Natural Resource Options and NOSC: A Comparison

              Back in September of 2013 I began my student internship for NOSC. My primary role: document the class experience and the 3 Crabs restoration project through a blog. Through the course of the semester I have spent 3 hours with a group of people every Thursday, getting to know them through helping with the 3 Crabs Project. In doing that, I have trudged through hip-high water, myself adorned with hip-waders, picked up debris at the demolition site of 3 Crabs, and sat in Kiwi’s Fish and Chips enjoying a free sample of chowder. Not only have I done so much more, but I've learned so much in the proce.

               One memorable moment was using the hip waders. That day, Jamie Michel, the project coordinator, took the class on a tour of the other side of the 3 Crabs beach. In doing so, we crossed over a metal post fence that divided the two. It was amazing to see how… untouched the beach looked. There was sea rocket (a sea-shore plant with waxy, thick, green lobed leaves and pale, lavender flowers) scattered amongst the beach; algae formed in big, dark heaps; there were tiny footmarks of birds imprinted in lines on the sand. It was so unperturbed! One single fence was the axis of the reflection of two beaches, one being a plethora of life and habitat, the other a place barren, lacking the ecosystem of the other. It was amazing being able to see the goal of the restoration.

                The student internship has been a fun, educational time for me. I have had the opportunity to strengthen my communication skills by interviewing people for the blog. Also, I have received hands-on experience with working with an organization like NOSC. I’m looking forward to next semester. 

Comparing COASST and NOSC

In addition to working with NOSC, I am an intern with Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey (COASST). COASST is a world wide survey team consisting of volunteers and paid workers. COASST monitors the beaches around the world in search of dead birds and garbage. The reason behind looking for dead birds on the beach, is that finding a dead bird is a sign of a weakened ecosystem. My work is teamed with a volunteer of COASST and another intern. Our routine of a day includes a two mile walk down the spit in search of any type of bird. When we find a bird, we identify it, tag it, record where we found it. The data we record is basically the wing length, the tarsus, the beak length, and how we found it. The aim of COASST is to submit their findings to a worldwide data base. COASST can then try to identify the glitch in the environment and decide to take action. This relates to The Salmon Coalition in many ways. The goals of The Salmon Coalition are to inform the public of their findings and take action in the habitat that affects salmon. The multitudes of each groups' values are numerous and each mean good virtue to their environment. Both groups, NOSC and COASST each know what to do with their time and how to support their cause. They go out in the field with a mission of success.

Viewing Salmon at the Rail Road Bridge Park

The Sequim High Salmon Coalition walked along different side streams, and main streams in search of salmon, big and small. Along the acute streams we discovered salmon fry schools. The fry were cautiously crowding beneath the shadowed estuaries, safe from predators. We continued on the trails to the main stream looking out for bigger salmon, but none were found. Our mentor Reed, showed us how to identify various different types of plants including: Himalayan/Native Blackberry, Western Red Cedar, Alder, Oregon Grape, and Big Leaf Maple. On the way back to our ride home we looked at an invasive species called Herb Robert, which are usually found on trails, stuck onto different animals and people going through.

Sequim High Students Clean Up Three Crabs

Four students from Sequim High School and Larry Montague from NOSC took part in a clean-up effort to clear the debris left over from the Three Crabs Restaurant demolition. The main goal of our team was to pick up debris that could blow into Meadowbrook Creek and Dungeness Bay.  Hazardous materials we picked up included insulation, foam, plastic, particle board, and other light materials. The point was to benefit not only salmon, but people and birds as well. We don't want birds to eat Styrofoam during the winter!  There were five of us working hard in the cold, snowy weather. It was tedious work picking up the smallest bits of material! In the end, there were 5 trash bags filled. We left feeling proud and accomplished to know we were helping keep the wildlife safe by keeping the pollutants out of the water

Sequim High Students Clean Up Debris from Demolition

Student picking up insulation on the foundation.

Found a comb and golf ball! 

Students hard at work scouring the foundation for pieces of debris. 

An Educational Trip to Meadowbrook creek

Sequim High School students and employees of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition took a trip to Morse Creek this previous October! The students are taking a Natural Resources class, basing their class projects off of volunteering with NOSC. We drove the "Moby Dick," a suburban used by NOSC, to the partially muddy creek. Reed Aubin, the group coordinator and teacher, took the students on a trail to examine engineered log jams, salmon, and the general ecosystem of Morse Creek. Essentially, they received their first glance of what the class would be like. The students saw  big tree logs layered into the ground, on the sides of the creek, in a particular formation. These are  the engineered log jams (ELJ), and they direct a flow of water, preventing overflow or path displacement of the creek. ELJs also re-establish habitat essential to young salmon to feed, rest and escape predators. They also help the river retain smaller sized gravel in a correct assortment for the survival of salmon eggs. Another thing the class observed at Morse Creek was large woody debris (LWD), and small woody debris (SWD). LWD and SWD are essential in water ecosystems, for their decomposition results in the distribution of nutrients and chemicals that are beneficial for the plant and animal organisms that take habitat there. At the end of the day, the class left with a better understanding of one of many successful projects done by NOSC, and a look at the future of their class.

Want to see what an ELJ looks like? Check out the link below!
Engineered Log Jam

This is Morse Creek!
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Morse+Creek,+Port+Angeles+East,+WA&hl=en&ll=48.112188,-123.34445&spn=0.019026,0.052314&sll=48.073491,-123.105927&sspn=0.609288,1.674042&oq=Morse+creek,+port+&t=h&hnear=Morse+Creek&z=15

Pictures of 3 Crabs Prior to Restoration



Dungeness shoreline, houses, farmland, and the Dungeness River. The protruding beach you see on the lower right of the picture, is a result of longshore drift from sediment eroding from bluffs at Port Williams.

 



Meadowbrook Creek is the stream to the left; it meets Dungeness Bay. At the mouth of Meadowbrook Creek, the freshwater from Meadowbrook mixes with the Dungeness Bay creating blurry-looking brackish water.

Meadowbrook Creek is the stream you see by the road that leads to the line of houses.