How did you first hear about the Salmon Coalition? What made you want to volunteer?
I first learned about the good deeds of NOSC from stories in the local newspaper. My wife and I relocated here in 2012 (I grew up in Port Angeles but left in my '20s) and I had a craving to participate in some way with wildlife habitat conservation efforts in the area. NOSC was a great fit. As an aside, it was fun to discover that an event we attended back in the early '90s as tourists was sponsored by Wild Olympic Salmon, a predecessor to NOSC. It was a traditional salmon bake at Chimacum Park... what a great memory!
What sorts of volunteer activities have you done with the Salmon Coalition?
NOSC offers many opportunities for volunteers to get involved. I have participated on summer chum and coho spawning surveys on Chimacum Creek, and I must say,
this experience should be on the short list of amazing things to do on the Olympic Peninsula. I've also lent a hand on several riparian habitat planting projects, and helped break ground for the plant nursery at Finn River.
We hear you also volunteer for a variety of other organizations. Which ones and what sorts of activities do you do? Which is the most fun?
Volunteering seems to have become a lifestyle of sorts. I note on the calendar the opportunities as I learn of them and when the day comes if there's no other commitments in the way, off I go. I get great satisfaction supporting projects that contribute to habitat conservation and that support our public lands. My wife and I volunteer at Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. I help with trail maintenance and invasive species removal in our local state, county, and city parks. I have helped Jefferson Land Trust on several invasive species removal projects, and recently volunteered to be a land preserve steward. It's been a total blast helping WDFW with smolt surveys at Snow Creek. I completed the WSU Master Gardener program and there's many educational and gardening projects in connection with that. I must say though, that the chum and coho surveys with NOSC are at the top of the fun list!
In what ways has all of this volunteering changed or rewarded you? Do you think you will keep doing all of that next year and beyond?
Volunteering has helped me connect to the land and to the community. There is little more important than protecting and stewarding our precious wildlife habitats, and public access to our streams, forests and seashore. It's helped me learn more about the special wild places in our area and the amazing people who help care for them. Volunteering helps me feel that I am a part of this important work. There is no doubt that volunteering will continue to be a big part of my life.
Anything else you'd like for our readers to know?
Our civilization's foibles have taken a tremendous toll on our salmon. Today everyone is fighting over the last 10% of the historic runs. There's no point in laying blame for it. We know better now. We can help reclaim our role as good stewards of the earth by participating in some way to improve the quality of life for our salmon here in our little corner of the world. In so doing, we improve our own quality of life.
