Watching Our Water Ways

I was away from home and away from my computer all weekend, but I want to tell you about an amusing new show on Animal Planet. It’s about a couple of New York aquarium builders who moved to Las Vegas to build some of the most spectacular aquariums in the world.

If you haven’t seen this program, which started in August, you are missing a reality show with family tension, practical jokes and some of the most unusual aquarium designs I have ever seen.

These aquariums are installed in casinos, restaurants, offices and homes for a variety of occasions, many of them romantic. I always thought of aquariums as square and ordinary until I saw this show. I could watch just to be surprised by the unusual tanks featured each week, yet this real-life odd-ball family is more fun than most fictional characters you see on TV sitcoms.

If you visit the “Tanked” website, you can catch up on the already-aired programs along with many extra videos, such as Wayde and Brett’s top-five most amazing aquariums, “Tanked” highlights, the most annoying habits of Brett and Wayde and even tips for building your own aquarium.

Please let me know what you think about this show.

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In a report last night on KING-5 News, Gary Chittim offered a visually rich account of the studies taking place at the mouth of the Elwha River, where nearshore and delta areas are expected to receive huge loads of sediment after the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams come out.

He noted that divers from The U.S. Geological Survey and Environmental Protection Agency have been fighting strong currents as they conduct a spacial survey of the plants and animals in the nearshore area.

Gary quoted Sean Sheldrake, dive unit officer for the EPA:

“Just yesterday, we were diving on a beautiful kelp forest with a variety of fish and plant life, and the hope is through this reconnection of the Elwha to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it will not only continue but thrive.”

And in a news release last week from the U.S. Geological Survey, Sheldrake was quoted as saying:

“Until now, we’ve focused most of our attention on the effect this project will have on the river, salmon habitat and salmon recovery. But with this survey, we will have a more complete and much clearer picture of the effects on the nearshore ocean environment.”

More than 19 million cubic meters of sediment — enough to fill 11 football fields the height of the Empire State Building — has accumulated behind the Elwha River dams, according to the news release. That sediment is expected to create turbidity for a time, but in the long run could be beneficial for a variety of plant and animal species in area.

Documents for further reading:

Proceedings of the 2011 Elwha Nearshore Consortium Meeting (PDF 1.3 mb)

Nearshore function of the central Strait of Juan de Fuca for juvenile fish… Executive Summary (PDF 906 kb)

Elwha Nearshore Update, Summer 2011 (PDF 333 kb)

Nearshore substrate and morphology offshore of the Elwha River (PDF 4.5 mb)

Nearshore restoration of the Elwha River through removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams (PDF 308 kb)

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As demolition time draws near for the two Elwha River dams, 82 bull trout were recently captured in the middle portion of the river and moved upstream out of harm’s way.

Bull Trout / Photo: Olympic National Park

Scientists used their skills with hook-and-line fishing as well as the more direct electroshock treatment to take adults and juveniles from waters in and around Lake Mills at the upper Glines Canyon Dam, as well as from the section of the river between the two dams.

The bull trout averaged 14 inches long, and some were as big as 24 inches.

The fish were held in net pens in Lake Mills for up to 10 days. They were measured and sampled for genetic characteristics. Radio transmitters were implanted in 31 fish to track their movements. Then they were transported by helicopter to two locations upstream, one near Elkhorn Ranger Station and the other at the mouth of Hayes River.

The protective action is considered important, because removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams is likely to dislodge an estimated 24 million cubic yards of sediment that has collected behind the dams since they were built, according to estimates by the Bureau of Reclamation. Most of that sediment will come from a delta at the south end of Lake Mills. Bull trout caught in the sediment-laden river probably will not do well, researchers say.

“Using the best available science, we’ve taken steps to protect the bull trout population and given them immediate access to high-quality, pristine habitats in the upper river through this relocation project,” said Sam Brenkman, fisheries biologist for Olympic National Park.

According to the “Bull Trout Protection and Restoration Plan” (PDF 1.6 mb), turbidity will exceed 1,000 parts per million for extended periods and may periodically exceed 10,000 ppm.

