Story Photos
 Photo by Bill Wagner Shown durning the later construction phases in November, the Salmon Interpretive Trail at Willapa National Wildlife Headquarters snakes across the tidal flats. |
New Interpretation
Friday, January 2, 2004 7:28 AM PST
By Eric Apalategui
Printable version
E-mail this articleWILLAPA BAY -- You can see salmon any day of the year along the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge's newest walking trail. But most of the year you'll have to look over the riffles and pools of Headquarters Creek and up into a stand of alder trees.
The 51 fish affixed to tree trunks are made of thick aluminum, patterned with a patina of stripes to resemble the chum salmon that once again return each fall to the stream, which is narrow enough in spots to jump.
Chum salmon started returning to the stream in 2001, after the refuge re-created the run with fertilized salmon eggs and removed tide gates and a dam that had blocked upstream migrations for 60 years. Refuge staff and volunteers also reintroduced native cutthroat trout.
The salmon carcasses, which disappear by early winter, feed critters ranging from insects to black bears and the rare Dunn's salamander that all live near Headquarters Creek.
And the new trail's art in the wild captures this cycle of life.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife officials believe the Salmon Interpretive Trail, which just opened to the public, is the first such trail in the vast federal refuge system to use art works instead of signs to tell visitors about wildlife. University of Washington students designed the art last winter and built and installed the pieces during the year.
The trail runs along the lower quarter mile of the creek, which flows into southern Willapa Bay next to refuge headquarters on U.S. 101. It is open to the public 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, when headquarters staff are working. It will be closed holidays and most weekends, with some possible weekend openings when the real salmon are running.
The open portion of the trail starts on a boardwalk overlooking the creek's tidewater reach. The railings have red-legged frogs cast on 4-foot arches of bronze, signifying the native amphibian's leaping range.
The wood decking ends at the trail's "Amphibtheater," a small semi-circle of rocks designed to host nature programs. Tiny bronze newts, toads and salamanders, mimicking the rich diversity of amphibian species that live in the creek basin, seem to creep in and out of the stones. Nearby, a long steel sculpture depicts a salmon skeleton.
Beyond the boardwalk, a gravel trail follows Headquarters Creek, where in late October and early November it's possible to see live chum salmon. Look up, and metallic salmon "swim" just out of reach. Look down, carefully, where tiny bronze sculptures of insects depicting caddis flies, and case-makers perch on stream-side stones.
"We want a little sense of discovery. We don't want to make it overstated," said Charlie Stenvall, who manages the refuge.
"People will now be able to actually come here and stretch their legs, and if they're here at the right time, they'll see some salmon."
Next year, Stenvall expects to extend the trail another quarter mile into the forest, ending at a Marbled Murrelet Overlook, a vantage point named for an endangered seabird that nests in coastal forests. Also next year, a sculpture that shifts to mark the tide will poke out of Willapa Bay just off the mouth of Headquarters Creek.
Winter is a quiet time on the trail, so it's peaceful to stroll among the sculpted wildlife pieces and watch for waterfowl and other birds, including an occasional bald eagle, said Kristine Massin, the refuge's outdoor recreation planner. She brought family members for a walk last week.
"They definitely thought it was cool," she said. "They really enjoyed it."
The refuge staff wants the entire trail done before mid-October 2004, when the next class of chum salmon begins its spawning migration. Massin hopes to open the trail for a few weekends during the run, with the help of volunteers from the Friends of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge group.
Stenvall said the entire project cost eventually could reach $150,000, although donors including the Weyerhaeuser and Templin foundations have covered some of the expense.
Kelly Rupp, funds development chairman for the friends group, said the trail could bring another 8,000 guests to the refuge headquarters, which sees about 12,000 people each year. He hopes many of those guests will learn that not all restoration projects are massive undertakings.
"It's tingling to think about the fact that such ... low-cost changes can make such a big difference." Rupp said people will "see they can do this on their small streams and rivulets."
Volunteers stock chum, cutthroat
On the day after Christmas, Willapa National Wildlife Refuge staffers and 10
volunteers stocked 65 live cutthroat trout and 50,000 chum salmon eggs in Cedar
Grove Creek on Long Island as part of continuing work to re-establish native
fish runs.
The creek runs through the island's Cedar Grove, an enclave of old-growth trees
on the large island in southern Willapa Bay.
A tidal gate built at the mouth of the stream in 1920 had blocked migrating
salmon and trout from the small stream until its removal in recent years.
Along with the live fish and eggs, the group also hauled in burlap sacks filled
with nearly 1,000 pounds of salmon carcasses to place along the stream to
provide nutrients for the young fish.
Refuge staff will study five other streams for fish restoration work in 2004.
"Our strategy is to restore naturally spawning fish runs on every stream in the
refuge," said Ron Craig, vice president of the Willapa Fisheries Enhancement
Group, a non-profit volunteer organization.
Many of the recent volunteers are members of the Friends of Willapa National
Wildlife Refuge group, which provides manpower, educational programs and raises
money to support refuge activities.
Source: Kelly Rupp, Friends of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge
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