Day: September 29, 2021

Story and Photos by Matt Axling, Yellow Island Steward

I am a terrible swimmer. I sink straight to the bottom of the pool. I avoided swimming lessons my entire life. When I smell the chlorine at my son’s swim lessons, my palms sweat. With all of these factors, it is ironic that I have spent so much of my life on the water.

I am a mediocre biker. What I lack in talent I make up for with effort and silly biking socks. I really love biking to work. The morning commute has put me in a great state of mind as I arrived at various past jobs. And an uphill ride back to my house helps me leave my workday behind and be present for my family when I arrive home. I first started biking to work in Seattle in 1993 when I worked a summer job at a cherry processing factory in Georgetown. Nobody was riding their bikes around Seattle at the time. There were no bike lanes or established bike routes. My shortcuts included cutting through the Kingdome parking lot and the SoDo rail yard. I was hooked.

After accepting the position as steward for Yellow Island for The Nature Conservancy, my bike commuting has taken a back seat. In no way can I complain about my current work commute. I hop in the trusty Yellow Island boat in Friday Harbor, and zip out to Yellow Island in 25 minutes. Traffic consists of pods of orcas blocking my route and the only time I am forced to slow down is when the wind is blowing.

Yellow Island sits in San Juan Channel. 85% of the time, the weather is cooperative and the trip to Yellow is uneventful. The other 15% of the time, you don’t want to be on the water.

The Yellow Island boat was built in the late 1980s in Anacortes. It is a fiberglass landing craft that is good for hauling trash, tools, or people. It has dutifully sat in the water for close to 30 years as various caretakers have navigated their way to and from the island. The boat is powered by an 85hp Tohatsu outboard engine. The engine was purchased on the same day that I was hired four years ago. Since that time, I have put 300 hours of travel time on the engine.

I am very conscious about my boat usage and that 85hp engine has often given me pause. It is easy to see how a motorboat can have an adverse impact on the marine environment. Outboard boat engines are not known for their fuel efficiency. Also a boat traveling through the water at 20 knots and emitting a roar so loud that I wear ear protection are other factors which can impact marine mammals, birds and fish. At times, that engine has seemed incongruous with our mission.

May was Bike to Work Month. This was our second straight Bike to Work Month where we did not participate in bike to work due to COVID. So, in an effort to align my commute with TNC’s mission, to get a little exercise, and to have a spring project to focus on, I decided that May 2021 should be “Row to Work Month.”

THe Right boat

The waters around Yellow Island can be a little dicey. While San Juan Island offers some shelter to Yellow Island from the seasonal SW wind blowing in from the Straits of Juan de Fuca, the currents and wind dynamics of San Juan Channel can be tricky. Kayaking to Yellow Island is something that should only be done under perfect conditions, and if I was going to power myself to Yellow for an entire month, I was going to need a bigger boat.

My mother and uncle were kids who grew up in Ballard. Like most Norwegian immigrants, they have boating in their blood and various derelict boats in their driveways. My mom owns a 14-foot Whitehall rowboat built by Gig Harbor Boatworks. This model boat rows like a dream and is used as an open water rowboat by people traveling through the Inside Passage. The boat was rebuilt by my uncle a few years ago. I hadn’t seen either of them in over a year due to COVID. I scheduled my COVID shot for late April in their hometown as an excuse to go pick up the boat. As I was leaving with the boat in tow, my mom came running out of the house waving a small object and yelling “DON’T FORGET THE PLUG!!!!” I was off to a good start.

Fast forward to the end of May. I have now commuted the entire month out to Yellow using my rowboat. I have rowed about 44 miles during 5 round trips excursions to Yellow.

As I expected, I saw and experienced many beautiful and amazing things by slowing down. I rowed near a pod of orcas which seemed much bigger and waaaaay more intimidating than when I am in my motorboat. I hugged the shoreline and saw guillemots fledging for the first time. I picked up some marine debris which washed up on a rock during a winter storm. When I was hot, I hid in the shadows of San Juan Island, and when I was cold, I rowed in the sun in the middle of the channel. I laughed at my ridiculously slow progress when I was rowing against the current and enjoyed several exciting trips downwind.