Even at 50 to 100 ppm, bull trout may stop feeding, suffer from gill abrasion and experience stress that can reduce their fitness. Greater levels of turbidity can lead to reduced health and possible death.

Bull trout were moved by helicopter to the upper Elwha River. / Photo: Olympic National Park

It was assumed for planning purposes that fish remaining in the river would die. That’s why a priority was placed on maintaining access to high-quality areas upstream as well as tributaries and off-channel areas that can serve as refugia from the murky waters.

In addition, the demolition schedule includes “fish windows” when construction will cease and the river will clear up to a safer level, allowing for salmon and trout to migrate and spawn. These fish windows are scheduled for November-December to aid coho and chum migration into the Elwha; May-June for hatchery out-migration and steelhead in-migration; and Aug. 1-Sept. 14 for chinook and pink salmon in-migration.

Bull trout were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1999. Over the past five years, fisheries biologists have surveyed the river to find out where the fish hang out, tracked them with radio telemetry and conducted genetic studies to understand their population dynamics.

Based on this work, researchers estimate the adult bull trout population at less than 400 fish, less than 3 percent of the entire Elwha River fish community. Between 60 and 69 percent are found downstream of Rica Canyon, which lies just above Lake Mills.

Moving the fish upstream will allow them to find the most suitable habitat following dam removal. A unique characteristic of bull trout is that some individuals in a given population may migrate to the ocean, while others stay in freshwater their entire lives. Some may move into tributaries or lakes, while others prefer the main river.

Biologists believe bull trout once occupied the entire Elwha River system before the first dam was built in 1910. Following dam removal, the landlocked population above the dams will be able to move all the way downstream. The anadromous population that can’t get above the Elwha Dam will be able to utilize the entire watershed.

The relocation effort fulfills a requirement of a 2000 revision to the 1996 biological opinion for bull trout by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“We are pleased that we met our objectives,” said Pat Crain, fisheries biologist for Olympic National Park. “And this project, designed to protect a threatened species, would not have been possible without close collaboration among the various agencies.

“During two weeks of field work, more than 20 biologists — from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Student Conservation Association — assisted with and monitored the capture and relocation effort.”

The relocation work was completed June 17.

Other projects that should help bull trout include a culvert replacement on Griff Creek, a middle tributary of the Elwha, and an evaluation of the competition that occurs with nonnative brook trout.

If you’d like to read more about the Elwha Dam removal, check out the story I wrote for the Kitsap Sun Sept. 4, 2010, or visit Olympic National Park’s “Bull Trout” page.

The tagging of captured bull trout took place on Lake Mills. / NPS photo by John Gussman

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Some of the creatures you’ll see in these videos have a face that only a mother could love. Others are beautiful in their own way. You be the judge.

I got a kick out of the diversity of life represented here, the names of these creatures (which I hope are accurate), as well as the rockin’ musical production by benny118118, who I so far have been unable to reach for a comment.

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Seattle chef Becky Selengut, an expert in Northwest seafood, has been promoting her new book “Good Fish” about how to select and prepare seafood.

For a reporter, it would be obvious to interview her about the methods of cooking, unique dishes from the sea or “sustainable” seafood. I was amused by the approach taken by KUOW’s Megan Sukys, who talked with Selengut about how she overcame her early fears of eating seafood. Check out the report on KUOW, which includes an account of Becky’s uncle, who frightened a young girl as she tried unsuccessfully to chew up a clam for the first time.

The story reminded me of an incident involving my seafood-shy wife Sue, who never has been able to embrace the richness of Northwest seafood the way I do. If you ask Sue to try a bite of fish or shellfish, she demands to know, “Does it taste fishy?”

I never know how to answer this. If it tasted like chicken or steak, it would not be seafood. But I know what she means. Fish that is fresh always tastes better than the same item left on the shelf too long. The trouble is my tolerance for “fishy” is higher than hers.

Sue generally avoids shellfish as well, because — like a young Becky Selengut — she can’t stomach anything she can’t thoroughly chew up.

