HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 West End Natural Resources News (APRIL)Inside:
01 Family Life........................1
02 Love & the Virus ..........1,6
03 Teaching from Home .....7
04 Floodplain Spruce .........8
05 Hoh River .......................10
06 Quileute School ...........13
07 Biochar ...........................15
08 Seagrass........................19
09 Hoko Garden .................22
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 1
WEST END NATURAL RESOURCES NEWS
A publication of the North Pacifi c Coast Marine Resources Committee
(NPC MRC) & NPC Lead Entity for Salmon Recovery
Issue No. 13 April 2021
02. (Continued Inside on Page 6...)
Love in the Time of Coronavirus
By Rebekah Brooks, Rebekah Brooks Contracting
01. (Continued Inside on Page 2...)
One Family’s Life in the Upper Hoh River Valley
By Roger M. Oakes, Retired Physician and Peninsula Resident
As a teenager living in
Tacoma, Hal Landry was
working three jobs. He had a
paper route, set bowling pins
at night and had a shoe shine
kit. So, when he moved with
his family to the Hoh River
Valley at age 15, he had little
trouble adjusting to rising at
4:30 am for morning chores,
including milking three
cows, before riding a school
bus twenty miles to school
in Forks, only to return home
and do it all again.
Community Haying. H.E. Landry, left, and Karl Fischer with helpers. Photo: Courtesy of Ken Landry Collection
Karen Huber and Rebekah Brooks reach Cape Alava in August 2020. Photo: Karen Huber
On our fi rst day, they
passed us on our way into
the backcountry...
Seventy if he was a day,
he rolled down the car
window and said:
“You gals going camping?
How is it out there?”
“Yes,” I said, “but I haven’t
been there in a number
of years.”
“Thirty for us!” he replied.
“But we’re hoping to do the
same.” We hit the boardwalk
trail inspired, forgetting at
times that we are in a plague
year. That is, until we would
pass another hiker and all
don masks. You, fellow hiker,
I will love from a distance.
2 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
Aerial image of the Upper Hoh community in 1947. Photo: Courtesy Ken Landry CollectionThe Landrys in 1956. Standing: Rick, Harold (H.E.), Hal, Ken. In front: Barbara with child, Helen. Photo: Courtesy Ken Landry Collection
“The sooner you got after the work, the
sooner you were fi nished.” In retrospect,
he says, “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It
taught me not to be afraid of hard work. It
was a hard life, but a healthy one.”
The Landry family moved to the Hoh Val-
ley in August 1947. Harold Edward (“H.E.”)
Landry, reportedly without much consulta-
tion with his wife, Helen, or his children,
decided to take up an offer from his uncle,
Karl Fischer, to move to Karl’s homestead
with the idea of eventually acquiring the
160-acre riverfront property located about
six miles up the Valley from Highway 101,
just east of the old Hoh Store, along the
road to Olympic National Park.
Karl Fischer (1876 - 1965) and his brother,
Fred (1874 - 1930), were German immi-
grants, who after serving in the U.S. Army
during the Spanish-American War, were dis-
charged at Bremerton and in 1908 became
homesteaders on the Upper Hoh River.
In those days, ‘arriving’ on the Hoh was
no easy matter. There were no roads or
bridges. Travel was by foot, horseback or
dugout canoe. Karl “proved up” his claim
and the deed to his 160-acre homestead
was granted in 1912. Fred’s place was about
four miles further up river, a place eventu-
ally acquired by Charles Lewis.
Karl, or Two-Hats as he was known, be-
came somewhat of a legend on the Hoh.
He managed to make a living by farming
his ‘stump ranch’, cougar bounty hunting,
bootlegging, and selling off pieces of land.
His two hats were a well-known part of
his dress and the stories are numerous as
to their wearing. As Karl aged it became
increasingly diffi cult to care for livestock,
mend fences and maintain the many
structures he had built over the years. He
sought help from his nephew, H.E. Landry,
and a deal was struck. H.E. Landry agreed
to take on this challenge even though he
was a machinist with no practical farm-
ing experience. Described as generally
well-informed, he held strong opinions and
was not afraid to speak his mind. Being
outspoken and opinionated led to his being
generally disliked in the Forks community.
His struggles were just beginning.
When he decided to move the family to
Uncle Karl’s place in August 1947, there
were three children (Hal, Barbara and Ken)
and his wife, Helen, was eight months
pregnant. Richard (“Rick”) Landry was born
1 (...Continued from Front Cover)
One Family’s Life in the Upper Hoh River Valley
By Roger M. Oakes, Retired Physician and Peninsula Resident
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 3
Aerial image of the Upper Hoh community in 1947. Photo: Courtesy Ken Landry CollectionThe Landrys in 1956. Standing: Rick, Harold (H.E.), Hal, Ken. In front: Barbara with child, Helen. Photo: Courtesy Ken Landry Collection
in September in Forks, thereby becoming
the only family member to be born on the
Olympic Peninsula, and to begin his life on
the Upper Hoh.
As Rick notes, “The original two-story ranch
house the Landrys were relocated to was
an austere, uninsulated dwelling with a
wide porch and attached woodshed; the
house preceded electricity’s arrival on
the Hoh and was without running water. A
wood stove served to supply warmth and
was used for cooking. Lighting at night
was managed with kerosene and white gas
lamps and their delicate mantles. The ‘bath-
room’ was an outhouse 50 yards away.”
He adds, “In hindsight, it was likely an ideal-
ism bordering on the Utopian which initially
convinced H.E. Landry that he could make
a living farming here, in a valley which had
a very short growing season and received
an average of 140 inches of rainfall annu-
ally. His wife was against the whole idea
from the beginning. They had never farmed
or really gardened prior to this, but were
caught up in the excitement of this fresh
beginning. They would further supplement
their needs and sustain themselves through
the ethos of “living off the land,”; e.g.,
hunting elk and deer and fi shing for
salmon and steelhead.”
