View our latest posts: From the Field

Redder Western Red Cedars by Bengt Miller, Stewardship Coordinator

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If you have been paying attention to the trees lately, then you may have noticed that they are getting ready
for fall. Trees have ceased their growth and are preparing for their leaf drop and dormant season. This
becomes particularly evident when deciduous trees shed their leaves in fall, sometimes with spectacular
showing of autumn color. While it is obvious that deciduous trees like alders, maples, and cottonwoods
lose their leaves in the fall, most people are unaware that evergreens (also called conifers) also lose
some of their foliage.
When western red cedars lose their older needles, it is called cedar flagging. It is most noticeable in the
late summer through fall as brown interior branches begin to appear. To those unaware this can look
disconcerting, as it appears the tree is beginning to turn brown and die. Fear not, this is a natural
process. It can be exacerbated by periods of drought, but is a natural process and does not harm the
tree. By the time spring arrives the dead needles have fallen to the ground and the tree appears all
green again.
As more and more people hear about the native cedars struggling in our area, many are paying more and
more attention to their arboreal surroundings. It’s true our iconic western red cedars appear to be
struggling with the local impacts from climate change, but not every cedar you see with some brown in
the canopy is dying. Drought stressed cedars turn brown from the top down and then from the branch tips to
the interior. Cedar flagging occurs from the interior of the tree outwards. The cedar sheds the older
interior needles while the tips remain green.
If you believe you have noticed this on a local neighborhood tree, keep an eye on it. Most likely the dead
needles and branches will fall during a heavy rainstorm or the first serious windstorm of the winter.
Then these branches will fall to the ground and act as a mulch for the surrounding forest. Older
generations of needles/leaves provide nutrients for future generations of trees, much like adult salmon dying provides nutrition for future salmon generations.

 

Looking Back on Knotweed Season by Past WCC Crew Member Nova Barbieri

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Every year, the Skagit Fisheries Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) crew jumps into the Sauk River as part of the Upper Skagit Knotweed Program to prevent the spread of knotweed in the Upper Skagit watershed. This could be quite literally on the off-time during our multi-day rafting trip, or to cool off after a scorching Skagit summer day. Most often though, this refers to actively working to eradicate knotweed around the river. Knotweed is a particularly nasty invasive plant species that is known to choke out neighboring plant species, inhibiting them from thriving and providing riparian benefits to their ecosystems. Skagit Fisheries is concerned with controlling knotweed as it harms habitat that is crucial for salmon, both by limiting space and nutrients available for helpful native plants and contributing to bank erosion along streams and rivers.

 

Prior to heading out for a day of work in the field, the crew packs up all necessary personal, surveying, and herbicide gear to go out for the day. On our trips, we would carry these packs of personal equipment, surveying equipment, and herbicide gear on a hike to our desired survey areas, where we would then spread out perpendicular to the river to survey the floodplain. 

Contents of a knotweed warrior’s backpack

 

Surveying areas that receive inundation regularly are important as knotweed is primarily spread through breakage, as pieces as little as a quarter inch of the stem can break from the plant, travel in water, be deposited, and then root to create a new plant. Armed with multiple methods of data collection (journals, iPads, GPS, maps, and cameras) each knotweed patch, when located by the crew in a spread out survey line, is given a unique identifier and documented in multiple ways. Data such as these unique identifiers, the number of stems on the plant, the general patch area, herbicide amounts applied and their formulation, and its newly identified location are documented. The crew uses GPS to record the location of the patch, as well. It is then marked with blue and white striped flagging labeled with the unique identifier which helps with locating and figuring which point it is from for continued monitoring in future years. Knotweed has been known to resprout sometimes after 9 years of appearing dormant or dead. Herbicide is applied with the hopes of killing the plant before continuing the surveying line. Should someone encounter the surveying crew, they may hear ‘Marco’ or ‘Polo’ calls to help with triangulating members and maintaining the survey spread, or very clear ‘knotweed’ or ‘flag’ as communications for points that need a pause and special attention, documentation, or additional resources. More specific information is relayed on radios.