What I didn’t expect was how solo rowing for a month would connect me to so many people. Bike commuting has some similar parallels. Simply because you are not behind a windshield, you are forced to interact with everyone in your surroundings. You talk with all kinds of people. I noticed this when I was leading international bike trips in Argentina and Norway with groups of youth. Even though we didn’t share a similar language or culture, the bike would bring people together because it was a common experience.

At the Port of Friday Harbor, my little rowboat soon became a focal point for many people. I received a phone call from somebody who wanted to buy the boat on the spot. People were often gathered around it when I arrived in the morning or waved at me when I was rowing through the port. I soon became known as “the guy who was rowing to Yellow”.

lessons learned from a month of rowing

May is my busiest month of the year on Yellow. The flowers were out and people flock to Yellow to see the progression of blooms.

Due to COVID protocols requiring me to keep my distance from the public, I spent much of the month talking with the public while sitting a safe distance away at my picnic table. With my rowboat tied up to the mooring ball behind me, eventually the conversation would turn to the boat.

“Are you rowing to Yellow? (yup)

“From where?” (Friday Harbor)

“How long does it take?” (Depends on wind and tide but about 1 ½ hrs)

“Aren’t you tired?” (Yes – but in a good way).

“Why are you rowing?”

It was this last question which sparked the most conversation. Yellow Island is indeed a special piece of land. It is unlike anything that exists in Washington and is truly unique. Its conservation value is important, but I think its true power is its ability to connect people to our work. People who come to Yellow aren’t just looking for flowers. They are looking for a connection to the land. The reason I was rowing to Yellow Island changed over the course of the month. What started out as a fun side project, turned into a deeper conversation about ways to do things differently. How the ways we have viewed stewardship, and people’s ability to access our lands needs to evolve and grow and to include more voices. Just like rowing the boat, sometimes we need to slow down and take the time to value the quality and depth of our work and relationships which we are trying to build.

As I write this, I have a few more rowing trips to complete this month. Visitation is quieting down and my busiest month of the year is coming to an end. Signs of summer are in the air: pregnant seals are returning to the island, spotted towhees are singing and the Island’s flowers are going to seed. Rowing back and forth has reminded me to look at our work from all different angles. If we listen and take our time, amazing experiences can be created.

Learn more about Yellow Island

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The Taneum watershed, in the heart of the Central Cascades but only a 90-minute drive from Seattle, provides an awesome place to play outside.  Locals and visitors flock to the area to hike, camp, bike, ski, fish, snowmobile, horseback ride, hunt and more. But, though the opportunities to enjoy nature here are tremendous, there’s so much more to the Taneum. 

The Greenway

The Taneum watershed is part of the 1.5-million acre Mountains to Sound Greenway, a National Heritage Area connecting communities with nature from Seattle to Ellensburg. The Greenway Trust is an indispensable partner and tireless advocate for protecting the headwaters of the Yakima River.

In addition to the something-for-everyone outdoor activities in the area, the “checkerboard” forest lands of the Taneum are important habitat for rare and endangered fish and wildlife and are a precious water source near the headwaters of the Yakima River. This watershed supports agriculture, outdoor recreation and natural resource economies – both up in the Central Cascades and downstream in the Yakima Valley.

Watch our new video about this project

The Power of LWCF

Permanently reauthorized and permanently funded one year ago this summer as part of the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, LWCF is our country’s most important conservation program. With $14.5 million in LWCF funding to support this transfer, the OWNF can take major strides toward restoring forest health and resolving the inefficient pattern of checkerboard ownership that has dogged land managers and frustrated forest users for decades.  

We are proud to partner with the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest (OWNF) on a project to protect 12,000 irreplaceable acres in the Taneum. Located south of I-90 and the communities of Easton and South Cle Elum, and northwest of the LT Murray Wildlife area, the Taneum is part of a “checkerboard” legacy of land ownership.  With support from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) this project would transfer 12,000 acres of privately owned parcels to the National Forest. This transfer will improve management efficiencies and public access in addition to protecting the landscape for fish, wildlife, water users and future generations.  