As son Ken, says, “Homesteading 101 does
not come with a manual! The learning curve
for both H.E. and Mother was something
that had to be taught by ‘hands on’ see one
and do one by Karl. H.E. learned how to
milk three cows by hand twice a day, how
to harness and control a team of two cranky
draft horses (a tractor came much later)
to pull the farm implements. There were
several acres of vegetables to harvest,
preserve and store, some being sold in
town. Meat was stored in refrigeration lock-
ers in Forks. Naming some of the cows led
to an aversion to slaughtering them, making
the family more dependent on pigs and
wild game. Hal says, “we couldn’t
eat Ferdinand!”
Through this early time Karl was an able
advisor. Ken and Rick both recall that Karl
was a good “coach,” teaching them how
to fi sh and hunt. As Karl’s health failed, the
farming skill inadequacies of H.E. became
more glaring and things began to deterio-
rate. Animals were sold off and some of the
land was logged. Karl had previously sold
pieces of land to the Frakers, the Crippens
and perhaps the Amsdills.
4 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
The Landry family moved into Karl Fischer’s house and he lived in an attached area. The house, shown here in 1947, burned in 1951. Photo: Courtesy Ken Landry Collection
Karl (‘Two Hat’) Fischer, Upper Hoh Pioneer age 77 in 1953, arrived in the Hoh Valley in 1908. Photo: Courtesy Ken Landry Collection ?
“The sooner you got after the work, the sooner you were fi nished.”
In retrospect he says, “I wouldn’t trade it for anything . . .
Ken, Harold (H.E.), and Helen Landry in 1953. Photo: Courtesy Ken Landry Collection
Life became one of considerable poverty.
The Fischer homestead or “stump ranch”
was really a subsistence farm that rather
quickly failed to support the family. There
was never much money in the bank and
then the barn roof collapsed during a
heavy snow in the winter of 1949-50. H.E.
and son, Hal, were in the barn and tried
to use timber jacks to keep the walls from
pushing apart, but the central section of
the two-pitched, “mansard” roof collapsed.
They were able to salvage some hay, but
lost 4 cows. They also ran out of fi rewood
that winter and resorted to hunting elk to
avoid starvation. Then came the house fi re
in 1951!
On October 6th, the house burned while
the family was in Forks at the movie theatre.
By the time a fi re engine arrived the house
was completely destroyed. The cause of the
fi re was never determined. The family dog,
Buster, was lost. H.E. Landry’s handwritten
journal was succinct: Oct. 6, 1951 – “The
House burns.” Their next home was a skid
house purchased from a logging company.
This was a 20’ x 40’ saw fi ling shed that they
remodeled. There was no inside plumb-
ing, only creek water, no electricity and
only wood heat. Subsequently, a party-line
phone, a propane tank, a gas stove and
refrigerator arrived. It was in these spartan
conditions that the four Landry children
were to experience their youth, learn about
life, hard work and family dynamics.
The eldest, Hal, has fond memories and
seemed to relish the hard work. He was
essential to the farming effort and when he
left for the Navy, his father was left without
his right-hand man. He had also been sup-
porting the family with income from a job
at a local shake mill. With Hal’s departure,
the chores fell to Barbara and Ken. Barbara
considered joining the Navy with her friend,
Joy Fraker, but she got married instead and
enjoyed a full life in Forks. For Ken, it was
not a place he could really appreciate. He
recalled family tensions and the endless
chores that his mother endured. While it
was a beautiful place, the harsh realities of
existence there made it diffi cult to appreci-
ate the wild, scenic beauty. He also left for
the Navy, went to dental school and retired
as a Navy Captain.
Of the four children, Richard (“Rick”) had
the longest experience on the Hoh and
expresses the strongest sentiment about
the nature, rhythms and cycles of the land.
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 5
The Landry family moved into Karl Fischer’s house and he lived in an attached area. The house, shown here in 1947, burned in 1951. Photo: Courtesy Ken Landry Collection ?Ken, Harold (H.E.), and Helen Landry in 1953. Photo: Courtesy Ken Landry Collection
It taught me not to be afraid of hard work.
It was a hard life, but a healthy one.” — Hal Landry
He recalls “its mosses, the sound the river
makes during high water, the ferns and the
devil’s club, eating huckleberries, eating
salmon, following fresh elk trails on the
bench north of the homestead, inventing
games in the hay mow while it rained for
days on end, listening to the wind through
the maple leaves - mainly being still and
being THERE.”
He recalls riding his bike to favorite fi shing
spots on Willoughby Creek, Rock Creek
and occasionally all the way up to Tower
Creek. But he also remembers extreme
poverty, the harsh conditions and being
stunned when he learned how others lived
in better conditions. Rick also joined the
Navy, became a Marine Corps corpsman
and served in Vietnam. He vividly recalls
returning to the Hoh in 1970. “By the time I
passed the Hoh store and coasted into my
Dad’s driveway, the extent of the logging
scarifi cation simply stunned me.” He says,
“I had survived but the Hoh had become
a casualty.”
Life was diffi cult for early settlers on the
Hoh. For Helen Landry it was living a
nightmare. She was an urbanite thrown
into a stark existence she did not choose
and hated every minute of it. Social life
was almost non-existent. She did have one
close friend, Lorna Robinson. Community
activities were limited to occasional softball
games, groups getting hay into barns and
fi reworks on the 4th of July. Helen fi nally
left her husband in 1962, abruptly moving
to Forks with her youngest child, Rick. She
later remarried and passed away in 1981.
H.E. Landry spent the last 15 years of his life
living alone in the skid house he remodeled
many years before. He suffered a number
of strokes and passed away in 1977.
This article is written with the deepest
respect for the Landry family, what they
experienced on the Hoh, and what we can
all learn from their struggles as settlers in
a challenging place. When we now speak
of ‘resiliency’ in our current project on the
Hoh, we can refl ect on the degree to which
that word fi ts what they all learned and
achieved there.
[Author’s note: This article is based on
extensive communications with Hal,
Ken and Rick Landry. The author thanks
them for openly sharing their thoughts
and experiences].
Love (for humanity).
On our second day, we passed them on our way to fi lter the
tannin-brown water from the creek. She was slouched in a red
walker and he was on his knees blowing up a sleeping pad.
