Refuge
by Lucas Henning
As fall gives way to winter’s chill, commuters begin traveling south on the Pacific Flyway. Along this aerial version of Interstate 5, migratory birds leave their summer homes in Canada and Alaska for warmer southern climates. Just as I-5 drivers stop for snacks and a rest from the road, so do the traveling birds.
The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, tucked between Olympia and Tacoma,
is one such rest stop along the Pacific Flyway. At the Nisqually River
delta a diverse landscape of estuaries, marshes and riparian wetlands
form a haven for wildlife to thrive and a place for visitors to take a
break from everyday life and witness the beauty of the natural world.
With I-5 at its southern border, the Nisqually refuge receives both burdens
and benefits from being next to the freeway. I-5 provides easy access
for a large number of visitors, which allows the refuge’s staff to
educate more people. But the freeway also brings overcrowding, noise and
hydrological problems to the refuge. It also presents a barrier to animals.
Last year the refuge had 140,000 visitors. A $3 entrance fee for each group brings in roughly $45,000 each year, said Jean Takekawa, refuge manager. Along with profits from the bookstore and special events, these funds go toward improving facilities at the 3,000-acre refuge.
"At most refuges you get the feeling that it is entirely for the wildlife," said refuge visitor Bent Blichfeldt during a walk on the trails with his wife. "Here at Nisqually it’s just as much for the people."
As the most highly visited refuge in the state, Nisqually staff and volunteers emphasize the importance of educating their guests. From avid bird-watchers equipped with high-magnification spotting scopes to curious elementary school field-trippers, visitors from all around the world come to see and learn about the wildlife. Each year, nearly 5,000 students visit the refuge on field trips. In the environmental education center, group learning stations and refuge exhibits become classrooms. The refuge staff works hard to educate guests about the refuge, the life within it and the importance of its protection and conservation.
"A lot of visitors come to me and ask what animals they can see today," said Outdoor Recreation Coordinator Sheila McCartan. "As the seasons change, so do the locations of animals and it’s fun to be able to point guests in the direction of where we know wildlife has been seen recently."
A walk-through exhibit welcomes guests to the visitor center with walls of information, from refuge history to tidbits on some of the 170 species of birds in the area. Volunteers at the information desk sit attentively, ready to answer questions. Beside them, a new display details the invasive-plant removal project currently underway.
Beyond the refuge office, gravel trails and boardwalks wind through the protected wetlands. Telescopes, observation platforms and informative signs line the trail. Orange maple leaves pile up on the boardwalk and crunch under people’s feet. As visitors watch, red-winged blackbirds swoop through the marshes. Higher up, a massive cloud of starlings shifts, as the birds maneuver in sync. Beyond the boardwalk, a five-mile trail runs through open fields, shady woodlands, tidal mudflats and frog-filled marshes.
An observation tower overlooks the tidal landscape just two miles from the trailhead. The platform gives guests a prime vantage point for viewing the estuary at the river’s delta. Closely gathered mallards float and feed on the calm waters while, hidden below them, young salmon have their first taste of saltwater as they enter Puget Sound.
According to officials at the refuge, nearly 75 percent of Puget Sound estuaries are gone. Most have been dredged or filled in.
"The estuaries here are the most important thing to preserve," Audubon Society volunteer Fran Wood said, while guiding a birdwatching walk through the refuge. "We can’t continue to replace habitat with development."
Abundant wildlife draws people to the refuge and its proximity to I-5 further increases the number of visitors. Yet because of the refuge’s location overcrowding often occurs.
"One of the most unique things about our refuge is its accessibility to the public," Takekawa said. "Sometimes on spring and summer weekends our 100-car parking lot will overflow."
One downside to a nearby freeway and such high visitation is the potential for disturbing the wildlife, Takekawa said. The presence of people can affect where the animals breed, feed and nest in relations to trails. The busier the refuge is the farther animals will be from trails, she said.
"Providing protection to the wildlife and habitat is our primary objective," Takekawa said. "But we try to maintain a balance between that and giving access to the public."
Refuge management and the Washington State Department of Transportation are working together to find alternative ways to visit the refuge when it is crowded. A park-and-ride with a shuttle is one option. Another is an expansion of the parking lot. With funding from WSDOT, the refuge management hopes to provide a solution by spring.
"The number of visitors has been self-regulating because many people know not to come on busy days," Takekawa said. "Once people reach the trails, the congestion quickly spreads out. But we continue to monitor."
Many visitors refuse to visit the refuge when the parking lots are full. Not because they don’t like people, but because more people means less wildlife. Birdwatching becomes difficult as screaming children and vocal visitors keep birds greater distances from the trails.
Even if visitors decide to come back on a quieter day, they will still have to deal with the noise of I-5. Its continuous vibration permeates the area. The resonance of cars, trucks and an occasional blaring Harley reaches the observation tower, nearly two miles from the corridor. Yet not all visitors notice the sound.
"I don’t notice the sound at all, I just tune it out from the background," birdwatcher Glen Peterson said. "But I live closer to the freeway than this, so I guess I’m just used to it."
Some guests have other ways to suppress the noise.
"The noise bothers me a lot, but there is something about this place
and its solitude that is stronger and more compelling than any noise,"
visitor Sally Benson said. "There are very few places where man-made
noises seem to recede."
In addition to the noise, I-5 poses a threat to the animals in and around
the refuge by acting as a barrier. Although birds can fly over the interstate,
many animals often struggle to get past such obstacles.
"Road kill is not uncommon in areas where animals need to cross roads," Bailey said. "At the refuge, two bridges are the only way for animals to get past the freeway without having to cross a roadway. They have to find a way to get across or they’ll become isolated."
As well as a barrier to animals, I-5 is a barrier to flood waters. In February 1996, a combination of heavy rains and rapid glacier melt on Mount Rainer filled the basin and created a "man-made flood," Takekawa said.
"When it flooded, the freeway structure, which runs east and west
over the rivers, created a bottleneck effect," she said.
The water could only pass under I-5 in a few places with bridges, she
said.
The Nisqually Bar and Grill is one of the nearest businesses to the interstate between Nisqually River and McAllister Creek. Owner Chuck Boyde recalls the rapidness of the flood.
"The bartender called my house and said there was water building up in the parking lot," he said. "Then he called back a few minutes later and said that it was up to the sidewalks. When I got down there it was raining like a son of a bitch and there was three feet of water in the building."
As the water passed under I-5, it flushed various items with it. Boyde said he saw dumpsters, propane tanks and all kinds of garbage in the refuge. Approximately 70,000 Styrofoam crates from a nearby tree nursery floated north into the refuge, many reaching Puget Sound. Peak floodwaters freed an entire trout hatchery into McAllister Creek.
"We had to canoe into the refuge the next morning," Takekawa said. "Hawk’s Prairie Restaurant became our pseudo-office for the day."
Floodwater ruined the refuge office, which then was a single-wide trailer. The refuge remained closed for a couple of months, as the staff worked to put things back into order. After receiving federal disaster funds from Congress, refuge management built the current office facilities and visitor center.
Despite I-5’s barrier to flood waters and animals, and its contribution of noise and overcrowding, its proximity to the refuge allows many people to experience the natural world.
Everyday, newcomers to the refuge take their first look from the observation tower and locals walk the trails, as many have done for years. I-5 continues to bring visitors to the refuge. And, as the cold of winter begins to wear off, the northbound traffic will again fill the Pacific Flyway.
