EARLY. Most grants these days either require or prefer partnerships. It takes time to build these “communities.” tBuild the budget on a spreadsheet, before you write a narrative! The grant will practically write itself after you do the budget. You also may need to trim your plan if you discover early that your original idea will exceed the grant budget allowed. Find this out before writing the whole thing and adjust accordingly. tThe narrative should follow the format requested in the grant announcement. Be sure that your narrative includes all the items in the budget (and vice versa). Be complete, as well. tAre page limits cutting your story short? See if the ap- plication can be supplemented with appendices. Another way to include things is with a cover letter. tLetters of support are sometimes required but even if not, are great additions. tIf you work for a government, be sure your government authorizes the application. tIf you used a bibliography, provide it if space permits. It lends authenticity. tSell your story with a vital need. You are competing, in most cases. When all the grants are well written, a little drama about urgency can make the difference. West End NR News Summer 2011 — 11 Coastal Hazards Specialist Ian Miller to Help Communities Plan Ahead Japan’s tsunami, sea level rise, increasing storm severity, coastal flooding and erosion — all of these factors are making communities more aware of the need to plan for coastal hazards. Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is building a program to help communities along Washington’s north coast and Strait of Juan de Fuca increase their resilience to the impacts of climate change and coastal natural hazards. Ian Miller is Washington Sea Grant’s new coastal haz- ards specialist on the Olympic Peninsula. He will be based at Peninsula College in Port Angeles and also at UW facilities in the region through the Coastal Resiliency Program which is funded by a grant from NOAA. Ian will interact with a variety of stakeholder groups, including tribes, local elected officials, port districts, federal and state resource agencies, marine industries, and commercial and recreational fisher- men. Ian lived in Port Angeles for ten years before starting his doctoral program in Ocean Sciences, which he is now completing, at University of California, Santa Cruz. “I’m a technical specialist who can help people understand the risk of coastal hazards and how to plan for and address that risk.” Contact Ian at ph: (360) 417-6460 or immiller@u.washington.edu. or http://www.wsg.washington.edu Based at the University of Washington, Washington Sea Grant provides statewide marine research, outreach, and education services. The National Sea Grant College Program is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Depart- ment of Commerce. Ozette River Otters Eat Salmon Too, But Which Species? -Jonathan Scordino, Makah Fisheries Management Scientists have long believed that river otters feed on slow moving fish and crustaceans while occasionally dining on birds, mammals, and amphibians. They thought game fish were too large and fast for river otters to catch. Well, apparently no one informed the otters living in and around Lake Ozette of this. Biologists from the Makah Tribe have video taped river otters attempting to catch sockeye salmon in the Ozette salmon counting weir viewing chamber. They’ve also observed salmon with scars reminiscent of otter claws. This gave Pat Gearin of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) the idea to study the impact of river otters on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed Lake Ozette sockeye salmon. To do this, he initiated a study of the otters’ fecal remains. Fecal remains, commonly called scat, were collected from 1998 to 2003 by bi- ologists of NMFS and the Makah Tribe and by the Makah Tribe’s Youth Program, but unfortunately funding was not available to identify the prey remains. In 2010, the Tribe used a $13,500 grant from the NPC Many bones have morphology that is unique to families of fish and sometimes to species. Here is a vertebra from a fish of the salmon family. It can be identified by its porous texture. This figure shows the frequency of occurrence of juvenile-sized and adult-sized Ozette salmon bones found in river otter scat by month and location. Coastal Hazards Specialist Ian Miller Photo and graphs: courtesy Makah Fisheries Management 12 — West End NR News Summer 2011 MRC to hire food habits expert Susan Riemer to identify the bones, shells, feathers, and plant matter contained in the prey remains. Not surprisingly, we learned that river otters eat a varied diet. Crayfish were the most com- monly observed prey species and bones of slow moving fish like sculpins and fish of the min- now family (such as northern pike minnow and peamouth) were also commonly observed. About forty percent of the samples also contained bones from fish in the salmon family. Apparently, river otters do enjoy a salmon steak from time to time. No previously published study provides as much evidence of river otter predation on salmon as this one. To increase our understanding of otter im- pacts on salmon, all salmon bones were graded by size to adult-sized, small adult/trout-sized, and fry/smolt-sized bones. With information about the timing and location of the scat samples we determined where and when otter predation on salmon is most intense. The study shows that otter predation on adult-sized salmon occurs most often in the