Radiant with love for her, with love for the trail, he told his story
of recovery, of hiking, of family, to anyone who stopped by their
campsite. We reveled that day in the grit of the sand, the barking
of the sea lions, the uneven footholds among the rocks and tide
pools, the toasted salt smell of the driftwood beach fi re, the
accumulation of grime under our fi ngernails. In the stark
immediacy of being outdoors, to the exclusion of everything else.
“Mother Nature is doing just fi ne,” as a friend told me. “It’s only us
people who are having a hard time with COVID-19.” You, world,
I will love with as much immersion as possible.
Love endures (in and for the world).
On our third day, we passed them one more time. After exploring
the petroglyphs at Wedding Rocks. After mulling over the impact
of humankind etching ourselves onto our environments.
We rounded the point and found her limping down the
beach on his arm, the son-in-law (we guessed) supporting her
other side. The daughter (we supposed) shuttled packs, a red
walker strapped to one. We stopped. Because bearing witness
to such dogged love is arresting. It had taken them many hours
to come two miles, and they had another mile to go before they
reached camp. We marveled. And then we noticed the black bear
that had ambled down from the woods to dig in the piles of kelp,
barely twenty feet away from them. Hikers in front of us stopped.
Hikers behind us stopped. We all waited. To watch two men lift
this woman down the beach, with painstaking slowness, right
in front of the black bear scratching its belly. The bear rubbed
its nose and meandered back into the woods. The two men
delivered their lady to a beach log for another rest. The hikers
returned to their slogs along the rocky beach. We fi nished hiking
the loop hike out of the backcountry, blisters and heavy packs put
into perspective: the virus will pass. But we will continue to love.
You, black bear, I will love from a distance of more than six feet!
Because love endures forever.
6 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
The petroglyphs at Wedding Rocks, from our hike back out on Day 3. Photo: Karen Huber
2 (....Continued from Front Cover)
Love in the Time of Coronavirus
By Rebekah Brooks, Rebekah Brooks Contracting
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 7
The petroglyphs at Wedding Rocks, from our hike back out on Day 3. Photo: Karen Huber
On August 4th, 2020, sixteen teachers from seven school dis-
tricts gathered together remotely for the fi rst online version of the
annual Ocean Science Workshop presented by educators Nicole
Harris, from Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, and Julie
Tennis, from Pacifi c Education Institute. Each year, OSW work-
shops train teachers in a new
marine science curriculum that
they can share with their stu-
dents. Normally the workshops
are hands-on and fi eld-based.
This year’s pandemic restrictions
meant the teachers would be
learning from home and their
students likely would be too.
Fortunately, the curriculum is
versatile and can also be used in
person. This project was funded
by an NPC MRC grant.
Our workshop, Healthy Ocean,
Healthy You, introduced teach-
ers to a new learning task called
“Ocean Benefi ts”, a mini-research project which asks students
to 1) Describe how the ocean provides jobs for the economy,
2) Explain which resource was most helpful to you in understanding
the ocean benefi ts that we enjoy; and 3) Defend this statement
using information from two of the sources: “The ocean benefi ts
humans, and humans can benefi t the ocean.” The students are
then asked to write an essay explaining the ways in which
humans benefi t from a healthy ocean, and the actions we
can take to keep it healthy.
Participants also gathered real-time data about air temperature,
cloud cover, and wind speed at their own location and three other
places in the state on each day of the workshop. They used this
information to make and defend a factual claim – in this case,
about the ocean’s infl uence on weather. The workshop included
independent investigations as well. The fi rst was to perform an
“ocean audit.” The teachers scoured their homes, looking for
artifacts and ingredients with origins in the sea. They researched
the origin and purpose of each item or constituent.
The materials ranged from vacation artifacts like seashells to
carrageenan, to the cottage cheese in their fridge (from red
algae). One of the participants said, “I ended up getting online
and looking for additives to household supplies, and ended
up going through the pantry and fi nding more ocean-based
products in Worcestershire Sauce and things like that and in
different foods. I knew it would be in certain foods but yogurt
kind of surprised me!”
In the second “fi eld” activity, the students replicated a tide pool
visit on dry land with the assistance of the pill bug, or roly-poly.
(Did you know the roly-poly is
a crustacean? It’s not a bug – it
is related to crabs and shrimp,
and it even has gills!) They fi rst
hypothesized where roly-polys
might live in their yards. After
the workshop session, they
searched for the animal and
created a fi eld journal page
noting their observations.
This workshop also connected
teachers to some of the
science, culture, and careers
in our region. Jenny Waddell
from Olympic Coast National
Marine Sanctuary discussed
the rocky intertidal studies that are occurring along the Strait
and Outer Coast. Jon Scordino, from Makah Fisheries depart-
ment, presented on the student-inspired Cibu’d Project, where
students and scientists and other members of the community
designed and tested this Indigenous halibut hook in commercial
and recreational fi sheries.
Many teachers look forward to future fi eld trips. “I would love to
do a rocky intertidal fi eld investigation with my students in the
spring as a culmination of everything that they have learned
during the school year about ecosystems. I would also like
the fi eld investigation to include a beach clean-up.”
“Thank you again for the work you both do.
Every summer, these are my favorite classes.”
“My favorite parts were the investigations.
They got me involved and I can see how
to use them with my students.”
“I would like to have more information about
scientists in the area who might be available
for my students to chat with.”
— 2020 OSW participants
03.
Teaching Ocean Science from Home
By Julie Tennis, Pacifi c Education Institute
Julie Tennis, Nicole Harris, and teachers from across the Coast make the best of diffi cult circumstances with a combination of online learning and independent backyard fi eld studies.
8 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
On or about December 8th, 2020 at our historic ranch along
the southern shore of the Hoh River, an old and cherished
Sitka spruce lost its footing during a minor highwater event.
The turbulent river, running just under 5,000 cubic feet per
second, eroded the bank and around the roots until the tree
lost its balance, twisted and fell, severing several enormous
roots that still held fast to the ground. It was a unique tree
and it was enjoyed by our family, our cattle, and countless
generations of bald eagle hatchlings and their parents over
the decades. The eagle nest was always two-thirds of the
way down from the top and every year the birds added
new branches and grass in readiness for new hatchlings.