The parcels highlighted in orange below – already nearly surrounded by the OWNF – are part of this year’s project. Click on the map for a larger view of this checkerboard landscape.

since time began

The Taneum watershed is located within the ceded lands of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Descendants of the original inhabitants of these lands still steward the area today, protecting it for future generations. Leaders from the Yakama Indian Nation have generously lent their support to this LWCF project through the years.

Water is the lifeblood of Central Washington, and the health of the Yakima River impacts the well-being and livelihoods of tens of thousands of Washingtonians: members of the Yakama Indian Nation, farmers and vintners downstream in the Yakima Valley, and municipal water users from the City of Yakima to the Tri-Cities. The Yakima River is critical habitat for salmon and steelhead, and protecting the Taneum is crucial to improving the Upper Yakima Watershed’s ability to store and deliver clean water for fish and wildlife, agricultural irrigators, and thousands of urban, suburban and rural households.

Home to Ponderosa pines, large mammals like elk and bear, rare and threatened species such as wolverines and spotted owls, as well as 200 species of birds, the Taneum is under pressure.  Water is especially valuable here, and it’s increasingly scarce.  The Yakima River is strained by increasing demand for irrigation and a growing population, climate change and wildfire. Partners working to restore the watershed as part of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan are seeking to manage the risks and balance the demands with coordinated efforts to protect groundwater, store surface water, remove barriers to fish passage and provide high-quality recreation access and opportunities.  

See more LWCF Places & Spaces

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The Floodplains by Design (FbD) network is a group of floodplain practitioners and floodplain influencers across Washington that are changing the way we look at floodplains from a siloed approach to an integrated holistic approach to river management. While each floodplain may have their own players, drivers and next steps, the common thread is the collaborative approach to finding agreement on achieving healthy rivers systems and healthy communities. But the challenge hit us last year, how can we continue to collaborate when we can’t be in community with each other? Learn more about how the FbD network faced this challenge; with creativity, nimbleness and most importantly found a community to lean on for help.

Read the full story here.

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The Nature Conservancy’s Partners to Preserves program has been awarded a grant through Washington’s No Child Left Inside grant program to support bringing 400 youth to TNC preserves across Washington over the next two years.

TNC’s Partners to Preserves program works with organizations serving youth to bring their outdoor programs to TNC preserves in Pacific, Jefferson, Okanagan, San Juan Island, Kitsap, Snohomish, Kittitas, Grant, and Douglas counties. Youth will participate in science and learn natural and cultural history, art, hiking, and camping.

“We’re thrilled and grateful for this opportunity to expand our program and support youth from diverse communities who are most impacted by lack of access to nature,” said Alfonso Orozco, TNC’s Volunteer and Outdoor Experiences Manager, who manages the Partners to Preserves program. “Through partnering with organizations already doing excellent work and supporting them in realizing their own goals, we can use our preserves as natural learning platforms for outdoor experiences.”

TNC will work with partner organizations World Relief, Team Naturaleza, Kandelia, Coast Salish Youth Stewardship Corps, and others to bring youth to explore and learn about our many Washington preserves. The $63,630 grant, through the No Child Left Inside grant managed by the Washington Recreation & Conservation Office (RCO), will enable TNC to quadruple the number of youth served by the program Orozco said.

“World Relief Seattle is excited to partner with TNC to provide unique outdoor educational experiences for refugee children,” said Katie Stoppler, Health and Wellness Manager for the organization which serves refugees and immigrants in the greater Seattle area. “Not only will refugee children have access to the rich and diverse environment in the Pacific Northwest, but these experiences will increase a sense of home and community for our newest neighbors.”