Ozette River in July, particularly near the sock- eye counting weir. We had expected adult predation to be greatest in May through June during the peak of adult sockeye salmon returns. Perhaps the low water flows in July make the salmon easier for the otters to catch. By contrast, scat collected around the lake had more juvenile salmon bones and fewer adult salmon bones. The next step in determin- ing if otters are eating Lake Ozette sockeye salmon is to analyze the genetics informa- tion contained in the adult salmon bones. The Makah Tribe received $6,000 in 2011 from the NPC MRC to contract with Linda Park of NMFS to accomplish this. Results of the study will be reported to the MRC and sub- mitted to the Canadian Journal of Zoology for publication. How do you tell a river otter from a sea otter? Take a look! Otter card images courtesy of USFWS. This is a graph showing how often certain prey species were found in the otter scat samples. West End NR News Summer 2011 — 13 Exploring Ocean Change with Teachers -Jacqueline Laverdure, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Local elementary school teachers will have an exciting professional development opportunity this summer. The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and Seattle Aquarium are co-hosting Ocean Change: Ocean Science in a Changing Climate professional development workshops for teachers. The workshops are funded in part through the North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee (NPC MRC). The workshops bring teachers, students, and families to- gether to do marine and coastal science in the classroom and at the beach. Participating classrooms have “Beach Kits” filled with marine science activities that will prepare them to study and understand aspects of their local beaches. Two field trips are offered during the school year. One is to a local beach where Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and Seattle Aquarium staff, partnering with tribal and local experts, assist students with beach field investigations, water quality experi- ments, and integrating local cultural knowledge. The second field trip is to Seattle Aquarium or Feiro Marine Life Center and NOAA’s Olympic Coast Discovery Center in Port Ange- les. Fourth and fifth grade teachers from Crescent School District, Clallam Bay, Neah Bay, Forks, Lake Quinault, Queets, Taholah, Pacific Beach, Ocean Shores, and Westport elementary schools and Quileute Tribal School are encour- aged to register for the summer workshop. Workshop dates are August 1-2 in Forks, WA and August 4-5 in Ocean Shores, WA. Teachers will also have the opportunity to participate in a half-day experience aboard NOAA’s research vessel Tatoosh on August 3. The workshop is free and clock hours or graduate credits will be available. For more information, contact Jacqueline.Laverdure@ noaa.gov Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, or K.Matsumoto@seattleaquarium.org Seattle Aquarium. Clallam Bay Elementary School Teachers Shirley McGill (left), John Wonderly (middle) and Crescent School District teacher Gina Woeste (right) study sand samples at Second Beach during an Ocean Science Teacher Professional Develop- ment Workshop. Photo: Karen Matsumoto 14 — West End NR News Summer 2011 Salmon Recovery Project: Big River - Michele d’Hemecourt, North Olympic Land Trust The North Olympic Land Trust (NOLT) successfully applied for salmon recovery grant funds through the North Pacific Coast Lead Entity (NPCLE) in 2010 to purchase two properties, totaling 36 acres, along the Big River. The Big River drainage is one of only three tributaries of the Lake Ozette basin with spawning Lake Ozette sockeye adults. Lake Ozette sockeye is a listed species under the Endangered Species Act. The properties contain riparian and floodplain habitat and almost a half mile of shoreline which NOLT will manage for the benefit of the sockeye. Salmon Recovery Project: Pole Creek -Mike Hagan, Hoh River Trust In 2009, the Hoh River Trust received salmon recovery dollars through the North Olympic Coast Lead Entity (NPC LE) grant cycle to decommission a road and complete a mul- tiphase project to benefit fish in the Pole Creek basin. The log- ging road, located midslope parallel to the Hoh River, has been a priority for decommissioning for many years. The project was written into the Hoh River Trust’s management plan soon after the Rayonier forestland in the area was acquired. The purpose of decommissioning the Upper Pole Creek road is to reduce the likelihood of debris slides originating in the failing road bed and to improve fish passage by removing culverts and fills. When finished, the project area will become high quality forested riparian habitat extending from old growth at the banks of the Hoh River to 1300 feet elevation up on Willoughby Ridge. Pole Creek, a formerly reliable coho, steelhead and cutthroat smolt producer, is expected to return J&D Enterprises removing old fill from the deepest cut. Photo: Mike Hagan Salmon Recovery Projects: Camp Creek and Mill Creek -Tom Smayda, Smayda Environmental Associates, Inc. The Pacific Coast Salmon Coalition (PCSC) is a fisheries enhancement group working to help restore salmon runs by improving streams and rivers, wetlands and watersheds. Part of this work involves replacing fish-blocking culverts with bridges to restore fish access to upstream waters. The PCSC successfully applied for salmon recovery grant funds through the North Pacific Coast Lead Entity (NPCLE) in 