I’ve enjoyed watching them myself for more than forty years.
No one in the family ever suggested taking down that spruce
tree or the remaining one that grew right next to it. The eagles
haven’t seemed to like that one for some reason, but we hope
their opinion of it will change and the tree will continue to
thrive long into the future.
The spruce once looked out to the north over state land adjacent
to the 160-acre homestead and to a gravel road and bridge that
were built in the 1940s to transport spruce and cedar across the
river to the Upper Hoh Road. Huelsdonk Campground was
located near the southern end of the bridge, and there were
picnic tables and outhouses. It washed away in the late 1970s
along with the bridge. The road survived until 1989, when
the river took that, also.
For many years, people who had enjoyed the campground as
kids returned as adults looking for it and wound up, confused,
at the ranch. They wanted their kids to enjoy camping there too.
Craig Fletcher and I were married out there.
04.
Refl ections on the Changing Floodplain from an Historic Hoh River Ranch
By Jean Fletcher, Fletcher Ranch Landowner (Huelsdonk Homestead)
The tree toppled into the river on or about December 8, 2020. Photo: Raena Anderson, 10,000 Years Institute Roots, some nearly two feet in diameter, remain locked to the soil. Even the mighty Hoh River must fi nd its way around the tree’s enormous base. Photo: Raena Anderson, 10,000 Years Institute
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 9
To the east, was pastureland and a huge buffer of vintage maple
trees and old growth spruce along the river, but now only half of
the pasture remains. The famous Iron Man, John Huelsdonk, had
put cables around the healthy big maple trees on the homestead
and tied downed logs to the trees. That worked well to curb
erosion for a very long time, and up until the 1990s there were
deep groves of mature spruce and maple trees from Owl Creek
to the South Fork of the Hoh River. Through the years, the river
knocked down trees and has made it diffi cult to fi nd that road
anymore. All that’s left of the logging road now is a big culvert
that needs to be removed. The mainstem river now fl ows where
the road and the big trees once were.
[Eagle update: As of mid-April, just one eagle has been spotted
perching in the the surviving tree. Normally they would begin
nesting by this time.]
The tree toppled into the river on or about December 8, 2020. Photo: Raena Anderson, 10,000 Years Institute Roots, some nearly two feet in diameter, remain locked to the soil. Even the mighty Hoh River must fi nd its way around the tree’s enormous base. Photo: Raena Anderson, 10,000 Years Institute
Approaching the remnants of the river’s once extensive forested buffer, a large big leaf maple and the distant two ancient spruces. The maple and one of the spruces fell in December 2020. Photo: Tami Pokorny
10 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
Setting off to fl oat and study the Middle Hoh River and fl oodplain in September 2020. Photo: Tami Pokorny Smoke from western wildfi res lingered heavily over the valley on September 29, 2020. Photo: Tami Pokorny
Dynamic natural change in the Middle Hoh
River valley has always been a part of this
ecosystem and a driving force for its rich
biologic diversity, productivity and beauty.
Increasingly, however, the frequency and
severity of channel and fl oodplain changes
are causing hardship and expense for
people. At risk also is the habitat quality
and abundance needed to help sustain
wild native fi sh populations, especially
as the climate warms. A collaborative,
pro-active approach to ecosystem and
community resiliency is needed to get
ahead of problems and expand options
and opportunities beyond emergency-
based responses.
Jefferson County Public Health, with the
generous assistance of the Hoh Tribe and
other steering committee members, is
developing resiliency and action plans
for the Middle Hoh River Valley. The plans
will recognize and build upon the work of
countless people who have, over decades
and centuries, dedicated themselves to
caring for the river, maintaining access to
cherished traditions and experiences, and
sharing stories of the watershed. Fund-
ing for the project is from a Washington
Coast Restoration and Resiliency Initiative
(WCRRI) program grant through the
Recreation and Conservation Offi ce.
Over the past several months, scientists
with consultants Natural Systems Design
(NSD) and Cramer Fish Sciences have
gathered relevant scientifi c information
from the literature and existing databases.
They evaluated shoreline vegetation,
collected sediment measurements,
05.
Middle Hoh River Resiliency Planning Underway
By Tami Pokorny, Jefferson County Public Health
The capture of side channels by the mainstem river in recent decades has produced extensive gravel bars where mature fl oodplain forests formerly stood. Photo: Tami Pokorny
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 11
Setting off to fl oat and study the Middle Hoh River and fl oodplain in September 2020. Photo: Tami Pokorny Smoke from western wildfi res lingered heavily over the valley on September 29, 2020. Photo: Tami Pokorny
characterized the channel form and fl oodplain, located pools,
side channels, instream wood, and took photographs while fl oating
the river over two days with several steering committee members
and guides Nick Hendrickson and Ryan Jackson. They spent a
third day observing the effects of erosion along the south side
shoreline. Landowners there and elsewhere across the valley have
graciously shared their family histories, brought forward concerns
and ideas, and welcomed steering committee members to take
a look for themselves.
Currently, NSD is updating the channel migration zone mapping
fi rst completed by the U.S. Departmemnt of Interior’s Bureau
of Reclamation in 2004, utilizing the 2014 LiDAR to refi ne the
delineation. This mapping will comprise a core element of the
Resiliency Plan, as it defi nes the extent of the river corridor.
Its chapters will also characterize existing hazards, aquatic
habitat, riparian vegetation, hydrology, hydraulics, geology and
sediment sources, and risks from invasive plants. Taken together,
this information will enable the steering committee to characterize
“desired future conditions” and to consider a full portfolio of
actions necessary to achieving resiliency gains over time.
Summer 2021 will hopefully allow for the opportunity for steering
committee members to review specifi c project concepts together
on location and to assess feasibility, costs, and permitting.
In anticipation of future phases, project partner Trout Unlimited is
Large downed trees and their enormous root wads rack up other woody material and create the eddies and pools that salmon need in the middle Hoh River. Photo: Tami Pokorny
Kevin Ryan, Alice Ryan, Chenoa Black, and Ruby Sheriff about to plant. Photo: Martin Dillon
working with the county to reach out
to local businesses and non-profi ts to
consider ways to grow local capacity to
fi ll restoration and resiliency-related jobs.