 

Through this exhausting work, on hot days, and extremely uneven terrain, stress can be high at times and can be uncomfortable either due to heat or encounters with unfriendly stinging insects. As such, the crew maintains open communication and first aid supplies and utilizes the river, as needed, to dunk clothing to stay cool, or to cool a sting. It is through these challenges that memories are formed, and the crew learns to appreciate the uniquely intimate relationship that they have and are developing with the Sauk River, where most of the season is spent. 

 

Our season of knotweed conquering includes a four-day rafting trip down the river to get to less/non-accessible patches of the invasive plant. This provides a special opportunity to see the river sequentially and completely, but also an incredible opportunity to see just how dynamic the Upper Sauk is! Often this includes experiences like seeing swathes of forest just decimated within a year as the river decided to change course, and leaving the old channel dry, or nearly dry, and bare. Within a few years, it starts getting brushy with young vegetation growing in. This land will then mature, in time to become forested floodplains. Seeing the diversity and natural succession of the area truly is a demonstration of how dynamic the river is. It isn’t just that, as these changes force the knotweed program and surveying crew to become dynamic and adjust to the conditions. Through the experiences and meeting these challenges and demands, Skagit Fisheries’ knotweed program creates a positive impact not only on the immediate area, but on everything downstream in the system, including the program’s participants as they carry on the knowledge, lessons, and memories learned from working in the field.

Farewell WSC’s!

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After ten months of service with Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, it is time for Kenzie and Myrriah to finish up their Washington Service Corps terms. While we are sad to see Kenzie go, we are excited that Myrriah is staying with SFEG as she accepted a temporary Habitat Specialist position. They both reflected on the past ten months:

 

Kenzie Kesling:

“When I joined Skagit Fisheries in September, I had no idea where my journey would lead. It’s incredible to think that ten months have already passed, and my life has undergone significant changes during this time. I am now preparing to leave my term at SFEG and go on to pursue a teacher’s certificate and a Master’s Degree in secondary education, to become a biology teacher in the near future.

While working as the Education Associate, I learned a great deal about salmon and Washington State’s efforts to restore their wild populations. As a native of Tacoma, Washington, I already knew that salmon is an important part of our local marine ecosystem. However, this experience allowed me to gain a more in-depth understanding of their world and appreciate their significance even more. As a bonus, I can now have meaningful conversations with my family’s fishing enthusiasts about salmon and understand what they are talking about.

One of my most cherished memories from this year was the opportunity to teach elementary school students how to plant trees. Their genuine excitement in wielding shovels and their joy in discovering worms and other creatures in the ground left a lasting impression on me. It made me realize that many of the students I worked with had limited exposure to the outdoors. Being able to bring them to a local outdoor classroom and instill a sense of environmental stewardship in these young students was almost magical as if I were rediscovering the wonders of life myself. I will genuinely miss this position and the privilege of working with everyone I had the pleasure of meeting during this transformative ten-month period. The Skagit community has left an indelible mark on my heart, and it will always hold a special place in my memories and experiences.”

 

Myrriah Crowley:

“As I wrap up my 10-month AmeriCorps service term as the Riparian Restoration Associate at Skagit Fisheries, I’m left reflecting on the numerous wonderful people I have met and all the great experiences I’ve had. When I first applied for this position the number one thing I was excited about was working with native plants at the SFEG Native Plant Nursery; I had no idea my love of plants would lead to a love of so many new niches in our local ecosystem. I have since become a lover of salmon; their resilience thrashing up streams and spawning colors beautifully accenting the waters as the leaves change and accent the adjacent forest, followed by their small but mighty alevin and fry stage, then out to the great Pacific they go! It truly is remarkable.

I have loved seeing all the interconnectedness that is held in this ecological mosaic as well. We are all a part of this environment and my time with SFEG has only made this more clear. I have met so many lovely people, had wonderful conversations and had the chance to try new things I never would have if not for the opportunities this position offered me. From spawner surveys to juvenile salmonid beach seining and volunteer fish forage surveys; from planting acres of restoration sites with excited and caring people (and very stoked kids and students) to vegetation monitoring and building a bridge with awesome teams, it has been hugely meaningful and I am so grateful to all of you that I have had the pleasure to meet. I’m looking forward to this fall as all five Pacific Salmon run upstream and I’m so excited to be continuing on with Skagit Fisheries after my AmeriCorps service term ends as a temporary Habitat Specialist.”