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FESTIVALS!
Saturday, August 3
Joyce
Friday, August 23 – Sunday August 25
Visit our booth on Saturday!
Neah Bay
Friday, September 28
Dungeness River Audubon Center
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We are Hiring!
We are now accepting applications for one WA Conservation Corps Individual Placement Education and Outreach Associate position and 5 positions on our WA Conservation Corps Field Crew! If you are a Washington resident between the ages of 18-25 and want to gain valuable experience working to improve wild salmon stocks on the North Olympic Peninsula, this is a great opportunity to join us for 11 months!
Visit our website
for more details about the positions and how to apply.
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NOSC WCC Field Crew planting native trees and shrubs. Photo from NOSC archives.
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Membership - Time to Join or Renew!
Begin or renew your
membership online
today and help create a lasting difference for healthy salmon, healthy watersheds, and a healthy community.
Your membership will support our salmon habitat restoration and education projects that improve degraded habitats, and engage youth in hands-on, inquiry-based environmental education.
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Seattle Sounders Photo Contest Winner! - Gary Moen
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Gary and his young friend holding a king salmon at a favorite fishing hole.
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"I had this king salmon on when my young friend & his dad walked up & surprised me on the river. My young friend was excited, I decided to give him my fishing pole. Korbey finished playing the fish out & pulled the salmon onto the beach without any additional help. It was a special moment that both of us look back on fondly. It was so much more rewarding to share this experience, rather than to have just landed the salmon by myself. Our satisfaction is apparent to me when I look at this photo." -Gary Moen
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Gary's son and grandson at the Seattle Sounders game.
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Construction will begin soon at Kilisut Harbor!
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The two inadequately sized culverts under the causeway. Photo credit: ESRP and Scott Haydon Photography.
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The installation of an earthen causeway between the islands in 1958 eased transportation, but choked the flow of water and sediment. Eventually this created an artificial beach berm, which filled the tidal channel, blocking fish passage and raising water temperatures at the head of Kilisut Harbor, also known as Scow Bay.
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State Route 116 connecting Indian and Marrowstone Islands. Photo credit: ESRP and Scott Haydon Photography.
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These actions will restore tidal exchange and sediment processes to 27 acres of marine intertidal wetlands and tidal fringe salt marsh. The project benefits many species including salmon, shorebirds, waterfowl, shellfish and eelgrass, while also providing safer transport between the two islands.
The shallow tidal channel will be accessible to human powered craft and small powerboats at high tide. Also, this channel will connect two Washington
water trail
sites at each end of Marrowstone.
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Kilisut Harbor. Photo credit: ESRP and Scott Haydon Photography.
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The State Route 116 Causeway that bisects Kilisut Harbor and Oak Bay. Photo by Tom Roorda.
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The swath of land between Indian and Marrowstone Islands was historically comprised of tidal channels and salt marsh. Tidal waters exchanged freely between Oak Bay and Kilisut Harbor, flushing cold water, moving sediment, and allowing juvenile salmon to migrate northward from Oak Bay into the shallow, productive waters of Kilisut Harbor.
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Monitoring tidal elevations in the remnant tidal channel. Photo from NOSC archives.
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After many years of anticipation the project is set to break ground in August! The goal of the Kilisut Harbor Restoration Project is to restore ecosystem processes by restoring the historic tidal connection between southern Kilisut Harbor and Oak Bay by removing the earthen causeway and replacing it with a 440' bridge.
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NOSC Project Manager, Kevin Long paddle boarding at Kilisut Harbor. Photo credit: ESRP and Scott Haydon Photography.
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NOSC has led the charge to get the project funding portfolio finished, complete the project design, and acquire all necessary environmental permits. The project construction will be managed by Washington Department of Transportation with assistance from NOSC on the tidal channel restoration.
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A Big THANK YOU to our project funders, partners, and support from multiple private landowners!
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Volunteer Spotlight: James Holloway
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James Holloway, Owner of Marrowstone Vineyards.
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James Holloway, Owner of Marrowstone Vineyards is one of our valuable community partners whose goal is to provide a place where people can come relax, and forget about the stress in their lives while looking out at sparkling Puget Sound waters with a great glass of wine in hand. James supports the community by displaying a variety of local art, hosting a live music series, weddings, and other celebrations at Marrowstone Vineyards. James also supports the North Olympic Salmon Coalition in raising funds for education and salmon habitat restoration on the North Olympic Peninsula.
How did you become the Owner of Marrowstone Vineyards?
I was a contractor by trade living on Marrowstone, when I bumped in Judith Collins, who owned the vineyard with Ken Collins at the time. I told Judith I’d be willing to help out on the weekends if they needed me to help bottle, or make wine. After working with Marrowstone for a while, I was sent to Chelan to pick up grapes, where I met Ed Kelly who had been a vineyard manager in Chelan for over 30 years. Ed schooled me on vineyard practices and wine making, and I began to think there was more to this than I had originally thought. The whole process of making wine was fresh and new, and I realized it was something I wanted to get more involved in. I started making more and more wine at Marrowstone Vineyards, and about three years ago Judith and Ken sold me the business. Since then, I have been striving to make great products from grapes grown at Marrowstone and prestigious vineyards throughout Eastern Washington. Every year our wine gets better and better!
What is your favorite part about making wine?
I love being a part of the entire process from picking up the harvested grapes, to bringing them back to Marrowstone, and turning them into something people enjoy. I pick up most of the grapes myself, and since each variety harvests at a different time, I travel quite often to acquire grapes with the perfect pH and sugar levels.
Can you tell me more about Marrowstone’s commitment to Salmon-Safe practices?
We are very dedicated to doing our part in protecting salmon, because without salmon in our environment, there is nothing left. We grow some of our own grapes on our two and a half acre Marrowstone vineyard without the use of pesticides or irrigation. We source the rest of our grapes from vineyards in Eastern Washington that are Salmon-Safe, meaning that they have water-use management practices in place and take erosion-control steps, such as planting cover crops to maintain water quality and salmon habitat. We pay the vineyard’s bills, because we buy their fruit, and therefore, we have the power to put more pressure on the vineyards to be salmon-safe and can hold them to a higher standard. Learn more about Salmon-Safe vineyards
here
!
What are the challenges associated with growing grapes in Jefferson County?
It is quite challenging growing grapes in Jefferson County, because of the humidity and low heat index. Grapes require a great amount of heat leading up to harvest in order to produce high sugar levels. We strive to produce fruit that we can make wine out of, but some varieties grow better in the Eastern Washington climate.
Do you have a favorite wine?
Every wine is good in its own way. It also depends on variables such as what the weather is like and what am I having for dinner. If I was on my death bed, and it was the last wine I could have, I would choose a medium bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with balanced tannins.
Each year, Marrowstone Vineyards is a part of the Jefferson County Farm Tour, in which James talks to the community about Salmon-Safe practices, the art of making wine, and testing grapes for acidity and sugar content. The 2019 Jefferson County Farm Tour will be held September 21st and 22nd from 10am – 4pm. Click
here
to learn more about the Farm Tour and its participants.
Thank you James for your commitment to both the community and environment, while making exceptional wine for us all to enjoy!
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Base funding for the RFEG program comes from a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, a portion of state commercial and recreational fishing license fees, and excess egg and carcass sales administered by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
.
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Give Us Your Feedback
Questions or Comments? Let us know what you think!
outreach@nosc.org
360.379.8051
www.nosc.org
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