[Tweeters] Birding and Hunting at Wiley Slough

[via Tweeters]

I'll just add my 2 cents to this thread to say that in two decades of
regularly birding the Skagit Wildlife Area I have never had an unpleasant
interaction with a hunter.  I was at Wiley Slough just a few days ago, and
encountered birders, hunters, dog-walkers, trail-bikers and casual
sightseers all using the area and coexisting peacefully.

 

The estuary area immediately adjacent to the headquarters, between the South
Fork Skagit River and the newly-raised dike, from the north parking lot
south to the tidegate structure, is closed to hunting.  You may encounter
some hunters walking on the dike to get to or from open hunting areas
further south, but they won't be hunting in the area from the north parking
lot to the tidegate.  Hunters will also be launching boats to hunt from the
river, so you may hear some gunfire to the east, but I have never felt
unsafe walking the dike trail.

 

The closures in 2009 for estuary restoration and from Fall 2022 - Fall 2024
for rebuilding the dikes were frustrating for birders and hunters alike, and
the transition periods have been esthetically jarring, if not downright
ugly.  But WDFW has successfully restored 156 acres of tidal marsh that is
ecologically vital to salmon and very beneficial to waterfowl and shorebirds
as well.  The north parking lot has been raised and graded for better
drainage, the boat launch has been paved, the bird-viewing blind has been
completely rebuilt (no more cracked heads!) and the encroaching brush has
been cleared away.  

 


>From my perspective, WDFW has done a very good job of balancing the needs of

several different communities of interested users, while also restoring a
large area of much-needed estuarine habitat, which is about the best result
we could hope for.

 

See more info at
https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/habitat-recovery/puget-sound/estuary-re
storation-projects/wiley-slough-restoration-project#details

 

Wishing you Good Birding,

Doug Simonsen

Anacortes

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20250119/557da511/attachment.html>