The results of this effort will be written
up as a chapter in the resiliency plan.
In addition to the Hoh Tribe and land-
owners, many organizations have already
contributed greatly to this planning
effort by making presentations, attending
project meetings or sharing studies and
other resources. These include Olympic
National Park, US DOT Western Lands
Federal Highways, USDA Forest Service,
WA Department of Fish and Wildlife,
WA Department of Natural Resources,
University of Washington’s ONRC,
Jefferson County Public Works,
Coast Salmon Partnership, Wild Salmon
Center, The Nature Conservancy, Trout
Unlimited and 10,000 Years Institute.
[Author’s note: The Middle Hoh River
Resiliency Plan project is distinct from the
Federal High Way Administration Western
Federal Lands’ Upper Hoh Road Phase 2
(WFL UHR) project. The WFL UHR project
is a large federal construction project to
improve and protect vehicle access to
Olympic National Park. Road project
updates are presented at Resiliency Plan
Steering Committee meetings. For more
information on the WFL UHR project, email
Alec Harrison at alec.harrison@dot.gov.
For more information on the Resiliency Plan
project and meetings, email Tami Pokorny
at tpokorny@co.jefferson.wa.us or call
360-379-4498.]
12 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
Tim Abbe, Jill Silver and Mike Ericsson collect pebble measurements to help quantify hydraulic roughness and sediment transport dynamics of the Hoh River main stem. Mike Rhode supervises. Photo: Tami Pokorny
Fish biologists Michell Krall, Reid Camp, and Shelby Burgess of Cramer Fish Sciences get ready to launch their raft and describe existing habitat for salmon including pools, side channels and spawning areas. Photo: Tami Pokorny
With support from NOAA’s Ocean Guardian School program,
Quileute Tribal School grades 7-12 in La Push Washington have
begun their journey to becoming an Ocean Guardian School. In
La Push, where the new school is being built, there is a need to
recognize, learn about, and protect the watersheds fl owing to
First Beach and Second Beach. Through their Ocean Guardian
School project, students from QTS have been learning about
what a watershed is and what feeds into this specifi c watershed.
They have been learning how the removal of trees at the site of
the new school has removed natural protections and barriers to
pollution ending up in our ocean. They have seen either through
pictures or fi rsthand how the ecology of the whole area has had
to be disrupted in order to build our future school and they are
helping to strengthen the ecosystem by planting native plants,
building animal habitats, pulling invasive plants and collecting
data on the health of the streams. In conjunction and with support
from “Bonds across the water” they have been learning the skills
that they need in order to monitor water quality, conduct stream
habitat inventories, and assess fi sh passage in culverts. The goal
of this whole program is to help our students take on the respon-
sibility of being stewards of this land and these waters, starting at
the site of our new school, as it is being built from the ground up.
As part of this project, all students from grade 6-12 were
going to go on a major fi eld trip taking on planting, pulling
invasive plants and doing data collection; sadly, Covid-19 closed
schools two days before that trip was scheduled last March.
So, Chenoa Black (12th grade), Ruby Sheriff (11th grade) and
Kevin Ryan (11th Grade), showed up to the site after school
got out. These students worked with 7-12th grade Science
Teacher Alice Ryan, Paraeducator Ben Nye, 6th Grade Teacher
Margery Marshal, and Marty Dillon. Mr. Dillon provided
transportation for the plants, signs and tools. The rest got to
work trekking through deforested soil next to the stream to
plant 62 native edible plants and place signs around the area
so that people would know what the students were doing.
Kevin Ryan, Alice Ryan, Chenoa Black, and Ruby Sheriff about to plant. Photo: Martin Dillon
06.
Quileute Tribal School working hard to become an Ocean Guardian School
By Alice Ryan, Quileute Tribal School
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 13
Tim Abbe, Jill Silver and Mike Ericsson collect pebble measurements to help quantify hydraulic roughness and sediment transport dynamics of the Hoh River main stem. Mike Rhode supervises. Photo: Tami Pokorny
“We are proud of our students, our staff, and our community
for the leadership demonstrated as an Ocean Guardian School.
Our students, our staff, and our community collaboratively serve
to protect our watershed and tributaries. The work in which we
engage protects our very way of life and perpetuates our heritage,
our culture, and our livelihood for generations to come. We are
truly grateful for this opportunity and for the knowledge we
are gaining throughout our work together,” exclaimed
Principal Ryan Stevens.
The NOAA Ocean Guardian School program awards small
grants to K-12 schools to carry out hands-on stewardship
projects that help to protect the health of local watersheds,
our global ocean and special ocean areas such as
national marine sanctuaries.
To read more, please visit:
https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/ education/ocean_guardian.
“I charged Haily Payne (8th grade) and
Nakita Ward-Bender (8th grade) with
naming the plants on fl ags so that we
could identify them better. I went around
and told them what all the plants were and
gave them a list. When I double checked
them, the plants all had names...like Jimbo,
Alexis, Johnny Boy...this was fun and
translated into the fi eld when we were
planting. I would hear Chenoa shouting
across the fi eld, ‘I am planting Billy Jean;
who are you planting?’” — Alice Ryan
Haily Payne getting organized. Photo: Alice RyanKevin Ryan was in charge of planning the signage. Photo: Alice Ryan Norm says, “This is a fall-bearing raspberry we’ve had for several years that was always about as tall as Peggy and 7-8’ across. One fall, I had some extra urine soaked biochar. I pulled back the mulch and spread the biochar. The cane length increased to 16’ and the production of raspberries tripled. I wish I knew the cultivar!” Photo: Norm Baker
14 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
Back in Minnesota, Peggy and I ran the
Northstar Daylily Gardens in the town of
Rogers. While running the nursery, we
were transitioning from chemical fertil-
izer and pesticide growing into organic
growing and the benefi ts quickly became
obvious. While attending a professional
seminar on soil fertility, a young fellow in
the back of the room asked the lecturer,
“What’s the most fertile soil in the world?”.
The U of M professor responded “terra
preta soils in South America”. Many people
in the audience would give their eyeteeth
for such soil, but the professor said “We
don’t know anything about it”. I decided to
do some research on terra preta.