The grant will cover transportation, supplies, meals, the development of educational toolkits, and stipends to trip leaders as they bring youth to these preserves: Yellow Island Preserve, Pratt Preserve at Ebey’s Landing, Port Susan Bay Preserve, Moses Coulee/Beezley Hills preserves, Hoh River Recreation and Conservation Area, Ellsworth Creek Preserve, Central Cascades Forest and Barker Mountain Preserve.

The state’s No Child Left Inside grant program focuses on removing barriers that prevent youth from accessing outdoor experiences and nature-based education. This year’s grants will help more than 50,000 kids spend nearly 1.5 million hours outside, doing everything from hiking to kayaking to camping.

Banner photo, Little Brook Youth Corps students participate in a Dirt Corps workshop to learn about the benefits of trees in an urban forest. © Hannah Letinich

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One year ago today, the US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in support of the Great American Outdoors Act, marking our country’s biggest conservation funding victory in decades. The bill became law a few weeks later, permanently providing dedicated funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund, which helps communities across the continent protect and improve access to public outdoor spaces large and small.

As we look back at that major bipartisan victory, we’re looking forward to finally celebrating together – in person! Outside! – with many of our partners in the national Land & Water Conservation Fund Coalition, and with our collaborators on a Washington state project close to our hearts: protecting the Taneum watershed.

The Taneum project seeks to permanently protect 12,000 acres of irreplaceable Central Cascades forestland near the headwaters of the Yakima River. An exemplary large-scale LWCF project, reconnecting the “checkerboarded” parcels in this watershed will protect drinking water for the Yakima Valley and preserve critical fish and wildlife habitat while expanding recreation access for the area – popular with hikers, horseback riders, anglers and many others. By transferring these privately owned parcels in to public ownership, we’ll increase management efficiencies and facilitate forest-health treatments to help protect communities from catastrophic wildfire and other climate-change impacts.

Learn about reconnecting the Taneum

The Taneum project wouldn’t be possible without the Great American Outdoors Act, and we’re working hard to secure the substantial LWCF funding needed for this transfer. Meanwhile, we’re also taking time to celebrate the special places across Washington protected by LWCF over the years. Check out the gallery below for a quick virtual trip to a sampling of these treasured spots.

Hidden Lake’s stillness is due in part to LWCF’s federal grant program, which has helped keep North Cascades National Park whole. Photo by Richard Sheibley, USGS, Public Domain.

Migratory snow geese at the Skagit Wildlife Area draw birdwatchers from around the world. This place is protected by LWCF. Photo by Michael McAuliffe.

Access to the Hoh River in Jefferson County was made possible by LWCF. Photo by Bridget Besaw.

Moses Coulee, on the spectacular Columbia Plateau in Douglas County, is protected by LWCF’s federal grant program – and it’s one of The Nature Conservancy’s largest preserves in Washington. Photo by Kit Swartz

Heybrook Lookout Trail, west of Stevens Pass, is in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, one of many National Forests protected by LWCF. Photo by Sony Thomas

Recreational access to the Skagit Wild & Scenic River is protected by LWCF. Photo by Bridget Besaw.

Columnar basalt at Deep Lake in Sun Lakes State Park, Grant County, heaven for geology geeks and boaters of all sorts. Photo by John Marshall.

The spectacular Olympic Mountains are headwaters for many salmon-bearing streams and a bucket-list destination for hikers. The Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park have both benefited from LWCF protection. Photo by John Marshall.

The San Juan Islands offer world-class recreation, thanks in part to access and protection by LWCF. Photo by Joel Rogers.

Recreation on the Puyallup River in Pierce County is accessible to more families thanks to LWCF funding. Photo by Keith Lazelle.

In the North Cascades, campers enjoy the sunset in the Mount Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest in Whatcom County, protected by LWCF. Photo by Jacob Hall

Lake Cle Elum is in Wenatchee National Forest, Kittitas County, where we’re working to protect acres of forestland along the Pacific Crest Trail with support from LWCF. Photo by Zoe van Duivenbode

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge in Pacific County is protected by LWCF’s federal grant program and is adjacent to our Ellsworth Creek Preserve. Photo by Yoav Daniel Bar-Ness

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