Wollochet Bay Estuary Park, Gig Harbor, WA. 2012/5/27.
Wollochet Bay Estuary Park, Gig Harbor, WA. 16:30.
Today on our way back from Olympia, my girlfriend and I stopped by my father's house to say hello before heading back up to Seattle for dead week. On our way our I decided it would be a good idea to make one more stop at a small local estuary that I used to volunteer at when I was in middle school. It is called Wollochet Estuary Park, and is located near the northwesternmost portion of Wollochet Bay. It is a pretty little estuary, but is also very close to several houses and roads, which makes it difficult to keep healthy. Not to mention that there is a large amount of motorized boat traffic nearby which causes a large amount of pollution in the water. Fortunately, in recent years there have been regulations passed to prevent wakes of boats in the mile leading up to the park. This helps protect what little there is of the park left. The estuary is home to several species of important animals and plants that are worth protecting, and the bay's feeder, Artondale Creek, is a salmon and trout run.
The estuary is only about 20 acres, and one of the most limiting factors is that a road was built over the creek that feeds into Wollochet Bay before the impacts were understood. This led to important microcosmic changes in the area that were only rectified when a pipe was installed underneath to allow the passage of the stream. Here is an aerial map from PenMet Parks, the organization that recruits volunteers for park maintenance that helps describe the location
http://www.penmetparks.org/media//DIR_14401/Wollochet$2BHermanson$20Parcels.pdf
My job when I was working there was primarily to remove invasive species, such as Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) and English Ivy (Hedera helix) from the region. Fortunately it had been combated against for the most part and has nearly been eradicated from inside the park, but it grows all over the place just outside of its borders on neighboring properties. This means that constant maintenance of the area is a requirement, and takes many volunteers. Especially so during the spring and summer, when the Blackberry grows fastest.
In addition to those invasives, there are several Western Red Cedars (Thuja plicata) on the estuary, a few Blue Elderberry bushes (Sambucus cerulea), some Pacific Coast Red Elderberries (Sambucus callicarpa). The estuary also has some Douglas Firs (Pseudosuga menziesii), and several large Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) The understory used to be a giant tangle of thick Himalayan Blackberry until my friend and I cleared it out starting in 2003. Now it is a bit more diverse, being made up of the Elderberries, Cattails (Typha latifolia), Salal (Gaultheria shallon) and a considerable amount of Sword Ferns (Polystichum minutum).
I didn't witness any today, but the Artondale Creek is a run for Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), and Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii). It is also the home of several Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) (of which I saw one), and Chipmunks (Tamias). There is an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nest at the top of a large Douglas Fir in the estuary, and many Robins (Turdus migratorius) also nest in the area. I also saw one Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) searching for food above the Bay. It made several dives into the bay, but I did not see it bring anything up.
While the estuary appears to be in a healthy state, it is
Species Observed:
Sciurus carolinensis
Tamias
Megaceryle alcyon
Pandion haliaetus
Turdus migratorius
Gaultheria shallon
Hedera helix
Polystichum minutum
Rubus armeniacus
Sambucus callicarpa
Sambucus cerulea
Typha latifolia
Acer macrophyllum
Pseudosuga Menziesii
Thuja plicata
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