In 1992, Sue accompanied me to an awards ceremony in Olympia, where the book “Hood Canal: Splendor at Risk” was being recognized with a Governor’s Writing Award. Gov. Booth Gardner, who was in office at the time, presented the awards and invited everyone to a reception at the Washington Governor’s Mansion.

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In 1988, I took a flight in a Cessna single-engine airplane over the South Fork of the Skokomish River. The trip was offered by Project Lighthawk, an organization that used small aircraft to provide a bird’s eye view of environmental problems throughout the West.

We flew over Hood Canal before reaching Olympic National Forest, where the scene was dominated by extensive brown patches — clearcuts, where all the trees had been removed from mountaintops, valleys and even steep, impassible slopes. Gone were old-growth trees, with trunks up to 6 or 8 feet across.

At the time, The Wilderness Society was working with Lighthawk to estimate how much land had been logged over and how much remained. Their conclusion was that the Forest Service had overestimated the amount of standing timber remaining in the area. Check out the Time magazine article by John Skow from Aug. 29, 1988.

Pictures taken from Lighthawk airplanes helped awaken people across the country to the need to protect remaining old-growth forests, recalled Mike Anderson of The Wilderness Society. I quoted Mike in a Kitsap Sun story from February of 2009:

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An eagle and an otter have been playing a long-running game on Eld Inlet near Olympia. I’m calling it, “Who Gets to Eat the Fish This Time?”

Waterfront resident Kim Merriman, who erected a float offshore of her home to help wildlife, has enjoyed a front-row seat for this game, which she has observed daily for the past three weeks.

It goes this way: An otter catches a flounder so big that he needs to drag it up onto the float to eat it. An eagle watches the otter eating the fish and waits for the right moment to swoop down on the otter with his dinner.

If the otter is smooth, he quickly grabs the fish in his mouth and dives into the water without losing it. When the eagle is gone, the otter drags the flounder back up onto the float and continues his meal.

If the otter is not at the top of his game, he may lose the fish on the way to the water, and the eagle wins the fish with little effort.

Kim has watched the game time and again. She does not know if it is the same eagle or the same otter each time, since she’s seen a dozen eagles in the area at one time. But the game remains unchanged. Alerted to the presence of the eagle by calls of crows or seagulls, Kim frequently grabs her camera and tries to capture a series of photos to show the game in action.

“I’ve watched this every single day for the past three weeks,” she told me, “and I’ve photographed it eight times. I don’t know how long it has been going on.”

In this round of the game, the eagle wins when the otter leaves the float without the fish he caught. / Photos by Kim Merriman

Kim says the eagle tucks himself back among the branches of a perch tree and tries to remain inconspicuous as the otter goes fishing. When swooping down, the eagle appears to be more successful if he flies along the surface of the water toward the otter, rather than coming down at a steep angle.

While Kim has not kept score, the otter frequently wins and is able to eat the entire flounder. But the eagle wins often enough to keep him interested.

“Eagles are very opportunistic,” Kim said. “There really is a big payoff for the eagle. The eagle would never be able to get a flounder on his own, unless the flounder got stuck in kelp or something.”

Flounder are bottom fish that live in the mud, often in deep water. Kim has observed the otter bringing up fish as large as 16 inches. A fish that big would make a good meal for both the eagle and the otter, if they would ever share.

Kim, a former portrait photographer, now works as a sculptor in a medium of glass fused with metal. See Kim Merriman Art. Working out of her home studio, she is often available to answer the calls from the crows and seagulls who alert her that the game is under way.

“I love it!” Kim said. “I’m very grateful to be able to do this.”

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Last week, somebody e-mailed me a link to a camera aimed at a nest of wild bald eagles living in Norfolk Botanical Garden in Virginia. On Thursday, the last of three eagle eggs in the nest hatched. This is the fifth time in eight years that the pair of eagles has successfully hatched three eaglets.

I’ve seen a lot of live wildlife videos on the Internet, so I was surprised at the resolution and clean color produced by this camera, lighting and web feed. I was unable to find technical information about this system, but I would think that anyone who operates wildlife cameras would want to be aware of this technology.