2010. Two current projects include the Camp Creek culvert which is located in timberland along the Sol Duc River, and Mill Creek at Russell Road in Forks. Both of these culverts are decaying, eroding and unsafe, and their useful lifespans have ended. Both block the upstream migration of adult and juve- nile salmon and steelhead. The Camp Creek culvert is considered a total blockage because of the size of the drop at the culvert outlet and be- cause of the high velocity water shooting through the open- ing. Access to about 1.2 miles of spawning habitat would be re-opened with the new bridge, giving adult fishes numerous places to lay their eggs. Even more area would be re-opened for juveniles to grow up before heading seaward. At Russell Road, the culvert creates a partial blockage that affects smaller fish much of the time and all fish during high flow condi- tions. But the projects involve more than just swapping out a culvert for a bridge to allow fish to pass. Currently, the creek beds at the culverts are not good for salmon spawning or rearing. So the intent is to restore ecological functioning of a couple of hundred feet of stream bed at each site. The newly created stream beds will be built to closely resemble excel- lent salmon water, complete with pools and tailouts, and a meandering shape built of woody material, gravel and native plants. The projects will be deemed successful when fish regain access to upstream habitat and begin spawning at the locations that are now rusty metal pipes. The Camp Creek culvert is to be replaced with a bridge. Photo: Tom Smayda West End NR News Summer 2011 — 15 Illustration by Steve Allison to its former productivity levels. This was a phased project that also involved the replace- ment of a damaged culvert under the Upper Hoh county road with a bridge. Bridge replacement was funded two years previously but not accomplished until the same summer. Local contractors bid on the heavy equipment portion of the project with J&D Enterprises being successful. Costs were much below the appraisal done during the construction boom and high fuel prices of previous years. Subsequent monitoring has shown no unexpected erosion despite fairly heavy winter rains. Replanting of cuts and creek sides is being completed through spring of 2011. Forest management access will still be available from a different road system when needed leaving the core area as an enhanced riparian zone. Precommercial thinning slash is used to mulch the road surface after putting in water bars. Photo: Mike Hagan What is the West End Natural Resources News? This newsletter (formerly the NPC MRC News) is now a cooperative effort of three natural resource committees con- sisting of governments, businesses, organizations and citizens in western Clallam and Jefferson counties. The committees address salmon recovery, water quality and quantity, and coastal issues in a manner that incorporates local knowledge and priorities. Meetings are usually held in Forks. North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee (NPC MRC) The NPC MRC promotes commu- nity involvement in coastal issues. MRC members and participants learn about resource conditions and coastal com- munity needs, participate in local and regional projects, and sponsor activities and studies having to do with the unique management issues of Washington’s outer coast. More information: http://wdfw. wa.gov/about/volunteer/mrc WRIA 20 Watershed Plan Implementation Body For the purpose of water resource management, the state is divided into Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs). Over seven years, a watershed management plan was developed for Sol Duc, Calawah, Bogachiel, Quillayute and Hoh Rivers. The next step is to begin implementation of this plan. For more information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/watershed/index.html Contact Rich Osborne at ph: (360) 417-2569 or email rosborne@co.clallam.wa.us to be added to distribution lists for electronic news and meeting information for the North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee (NPC MRC), North Pacific Coast Lead Entity for Salmon Recovery (NPCLE) or the WRIA 20 Watershed Plan Implementation Body (WRIA 20 IB). North Pacific Coast Lead Entity for Salmon Recovery (NPCLE) Lead entities are local, watershed-based organizations that develop local salmon habitat recovery strategies and then recruit organizations to do habitat protection and restoration projects that will implement the strategies. More informa- tion: http://www.rco.wa.gov/salmon_recovery/index.shtml and http://hws.ekosystem.us 16 — West End NR News Summer 2011 North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee c/o Clallam County DCD Natural Resources 23 E. 4th Street #5 Port Angeles, WA 98362 ECRWSS Natural Resources Neighbor Sea otters float together in a raft along the Washington Coast. The North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee Steve Allison (Hoh Tribe) Katie Krueger (Quileute Tribe) Micah McCarty (Makah Tribe) Rod Fleck (City of Forks) Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County) Cathy Lear (Clallam County) Roy Morris (Citizen 1, Clallam) Colby Brady (Citizen 2, Clallam) John Hunter (Citizen 3, Clallam) John Richmond (Citizen 1,Jefferson) Jill Silver (Citizen 2, Jefferson) Chiggers Stokes (Citizen 3, Jefferson) Rich Osborne, Coordinator ph: (360) 417-2569 rosborne@co.clallam.wa.us Newsletter Editor: Tami Pokorny ph: (360) 379-4498 tpokorny@co.jefferson.wa.us