Revegetation, and other capers

Elwha Revegetation Project

Oh look a map!

The Elwha was damed in two spots creating Lakes Aldwell (North) and Mills (South). As of now both lakes are drained and the river is swinging back and forth, seeking out a 100 year old channel. The Klallam tribe is in charge of Aldwell, and the NPS is responsible for Mills. The two obviously work together, and the Aldwell plants are grown in the ONP nursery.

In August I moved to lovely Port Angeles, settled in and began my job with the Olympic National Park (ONP) as an intern. Most of my time is spent in the nursery, closer to Sequim than to headquarters. The office is just a 20 minute walk from our house, the proximity is nice and we walk to work most days. I live with a pretty swell German girl in a surprisingly nice house. I mean, its got 5 apple trees, 2 prunes and a cherry in the back yard. How can you beat that?

Pine White butterfly in Canada Goldenron (Solidago canadensis)

In the nursery one might expect to transplant, process/clean seeds, weed the seed increase field, water in the 'can yard' where all the plants are kept, sow seeds and so on. 

Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus)

The idea of the seed increase field is this: Seeds are hard to collect in large quantity. If one wants to obtain lots of Canada goldenrod or fleabane seed so it might be broadcast into the reservoir, what does one do?

Well you could spend hundreds of hours seeking out and stripping plants of their seeds, or you could collect a few hundred, sow them, and when they're large enough outplant them into a field. Since both these plants are perennials, they are theoretically able to produce seeds (genetically similar to plants in Elwha watershed) for several years and provide seeds... you get the picture

Both of these photos are of plantings within the Mills reservoir itself where both the Solidago and Erigeron seem to be doing well and are loved by the pollinators.

Backdrop to the area around the nursery

Other than nursery work, I have had the opportunity to go seed collecting, conduct plant surveys (to see what is alive out there), weed surveys(to find the invasives...), and seeding.

Empty Mills reservoir, facing south

Glines Canyon Dam, creator of 'Lake' Mills, nearly gone. The
lake is now completely drained.

Trees from when the valley was
inundated 100 yrs ago, still standing
due to some combination of sediment
burial and water suspension

The sediment varies throughout the valley, ranging from gravelly to a fine  clay/silt/sand mixture, called 'fines'. The sediment demonstrates it's lack of structure and fine particle size in this picture, where the soil shrinks when dry, a classic property of soils with high clay content (Shrink-swell soils).




There is a hundred foot drop to the left  in this picture. Its precarious going on the slopes; the sediment is unconsolidated and shifts very easily under foot. Grabbing a log might save you from sliding, but it has equal potential to come along for the ride and crush you. The cracks in the sediment are excellent ankle breakers and the edges of the walls 'calve' off much like the edges of icebergs.

An enormous helicopter spent a day playing pickup sticks with  mighty old logs, pulling them  down  from the slopes onto the new floodplain below. Can you see the human?

Mills facing south, upriver

Gullies washed out along the west shore, more evidence of the loose sediment 

Erosion is a strong force in this dynamic environment... These are red alder (Alnus rubra) leaves preventing erosion, holding sediment under them through an entire season of rain. This is one of the coolest things since sliced bread, I swear. Its beautiful in a soil building, moisture retention,erosion preventing sort of way....

There are of course other things to think about out on the reservoirs. Not just vascular plants, but also more basal plants (liverworts, mosses, lichens, horsetails, ferns) mushrooms, insects, birds, and mammals. Its interesting watching the ecosystem build itself from the ground up, pretty literally. Plants and insects alike take advantage of the semi-protected soil cracks to grow and take shelter. Tiny moss flourishes in paw prints deep enough to collect water. Seeps are densely covered in rushes, sedges, moss, horsetails, and liverwort. There are elk and deer tracks, raccoon prints, droppings left from flocks of geese...

Liverwort growing in a seep

Spiders with dime sized abdomens

A robust bleeding heart
(Dicentra formosa) blooming several
months late in the loose gravel
found in upriver environs

Bacterial and algal growth in a side channel.