This live cam on the eagles was down most of the weekend, but this morning the amazing images are back. The mother eagle is taking great care of her babies. (If the web cam happens to be down when you sign on, then check out some of the photos on the associated blog — including the video on this page.

With spring arriving, I thought it would be a good time to list some of the better wildlife cams available from across the state and nation.

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I’ve always wondered how much ecological good comes from removing old creosote pilings from along the shoreline, as the Washington Department of Natural Resources has been doing in its Creosote Removal Program.

A helicopter transports logs out of the salt marsh at Doe-Keg-Wats near Indianola in Kitsap County
Kitsap Sun photo by Meagan Reid

I was given a new perspective on the problem Tuesday, when I visited the Doe-Keg-Wats estuary. (See my story in Wednesday’s Kitsap Sun.) Now I am better able to see the value of removing creosote logs. Still, I wish a few more quantitative field studies would be done.

We all know that creosote, generally made from coal tar, contains numerous toxic chemicals. A study completed in 2006 for the National Marine Fisheries Service, titled “Creosote-Treated Wood in Aquatic Environments: Technical Review and Use Recommendations” (PDF 1.7 mb) talks about the many toxic constituents (p. 52), routes of exposure (p. 53-54) and toxicity (p. 54-65).

The report draws this important conclusion (p. 84):

“Overall, the laboratory and field studies described above indicate that treated wood structures can leach PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and other toxic compounds into the environment. However, the degree of PAH accumulation to sediment associated with these structures appears to be relatively minor in many settings, particularly in well-circulated waters….

“Nevertheless, there are several factors that suggest that a precautionary principle might be applicable to certain treated wood uses. First, the above studies typically have evaluated responses at the community level (e.g., the benthic invertebrate studies) or to tolerant life stages (e.g., adult oysters and mussels). However, the level of environmental protectiveness applied to T&E (threatened and endangered) species (such as endangered salmonids) should occur at the individual rather than the population or community level.

“Moreover, field studies have indicated that PAHs can accumulate to potentially deleterious concentrations in poorly circulated water bodies or when the density of treated wood structures is high compared to the overall surface area of the water body. As a result, site-specific evaluations of risk should be conducted for treated wood projects that are proposed for areas containing sensitive life stages, species of special concern, or where water circulation and dilution are potentially low….”

This brings us to Doe-Keg-Wats, which appears to be one of the most pristine estuaries in the Puget Sound Region. Take a look at the aerial photo at the bottom of this page.

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Before salmon managers begin to focus on harvest quotas and seasons for salmon fishing, they must work out predictions about the number of salmon coming back to each management area throughout the Northwest.

Those are the numbers released this week during the annual kickoff meeting for the North of Falcon process held in Olympia. Check out my story in yesterday’s Kitsap Sun.

So how do the managers go about predicting this year’s salmon runs? It gets pretty technical, but it is basically a combination of counting the number of salmon smolts that leave selected streams and then calculating a rate of survival to determine the number of adults that will come back.

Mara Zimmerman
WDFW photo

Numerous conditions affect whether eggs and fry will survive to smolt stage and make it out of a stream, just as many factors can cause the death of the young fish after they leave freshwater. I’m tempted to describe these factors here, but instead will defer to Mara Zimmerman, who heads the Wild Salmonid Production Evaluation Unit. Her well-written report on the “2011 Wild Coho Forecasts…” (PDF 376 kb) provides an excellent education into how coho are estimated. Check it out.

I was one of three newspaper reporters who attended Tuesday’s meeting in Olympia. It was easy to tell the difference between my handling of this story and the approaches by Jeffrey P. Mayor, who writes for the Olympian and the News Tribune in South Puget Sound, and Allen Thomas, who writes for the Columbian in Vancouver (Clark County).

The biggest difference is that those guys are sports or outdoor reporters, mainly interesting in telling their readers what fishing will be like this year. As an environmental reporter, my primary focus is to describe how the salmon are doing ecologically — although I do recognize that many readers of my stories are anglers who also want to know about fishing.

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