Great Blue Heron Rookery Saved From Development

 

Above: Volunteers Meghan Hopkins and her four year old daughter, Clare, clear ivy from land at the end of Dickinson Avenue NW, recently purchased by Alicia Elliott.

By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation announced this weekend that a Great Blue Heron rookery on Olympia’s westside has been saved.

In an open letter to the community this weekend, Daniel Einstein, founder of the Coalition, said that Olympian Alicia Elliott bought the property, thus preventing it from being developed into townhomes.

The group formed after it was announced that the city had received an application for a short plat and townhome development. The developer, Glenn Wells, proposed the construction of three, two-unit townhomes,Wells Townhomes, and a six bay detached garage.

The letter from the Coalition states that Elliott was moved by the threat facing the rookery.

“…That began a journey which has led Alicia to purchase the 1.84-acre parcel that holds most, but not all, of the nesting trees. She is now under contract to purchase the adjacent 2.73-acre parcel to the north. This provides a critical buffer for the herons as they return for the winter breeding season. At the same time, we are in positive negotiations with the developer, who has been very receptive to the unique habitat profile of his property….”

Alicia Elliott is also known for purchasing vacant property on the corner of Division and Harrison, and creating the space into a vibrant community area now called West Central Park. Most recently, Elliott also bought the property of the former DeGarmo’s Pharmacy next to the park. That space is scheduled to be converted into a café in the Spring of 2015.

Rookery's First Seasonal Work Party

At the Coalition's first seasonal work party held this afternoon at the rookery site located at the end of Dickinson Avenue NW, many volunteers came to thank Elliott and work to clear the site of ivy and other debris.

Einstein took time to briefly describe the property’s purchase and history of the area.

“The developer was in a reciprocal easement agreement with another property owner through this driveway to access utilities, sewer, electric, gas. Any future subdivision could buy into his utility. Buying this parcel takes that out of the picture because these properties will never be subdivided,” said Einstein.

“In 2009, the developer logged the property, going right through the heron's nesting trees, and created a 450 foot driveway. After it was logged, the blue heron population plummeted.”

Asked if he has found any dead herons, Einstein said yes.

“We did find dead chicks and eggshells. We can’t prove it was directly linked to the logging because herons are preyed upon by eagles, but part of that is, the clearing of the trees left the nests wide open for the eagles to get in. They are also very sensitive to noise and this was a huge disruption,” said Einstein.

Einstein said there are 14 nests on the property. “That means 28 adults, and each nest usually contains four eggs, so there are about 50 to 60 herons here at the height of breeding season.”

Einstein says their breeding season is in August and September.

“The herons are gone now to other places, but they’ll be coming back in January or February, so this is our window of opportunity to do work. We want to create a viable ecosystem, so there’s going to be some restoration.”

Einstein says the remains of a former homeless camp there have been cleared.

“The idea is to close this area off and create a habitat preserve. We’re going to have to create that because there isn’t one in city code. The herons need to be left alone so we can enjoy them down on the shoreline. We are also working to daylight Schneider Creek and restore it for fish passage….Eventually, we want to protect 80 to 90 acres,” said Einstein.

Above: Looking like Truffula trees, this tree has several visible blue heron nests.

While Einstein says he’s been having positive conversations with city officials, a few policies regarding codes and lax permitting have to be changed in order to make progress.
 
He also stressed the need to make the city’s urban forester position fulltime. City of Olympia Urban Forester Michelle Bentley has a heavy workload and is only available part-time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon.

Volunteers Make It Happen

“It’s so exciting!” said Debbie Hathaway, a board member of the Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation.

“It’s been a very encouraging sign that neighbors care about wildlife corridors. It’s a sign of good things to come. It’s also a good example of how we can work together,” said Hathaway.

Northwest neighborhood resident Meghan Hopkins also came, and brought her hard-working four year old daughter, Clare.

“We can see the herons from our living room window. It’s inspiring to see community members come together for what they believe in for the creatures of the natural and human worlds, and balance out everyone’s needs,” said Meghan Hopkins.

For more information about the Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation, go to: http://www.olyecosystems.org.

Back-To-Back Work Parties

Above: Seth Chance, Robyn Montgomery, and Alicia Elliott take a brief break from working while Ruben Males rakes the open space at West Central Park today. The park features edible and medicinal plants, which are scheduled to be labeled with small brass plaques.Today, workers harvested the last of the tomatoes, delicata squash, and strawberries of the season.

For more information about West Central Park, Alicia Elliott, and DeGarmo’s Pharmacy, go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search engine.

Move To Amend U.S. Constitution Initiative Filed in Washington State

 

Initiative Filed with Secretary of State on Saturday

By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A state initiative seeking to amend the U.S. Constitution was submitted electronically to the Washington Secretary of State's office on Saturday, say organizers.

The full text of the initiative is available on the WAmend website at www.WAmend.org.

The summary provided to Secretary of State Kim Wyman is:

The voters of the State of Washington urge immediate action by the current and future Washington State Congressional delegations to propose a joint resolution for an amendment to the United States Constitution clarifying that:

 

1)      The rights of people protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons only.

 

2)      All citizens should have equal voice in the political process, and no person or artificial legal entity should gain undue influence over government as a result of financial resources. Federal, state, and local governments shall be fully empowered to regulate all political contributions and expenditures to meet this goal.

 

3)      All political contributions and expenditures shall be publicly disclosed in a full and timely manner.

 

Kim Jordan, a WAmend organizer from Whidbey Island, was in Olympia on Thursday night to meet with South Sound activists and solicit support for the initiative’s language. 