A few years later, when Peggy and I retired
to Sequim and built a home, the place
we chose for a vegetable garden was an
old slash burn site left when the property
was logged 25 years earlier. Digging the
charred logs and rocks out, and preparing
to make the soil better, I recalled that
lecture and decided to do more research
on biochar. As a lifelong grower, what
I read was astonishing. The addition of
nutrient-charged biochar to depleted
garden soils could double or triple yields.
I began to investigate how to produce
and use biochar. Biochar is a game
changer for the problems of sustainability,
environmental pollution, soil depletion
and climate change facing mankind.
Go to the Olympic Chapter of the Sierra
Club (https://www.sierraclub.org/washing-
ton/north-olympic/biochar) for an over-
view where you’ll also fi nd links to organi-
zations, websites and current publications
that will jumpstart your education.
Terra preta soils were made by humans
starting thousands of years ago. Scientists
think the soils were created by indigenous
tribes cooking over a wood fi re and after
the meal simply throwing the charcoal and
other things like animal bones, broken
pottery, green plant waste and manure
into a garbage dump that grew crops
signifi cantly better. These people began
to develop those areas into gardens while
07.
Biochar – Why Wait?
By Norman Baker, PhD, and Peggy Baker
Norm says, “This is a fall-bearing raspberry we’ve had for several years that was always about as tall as Peggy and 7-8’ across. One fall, I had some extra urine soaked biochar. I pulled back the mulch and spread the biochar. The cane length increased to 16’ and the production of raspberries tripled. I wish I knew the cultivar!” Photo: Norm Baker
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 15
domesticating wild plants into crops.
Academic and public interest about these
soils has produced thousands of scientifi c
and public publications. Now we have
non-profi ts devoted to the research
and application of biochar. In the
United States, we now have the
International Biochar Initiative (IBI) and
United States Biochar Initiative (USBI)
as well as many state and local organiza-
tions. Washington State, under the
guidance of researchers at Washington
State University, in particular, has been
a hotbed of research and application
and is now mentioned on the International
Biochar Initiative website. And, the
business community is starting to
respond and produce biochar.
Biochar is nothing more than charcoal
made from previously living materials
like woody waste, agricultural waste,
nut shells, manure, and the like, hence
the name bio- and char. Previously living
avoids the issue of environmental
contamination. For example, used tires
can be made into charcoal. Biochar is not
low temperature charcoal like you would
use to grill a pizza or high temperature
charcoal like activated carbon. Biochar is
made in the middle of this temperature
scale — usually anywhere from 450 to 750
°C (840—1400 °F). And, it can be made
personally as well as commercially
although it is quite expensive.
There are two basic reasons, plus dozens
of additional reasons, at all scales of our
economy and culture, to make and use
biochar. First, when biochar is incorporated
into agricultural soils as an amendment
(not a fertilizer), it has a number of benefi ts
increasing crop production, about 18%,
on average, over the best organic crop
management practices currently used.
Raw biochar is chemically very reactive.
“These are patty pan and spaghetti squash and a salmon creek squash, a summer squash from the Columbia River area. Peggy is standing in a part of the garden we used to compare growth with and without biochar. These vines, where biochar was applied, were up to 50’ in length.” Photo: Norm Baker
16 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
A handful of raw biochar. Photo: Tami Pokorny
“Our smallest squash was larger than the biggest squash we could fi nd in stores around Sequim.” Photo: Norm Baker
First, it needs to be “activated” with
water and then it will aggressively
adsorb nutrients. Once “charged” with
nutrients, the biochar takes a few years
for the microbe population to grow and
fully develop. This is the slow process of
building soil fertility that is responsible
for amazing crop responses. Plants send
tiny hair-like roots into the soil dissolving
the microbes and taking up the nutrients
they need. Growers start to see some crop
responses the second year but it takes a
full fi ve years for full maturity.
When biochar is incorporated into the soil,
one pound of biochar effectively seques-
ters three pounds of carbon dioxide. As we
all know, CO2 and some other greenhouse
gases are responsible for global warm-
ing and now the IPCC (Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change) recognizes bio-
char as the second-best way, after trees,
to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. As
the biochar research continues to grow
and develop, scientists are fi nding amaz-
ing new examples of its function and use in
our ecosystem. For example, some of the
biochar from forest fi res, if it is not incor-
porated into the soil, slowly fi lters or fl oats
downstream into our meadows, rivers and
lakes. Now marine and river estuary beds
are one of the greatest natural deposits of
carbon on the planet. Just another reason
to protect those estuaries!
Currently, both the IBI and USBI are
working to make biochar a mainstream
commodity in our culture and economy.
Industrially, biochar is manufactured in
several different ways. Kilns are slowly
coming online especially in areas with
large amounts of woody waste like the
state of Washington. And, existing
biomass and power plants are fi ne-
tuning their technology to produce
and use woody waste to make biochar
in energy production. Right here on the
Olympic Peninsula, the paper plant in
Port Townsend, WA is producing biochar
from woody waste. Although “backyard”
biochar production is possible, most
common methods and devices produce
considerable smoke. The particulate
emissions that are especially a problem
are PM2.5. This ultrafi ne particulate matter
is directly linked to very serious life-long
health consequences.
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 17
The Turning Tides for Seagrass Team: Olivia Graham, John Hunter, Krystal Russell, Jon Mowe, Kevin Ryan, Alice Ryan, and Julie Tennis, after learning seagrass wasting disease fi eld survey methods (Summer 2018). Photo: Aaron Mumm
“These sunfl owers were labeled to grow up to 6’ tall with 10” wide blooms. Ours were 10’ tall with blooms up to 14”!” Photo: Norm Baker
Norm and Peggy’s garden. Photo: Norm Baker
Let me give you a real-world example of
the benefi ts of biochar incorporated into
our personal garden. In the picture above,
you see two organic gardens separated
by a chicken coop. The chickens are on
one side and the garden on the other side.
In the fall, we switch them to the opposite
side. The garden on the left has had 2” of
biochar added to a depth of 8 inches for
about 10% of the soil volume. The non-
biochar garden on the right has had no
biochar added. The garden on the left,
out-produces the garden on the right
by about 18 to 20% and the quality
is exceptional.
