Conservation Committee Update
Written by Emily Kistler
The Conservation Committee (CC) is continuing to ramp up our activities. In September, we discussed the Marymoor work parties, the Willowmoor bird surveys, Save Coal Creek, Recreate Responsibly, and the impact of Amazon drones.
The CC held another work party at Marymoor on September 5th to remove invasive species on the Bird Loop. There were 8 people in attendance consisting of 3 lead volunteers and 5 community members. The work party completed 27 hours of maintenance at the Bird Loop. They cleared out 2 cubic yards of blackberries at the snag and laid 1.5 yards of gravel at the Eastside Audubon sheds. Our future plans include clearing out invasive Scotch broom from the meadow and cutting and planting willowstakes to help control the reed canary grass on the Bird Loop.
CC also discussed the Willowmoor bird surveys that were scheduled for 2 weekends in September and 1 weekend in October. The Willowmoor bird survey is a multi-year survey to track the types and number of birds living and using in the Sammamish River transition zone. This information will be provided to King County to help them plan for changes to this region. We are happy to report that all 3 bird surveys were successfully completed on their scheduled dates! We’d like to give a big thanks to all of our volunteers. We couldn’t have done it without them!
CC continued to discuss the Save Coal Creek initiative. Issaquah Alps Trail Club is hoping to partner with Eastside Audubon in distributing information about the Coal Creek area and the concerns regarding a proposed development in that area. Coal Creek is an area near the Cougar Mountain recreation area. This land is approximately 12 acres in size that is slated to be developed into a new subdivision. Issaquah Alps Trails Club is working on getting an environmental impact statement to stop the development. Our concern is how the creation of a new subdivision will impact the wildlife living in that area. Bears, deer bobcats, and coyote are just some of the wildlife that have been spotted in the Coal Creek area. EAS has responded to the developer’s response to identify weaknesses, and we also wrote to the Bellevue city council encouraging them to purchase the land and include it in the Coal Creek area. For more information on the Save Coal Creek project, visit: https://www.issaquahalps.org/save-coal-creek
We also discussed EAS partnering with the Recreate Responsibly Coalition. This coalition is working to help people experience the outdoors safely during the pandemic. The RRC recommends several guidelines for recreating safely including checking the status of the area before you go, bringing essentials with you (such as face masks and hand sanitizer), exploring locally, and limiting your activity to small groups. Visit https://www.recreateresponsibly.org/ for more information on RRC.
Finally, we discussed Amazon’s drone delivery status, which is a new topic for CC. Amazon received FAA approval in August to operate their Prime Air drones for delivery purposes. Amazon will start testing drone delivery soon. While quicker package delivery may seem like a plus, there is a significant concern regarding the impact of increased drone activity on birds. The concern is that drone activity will disturb nests, interrupt feeding, and result in more mid-air collisions. The Golden Gate Audubon Society provides an interesting break down of these concerns: https://goldengateaudubon.org/conservation/make-the-city-safe-for-wildlife/drone-dangers-and-birds/. CC is continuing to investigate how we can advocate for wildlife in regard to drone activity.
Photo credit by Mick Thompson