Skagit Audubon Society

Photo by Ann Kramer

Watching Birds - Protecting Habitat - Connecting With Nature

Our mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.  

UNDOING THE ROADLESS RULE

On June 23rd of this year Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, overseeing the U.S. Forest Service, announced plans to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. For a generation this rule has  protected 58 million acres of roadless and unlogged public forest lands, including almost 2 million acres in Washington State), from clearcutting and unnecessary road building. The rule protects habitat for many species, safeguards drinking water, and provides opportunities for recreation in nature. Without the Roadless Rule, such popular hikes from the North Cascades Highway as Maple Pass, Easy Pass, and Cutthroat Pass, which are not in Congressionally designated Wilderness, would no longer be protected from logging. Our national forests already have many more miles of road than are needed or can be maintained. This huge reversal of conservation policy accompanies the administration’s determination to vastly increase logging on our national forests while waiving environmental review and public comment. For information about the Roadless Rule, go to Washington Wild Roadless Protections - Washington Wild.

On August 27th, Secretary Rollins announced the beginning of a comment period for the public to contribute ideas for the environmental impact statement which the U.S. Forest Service will prepare with the goal of ending the Roadless Rule. She invokes forest management, protection from fire, and the economy as reasons for road building and logging these protected areas. Washington Wild notes that, “The Roadless Rule is flexible and already allows for necessary fire management, emergency access, community connection, and forest stewardship activities like prescribed burns and habitat restoration.”

The comment period ends September 19th. Submit your public comment here: Federal Register :: Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands

This new development comes as the multi-year review and update of the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan is underway, which precedes the change in Administration. Under this plan, which applies to federally-managed forests from northern California through Oregon and Washington, certain old-growth stands were set aside to protect the declining populations of Spotted Owls and Marbled Murrelets. The plan did, and does, much else, but the timing of its scheduled update presents real danger for habitat protection and the future of those and many other old-growth dependent species.

The Puget Sound Seabird Survey is looking for birders in Skagit County to join this established Community Science program. Volunteers are asked to conduct 7 surveys with a small team of fellow surveyors at specific coastal locations. All surveys are synchronized to take place once per month on the first Saturday, October – April. You will be provided training in the survey technique, and ideally will have good seabird identification skills. However, there are roles on the survey team for birders of all levels. Now in its 17th season, you’ll be contributing to valuable science that monitors wintering seabirds across the southern Salish Sea and informs important management decisions. With the indiscriminate dismantling of federal and state wildlife monitoring programs across the US, your involvement in this project is more important than ever. If interested, please sign up at the following link: https://form.jotform.com/t_ross/psss

“Despite efforts to conserve nesting habitat and reduce threats at sea, marbled murrelets continue to decline in Washington,” said Jen Mannas, WDFW marine species lead. “With continued low reproductivity among a decreasing population, we recommend maintaining the species’ endangered classification while continuing to pursue conservation actions.” 

Learn more and comment here: WDFW invites public comment on marbled murrelet endangered species listing status review | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Photo credit: Marbled Murrelet/Joachim Bertrands/Macaulay Library

They leave their Arctic breeding grounds at different times so fall migration is both less concentrated and lasts longer than spring migration, usually well into September, both in western Washington and along the coast. While most of the shorebirds will continue moving south after resting and refueling, some (primarily Dunlin) will remain for the winter and thousands will continue to arrive well into October. Uncommon and rare birds (like the Bar-tailed Godwit in the photo who spent a few weeks at the Tokeland Marina on the Washington coast in Sept. 2024), often turn up locally and farther afield.

Fir Island Farm Reserve (Hayton) in Conway is a good place for shorebird viewing, but you will need to time it with the tide. Shorebirds must take advantage of the available mudflats for as long as possible, so the basin will be flooded during high tide and the birds will have left. Conversely, during low tide, the basin will be empty and the birds will be gone until the next incoming tide replenishes their food supply.

Try to aim your visit for when the tide is between 6.0-8.0 feet. When the tide marker in LaConner is at five feet, the basin will begin to fill up and the tide comes in quickly. This website is useful for timing your visit to see shorebirds: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions.html?id=9448558

In response to the COVID-19 virus, some of our general meetings are being held at the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center while others will be available on Zoom only. Hybrid meetings are not currently offered.  Please check the monthly program description for meeting details. As with our hikes and field trips, only vaccinated, symptom-free individuals should attend meetings in person. Some programs offer “watch parties” - see newsletter for details.