The chicken coop in the middle has fi ne
wood shavings added to the fl oor to
absorb all the chicken poop. Every time
the coop gets stinky we add more
biochar and wood shavings and we go
a full year with no additional attention.
In early spring, we shovel out the wood
shavings and biochar and add it directly
to the garden that will be used for
growing vegetables that year.
Our chickens are healthy and the eggs
are fantastic. Back of the envelope
calculations show that this one 2,000 sq ft
garden has a little over 3,000 pounds of
CO2 sequestered as biochar
in that soil.
This is a win-win-win
situation for us personally,
for growers, the environment
and society at large.
18 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
The Turning Tides for Seagrass Team: Olivia Graham, John Hunter, Krystal Russell, Jon Mowe, Kevin Ryan, Alice Ryan, and Julie Tennis, after learning seagrass wasting disease fi eld survey methods (Summer 2018). Photo: Aaron Mumm
As a Washingtonian and marine ecologist, I have spent the last fi ve
years diving in and marveling at the emerald meadows within the
Salish Sea. Swaying in the waves, small crabs and snails clinging to
blades, eelgrass (Zostera marina) creates lush underwater meadows,
home to a myriad of invertebrates and fi sh. Through my work, I not
only endeavor to better understand natural processes within these
habitats, but to also support others in exploring and learning
about eelgrass meadows.
Though it may look unassuming, eelgrass is ecologically, econom-
ically, and culturally valuable. It creates diverse homes for many
animals including juvenile salmon and herring, buffers shorelines
from erosion, effi ciently stores carbon, and is important to the
traditions of Native American tribes in the region. Despite its
signifi cance, eelgrass is at risk from disease and other stressors.
To understand how disease varies across broad spatial and
temporal scales, I surveyed eelgrass for disease within and
beyond the Salish Sea.
Often during surveys, curious beachgoers would ask, “Got any-
thing interesting?” When I would jubilantly exclaim, “Yes, lots of
interesting things! I’m surveying eelgrass for disease,” I was met
with disappointed looks. After several such encounters, I realized
that if I could help students experience and explore seagrass
meadows, then perhaps they too would come to appreciate them.
Knowledge alone isn’t enough to inspire environmental behaviors
and actions. But from my own experience, I knew the power of
transformative, experiential learning.
And so, Turning Tides for Seagrass — a partnership and education
outreach initiative — was born. In summer 2018, I collaborated with
Julie Tennis (Pacifi c Education Institute) to help develop a week-
long seagrass curricula and hands-on workshop for four dedicated
teachers on the Olympic Peninsula: Alice Ryan, Krystal Russell,
Jon Mowe, and John Hunter (Quileute Tribal School, Neah Bay
Junior/Senior High School, Crescent High School, Forks High
School). With support from Cornell University’s Engaged
Graduate Student Grant, I led a workshop for the teachers;
this included hands-on training for classroom and fi eld disease
08.
Better Together: A Community Partnership for Seagrass and Students
By Olivia Graham, Cornell University PhD Candidate
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 19
20 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
Surfgrass at low tide along the Olympic Peninsula. Photo: Olivia Graham
Cameron Lee Coberly participating in a surfgrass study in 2018. Photo: Alice Ryan
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 21
Surfgrass at low tide along the Olympic Peninsula. Photo: Olivia Graham
surveys. All teachers were eager to learn the research methods
and, newly equipped with science kits and training, to implement
seagrass activities with their students.
Yet, as with many scientifi c endeavors, surveying outer coast eel-
grass proved to be more challenging than originally anticipated.
From fi ckle fi eld conditions to sparse eelgrass, we realized that
our seagrass surveys on the Olympic Peninsula would not be as
straightforward as those I normally conduct in the San Juans.
Eelgrass is not as common on the rough, outer coast compared
to calmer, inland waters, though I had developed a list of potential
survey sites based on historical texts, technical reports, and aerial
imagery. However, the sparsity of eelgrass coupled with chal-
lenging fi eld conditions complicated our disease surveys. Given
these setbacks, our team adapted and instead applied the same
methods to survey surfgrass — a different type of seagrass that
fl ourishes along rocky coastlines — that can also be infected by the
same pathogen. Notably, Alice Ryan and John Hunter took their
students to survey several outer coast beaches in 2018-2019.
Given new challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, our team is
reassessing how to best engage students in hands-on seagrass
science. By conducting our seagrass workshops and implement-
ing them with middle, high school, and undergraduate students,
I continue to work with collaborators to successfully achieve
all three goals. Students participate in disease surveys, adding
valuable fi ndings to my PhD research, while developing a deeper
understanding and appreciation for seagrass meadows. They also
collect data on potential environmental drivers of disease, some-
thing I am continuing to explore as part of my graduate research.
In working together, our team collectively engages students in
hands-on, experiential seagrass activities. Hopefully, they will
help the next generation of scientists become stewards for
these valuable marine habitats.
Author Bio: Olivia Graham is a PhD Candidate in Drew Harvell’s
lab at Cornell University, though she’s fortunate enough to spend
much of her time at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor
Labs. You can follow along on her marine adventures at
@ojgraham on Twitter.
The non-profi t Friends of Hoko River State
Park – working with Clallam Bay Sekiu Li-
ons, Washington State Parks, and several
other partners – are providing opportuni-
ties for the public to practice and benefi t
from sustainable agriculture and to enjoy
the Hoko River area. New and expanded
programming and amenities are on the
horizon thanks to a dedicated and
growing pool of volunteers.
In 2013, a small group of local residents
re-established the kitchen garden at the
John Cowan Ranch Heritage Area. The
late Emil Person, cousin of John Cowan,
dug the garden from sod and assisted in
the planting, just as he had done when his
cousin was alive. He wrote a list of vege-
tables to grow and drew a map of how the
garden should be planted. He provided
seed potatoes from his garden, Ozette’s,
Yellow Finns, and Multipliers, and showed
the group how to plant them with a
sprinkle of powdered milk. Emil linked
the past to the future, carrying on the
traditions of using your labor and
industry to grow your own food.