“I got involved with this movement because, over the years, I finally came to realize that government and the political parties do not function like I thought they did. I thought that politicians were dependent on the people. But too many times I saw that only a few voices - those of very wealthy interests - seemed to be controlling the conversation and that our representatives seemed to listen to them, or fear them, far more than you and I. So I knew it had to do with money…. both inside and outside of the campaigns and how it controls candidates, political parties, legislation and just about every other aspect of the political system,” said Jordan.

The statewide group is quickly becoming organized and learning lessons from the state’s recent I-522 debacle. The Washington Coalition to Amend the Constitution is 27 organizations with about 1,450 volunteer petition gatherers so far.

Jordan asked for volunteers, saying that 3000 people are desired to accomplish the work of signature gathering by June 30, 2014.

“I-522 was a top down structure – that is not us. We are a volunteer, grassroots, statewide initiative, building teams throughout the state…our goal is to give templates and tools to local groups, and let them do their own field work….” Jordan told the local group, which has been active for several years in various forms.

According to a 2012 USA Today/Gallup Poll, 87% of Americans say money in the political process is a problem and want it solved.

Ninety U.S. Congressional House of Representative members and 28 U.S. Senators have announced their support for a constitutional amendment.

According to WAmend, 18 Washington State senators and 38 representatives support a U.S. Constitutional amendment, including South Sound 22^nd District Senator Karen Fraser and Representatives Chris Reykdal and Sam Hunt.

Over 600 counties and cities nationwide have voted for measures calling for an end to money as free speech.

In Washington State, thirteen cities have passed resolutions supporting the move to amend: Port Townsend, Bellingham, Seattle, Langley, La Conner, Coupeville, Olympia, Kirkland, Sequim, Walla Walla, Tacoma, Oak Harbor, and Anacortes.

Three Washington counties, Jefferson, Island, and Snohomish have also passed resolutions in support of the movement.

The Washington Coalition to Amend the Constitution is 27 organizations with 1,450 volunteer signature gatherers so far. The group is seeking 300,000 signatures as a buffer to ensure they get valid 250,000 signatures.

“This is do-able!” said Jordan.

Several groups have worked on the initiative’s wording, which has gone through about nine versions and will have to pass muster at the code revisers and attorney general’s office, and a Thurston County judge. The petition is expected to be printed around January 17 or 18.

“Our strategy is based on Colorado’s and Montana’s successful method,” said Jordan.

It is predicted by some that opposition will be quiet, given that the initiative is non-binding.

Language about how candidates are going to pay for campaigns is not addressed in the proposed initiative language.

WAmend is seeing a surge of support since I-522 went under because activists saw the result of corporate spending, and approximately sixty people are signed up so far to volunteer with the campaign in Thurston County, many of them who were activists with I-522, says Jordan.

“This is a different deal than I-522…I-522 had paid petition gatherers, and grassroots efforts were pushed off to the side. This is a different ballgame – this is a real citizen’s initiative. That’s what many of us thought I-522 was, but it wasn’t….” she said.
Mike Savoca, chair of the Olympia Move To Amend group, said that despite the differences in methodology to amend the Constitution, the point is that campaign spending by corporations should be limited.

"The sky should not be the limit...within days, we saw support for I-522 erode with millions of dollars and lies...The goal is equal access for an equal voice, otherwise politicians will be in contradiction to the Constitution,” he said.

Although the local group tabled outright merging with the state WAmend group, those present supported the proposed language and will work with the organization.

The Olympia Move to Amend group agreed to support the following wording to describe their own efforts: “Through collective action we pledge to work toward the common goal of educating the public about corporate personhood, with the ultimate goal of passing a 28^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution stating that a corporation is not a person and as such does not possess the constitutional rights of a human being, and thus corporate campaign spending is not free speech and as such shall be subject to legislative regulation.”

Cindy Black, a WAmend organizer from Seattle, said, “I see this as a unifying issue to include seniors to youth. It’s about educating people about this issue. Whether it passes in November or not, the work continues….”

Jeff Eidsness, state organizer for Wolf-PAC, agreed, saying, “I think it’s an awesome way to network…we have support on this from all sides.”

Wolf-PAC is working on the same issue in a different way - through an Article V convention via the state legislatures. Some say this is the only official way to go about changing the U.S. Constitution.

Asked later about how he got involved with the issue, Eidsness said, “My passion for this issue stems from the level of disgust with the legalized corruption we've been handed. I grew up in a military family, and spent some of my youth in Hawaii, steeped in the lore of Pearl Harbor/WWII and the USS Arizona in particular. We were taught about the sacrifices, the blood, sweat and tears, that were offered so other people could have a better life, so it was easy for me to buy into Obama's whole Change idea.

"Well, things are different for sure, but nothing like most of us were expecting. I'm not a politically active individual by nature...(but) watching the news, it was obvious that the system wasn't working….One way I got my news was via an online talk show, The Young Turks.

"The Young Turk’s founder started Wolf PAC during Occupy Wall Street and I sat on the sidelines watching until early 2013 when I started actively participating in the most important course correction that our country has needed in generations....Given all the sacrifices others have made for this country in the past, using the system to get our politicians to do the right thing is the least I can do.”

Wolf-PAC conducts weekly conference calls to exchange updates and ideas. For more information, contact Jeff Eidsness at jeff@wolf-pac.com or (360) 349-2120.

The Olympia Move to Amend organization meets bimonthly on the first Thursday and the second Wednesday of each month. For more information, contact Mike Savoca at masavoca@fairpoint.net or go to www.movetoamend.org or www.WAmend.org.

For more information about money in politics, read “Dollarocracy and the Movement to Amend the Constitution,” November 17, 2013, Little Hollywood, and other articles at www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com.