Spent a while tracking this critter, only to look up and
realize that my coworker was 1/8th of a mile off in the
distance, trotting back to the truck with purpose

North (downriver), around a bend so you can't see Glines Dam

Although I've only done a partial day of it, I definitely like seeding. The feeling of it... is a little primitive. Like I'm off to sow the fields so the grain can grow and ripen and be harvested for winter consumption. That of course isn't the case, but I'm excited to come back in a few months and see if this seeding thing actually worked. Maybe all the seeds will get washed/blown away, but hopefully thousands of them will take root and grow grow grow!

Seeding a mix of grass and forb seed (Courtesy of Leonie)

Two somewhat lost 'scientists'. The map we were handed didn't take
topography into account for the land area... so we initially brought out
about 2/3 of the seed we actually needed. Nico modeling
the dreaded belly grinder (Courtesy of Leonie)

Its very easy to feel small and wildly insignificant... (Courtesy of Leonie)

For more info on the project in general check out these:

Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act: http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/ELWHA.HTML 

NPS Sites: http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/elwha-ecosystem-restoration.htm
http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/elwha-revegetation.htm

Revegetation plan: http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/upload/Elwha_Reveg_Plan_2011_FINAL.pdf


In case that just wasn't long enough....

A number of people commented on how I mentioned my SO, yet failed to post a picture of him for all to see. Well we chatted, and he gave me permission to use his face here. So here you go guys, don't say I never gave you anything...

Well if you want to see a real pic of him you must keep reading... Mwahahaha!

This weekend I traversed the wilds of  the 101, 20, and 5... just to see said SO. I went with him to a Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) work party near Acme, at their Landingstrip Creek site, where a new tributary was recently added. I didn't actually do any work, just wandered around taking pictures of other people sinking into the muck.

Ohhh This must be my significant otter other! You can probably see why we get along so well...

Don't let anyone tell you other wise; fall in the pacific northwest is beautiful and a little mystical

Check NSEA out too. As you probably know I used to volunteer with them. (Hmm maybe that's how my otter and I met...?) Go help. Salmon are delicious and we should save them so we can have tasty salmon treats down the road: http://www.n-sea.org/

Tootles for now folks, have a magical week!

Playing Catch Up

Well guys, this is it. The somewhat unheralded attempt to switch away from facebook... to some other medium. Maybe one or two people will read this. That's cool. So as you may know, I graduated in June from Western Washington University

Then I sat around in Bellingham for a while... Looking for jobs, and looking at these creepy crawlies. There was an over abundance of tent caterpillars this year. At least in my opinion. When it sounds like its raining but its really just these fuzzy guys falling from tree tops and plunking through the canopy... well. I screamed like the 4 year old girl I am when I felt one on my leg. And I swear I'm not skittish. 

Then in July we took a trip south to stay with the SO's family, and went on a jaunt to Mt St Helens and explored the Ape Caves, among other things

We saw some sweet insects... I think (read: know) I was more excited than he was

Cerambycid on flowering bear grass

Saw fly doing it's thing

Then I got wind of a job in the Olympic National Park, as a lowly intern, had a short and remarkably easy interview, and a few weeks later I gleefully accepted a position as a Restoration Botanist Intern (or something like that). I packed up the apartment and donated anything that didn't fit in my truckling. My belongings went to live at a friend's while I made a rather spontaneous trip. Having received a few not too subtle hints from my mother, I made the 900 mile drive south to sweltering Central California...

Some gorgeous fig jam made with cosmetically challenged figgies, still not sure how it tastes

Worked a little at Market

But time was short, I drove back to Bellingham, leaving my sister's at 2am (NOT wise, by the way). Stopped for a day to hang out with the SO again...

Driving through Oregon

More insects!

Then it was time. I packed all the belongings I had prepacked and drove down to lovely Port Angeles... I moved in on Saturday, and started on Monday. My darling SO came down the following weekend and helped me navigate my new town, and the mountains that act as the spectacular backdrop to Port Angeles.

As can be expected I spent a while chasing flutterbys... This one just sat on  his
flower and let us stare at him for several minutes... And almost touch him

And now, we are somewhere near the present.

Labor Day weekend chocolate on chocolate cheesecake

After a month or so we went to Kalaloch, working on acquired properties. Our bunk house was across the street from this.

And now, we're really in the present. I work in a nursery most days. Some days I go here (see below), and this is where I will spend much of my time this winter... Although not in such magnificent weather. But I'm bored of fiddling with this, so we'll talk about THE PROJECT next time around!

'Lake' Mills, or the drained reservoir