Volunteers followed his lead by planting,
maintaining, harvesting and distributing
vegetables from the kitchen garden, and
creating demonstration plots to experi-
ment with different crops using a variety
of methods, like “lasagna” gardening and
hugelkulture. In 2019 alone, they donated
over 500 hours. Plants and seedlings are
regularly given out to visitors and neigh-
bors, promoting the idea that people on
the West End can grow their own food.
Friends of Hoko River State Park hosts
tours and work groups on Sundays from
2-4pm in July, August and September.
Teams of volunteers water the fi eld plots
and orchard. They maintain the fl ower
gardens, the picnic area, welcome
gardens and more. Visitors learn about
the history of the Cowan Farm, and former
residents and family members continue
to visit and offer information and stories
about the past. The Friends group hosts
the Annual Potato Dig/Seed Swap and
Harvest Celebration in September.
Board member Paul Bowlby is usually
there to welcome the groups of potato
diggers and facilitate the potato
digging and distribution.
22 – NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER
Nancy with some of the produce and fl owers grown at Hoko River State Park in 2020 and delivered to the Food Bank, Community Center Seniors, The Co-op and others. Photo: Roy Morris
09.
Hoko State Park Sustainable Agriculture Initiative
By Dr. Nancy Messmer, Friends of Hoko River State Park
Working with the Olympic Orchard
Society and Park staff in 2018, the Friends
group worked with scion grafted from
former homesteads in the Olympic
National Park. To reestablish the Cowan
Farm orchard, volunteers planted each
of the 10 trees in a separate fenced
enclosure to protect it from elk browse.
This work, and ongoing grafting of
heritage fruit trees, carries forward the
spirit that John Cowan wished to have
future generations understand: that
cooperation, sharing, and hard work
can create healthy, happy lives and
communities. Sharing of apple tree
grafts was common in his day.
The Friends group and the community
lost a treasured pioneer and friend
recently with the death of Board Member
Emil Person. Other Cowan family members
are working with the Friends group to
collect and organize written materials
and artifacts, along with compiling
comprehensive lists of items held by the
family, the State Parks and the Sequim
Museum. Board Members Laurel and
Larry Burtness and Mike Doherty contribute
personal knowledge and expertise in the
historical projects. Various photo albums
of the gardening and restoration work
are being constructed for display during
visits, and possibly online.
South of the entrance to Cowan Heritage
Area, the level, 5 to 6-mile Little Hoko
Trail extends along the Little Hoko River
and is enjoyed by many hikers. Work con-
tinues to keep the trail and access bridge
open and maintained. Board member Bill
Riedel and volunteer Tim Van Riper hike
and monitor it regularly, and the Friends
group hosts a First Day Walk of the trail,
an increasingly popular New Year’s tradition.
Volunteers work with the North Olympic
Salmon Coalition and local students on
the Hoko River Stream Habitat Restoration
project. Another favorite annual project
is the Plein Air Painting Day, hosted by
Board Member, June Bowlby.
Thousands of visitors a year pass by the
ranch on their way to Lake Ozette and
Cape Flattery, as it is a developing park
not yet open to daily use by the public.
The Hoko River State Park Management
Plan was approved in the fall of 2008, af-
ter many years of planning and research,
the publication of lengthy thorough re-
ports on historical features, ethnographic
analysis, scientifi c analysis, and public
and community input (https://parks.state.
wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/1274/Hoko-
River-State-Park-Management-Plan-PDF).
Friends of Hoko River State Park hope to
focus attention and donations toward the
Park, and work with the state legislature
to allocate general funding for the State
Park system. FHRSP built and maintain
a bulletin board along the Hoko-Ozette
Road across from the Cowan Heritage
Site with Park information and other area
projects like the Washington coastal
cleanups and the Lake Ozette Sockeye
Salmon recovery efforts.
Check out the Friends of Hoko River
State Park’s Facebook page for updates
and announcements of upcoming activi-
ties. Friends of the Hoko River State Park
hope future generations will enjoy a
Park experience that includes farming,
recreation, and enjoyment of the natural
wonders of the Northwest Olympic
Peninsula. All activities are conducted
based on current county and state
health recommendations.
Please join Friends of the Hoko River
State Park. For more information, contact:
Roy and Nancy at able@olypen.com
or Ph: 360-963-2442.
NPC MRC – 2021 NEWSLETTER – 23
Nancy with some of the produce and fl owers grown at Hoko River State Park in 2020 and delivered to the Food Bank, Community Center Seniors, The Co-op and others. Photo: Roy Morris
John Hunter helping out at harvest time. Photo: Roy Morris
Spruce Flats of the Middle Hoh River, where the channel has migrated at the head of Spruce Canyon. Photo: John Gussman, Doubleclick Productions
“NATURAL RESOURCES TUESDAYS”
West End community stakeholder meetings on water, salmon and marine resources.
1pm — 3pm North Pacifi c Coast Lead Entity for salmon recovery
4pm — 6pm North Pacifi c Coast Marine Resources Committee
Meetings currently held online and by phone.
Contact Tami Pokorny (Phone: 360-379-4498;
Email: tpokorny@co.jefferson.wa.us)
for meeting access information.
24 – NPC MRC – 2019 NEWSLETTER
North Pacifi c Coast
Marine Resources Committee
c/o JCPH
615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368
West End Natural Resources News
Tami Pokorny, Editor
tpokorny@co.jefferson.wa.us
360-379-4498
Julie Ann Koehlinger (Hoh Tribe)
Jennifer Hagen (Quileute Tribe)
Vacant (Makah Tribe)
Rod Fleck (City of Forks)
Cathy Lear (Clallam County)
Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County)
Alice Ryan (CC Citizen – Recreational Groups)
John Hunter (CC Citizen – Education/Environmental Groups)
Katie Krueger (CC Citizen – Scientific Community)
Eileen Cooney (JC Citizen – Economic Groups)
Jill Silver (JC Citizen – Conservation/Environmental Groups)
Wendy Feltham (JC Citizen – Scientific Community)
Printed on 30% Post Consumer Waste Recycled paper