What's wrong with a dock?

Almost a year ago I posted a blog saying a fond farewell to Mar Vista, a special property on the westside of San Juan Island that for many decades was a rustic resort. Despite the wishes of many that hoped to see it become another of the island's beautiful preserves, it was sold to private owners. Through the grapevine I heard that they were a couple who had recently won the lottery, and it sounded like they would be good environmental stewards of the land. Unfortunately, that image was quickly shattered.

At the end of 2013 the local media brought attention to the fact that a portion of the shoreline on the Mar Vista property had been illegally clearcut. You can see some photos of the result in a San Juan Islander article here. Outraged, many of us hoped officials would come down hard on the violations. Even more outrageous than the act was the result: a paltry $1000 fine to the property owners and $2000 for the company that did the work. (See the San Juan Journal article here.) For someone who just won a nine figure lottery jackpot, that's chump change.

This week, Mar Vista has resurfaced in the news again, this time because the owners have applied for a permit to build a 271' dock capable of mooring up to six 30' vessels in a pocket beach adjacent to both their property and the University of Washington Reserve that makes up the majority of False Bay. I don't like the idea myself, and have submitted comments to the county expressing why (you can do the same between now and June 4 - e-mail juliet@sanjuanco.com). But as this issue is being discussed on the island, some people are asking: who cares? It's just a dock. What's wrong with a dock?

It's true, it's just one dock, in the grand scheme of things. But here are a few additional salient facts:

• There aren't any other docks on the exposed west side of San Juan Island. In addition to this leaving the shoreline visually appealing and largely undeveloped, there's a good reason for this: this side of the island gets hit pretty hard by winter storms. How long would a dock last? And if this one gets approved, how many others will try to follow suit? 
• There's ample moorage available at other local marinas. This site is what just a couple years ago was proposed as a no-go zone for vessels during the summer months due to it being such critical foraging habitat for the Southern Residents. And think of how far they'll have to go just to fuel up. 
• People have claimed, rightly so, that the owners are following the appropriate protocol for building a dock, so what's the problem? They were also following appropriate protocol for developing their property until they showed blatant disregard for the rules and clearcut part of it, so I'm not really sold on their environmental integrity.
• Pocket beaches are a critical shoreline habitat for many species. I know this cove, and in my brief visits have seen it used by river otters, harlequin ducks, harbor seals, bald eagles, and black oystercatchers, just to name a few species - and that's only what I can see above the surface. According to recent studies conducted on forage fish in the county, pocket beaches are one of the prime habitats locally in which juvenile Chinook salmon hang out during the summer months. (Read my May 9 blog post for an idea of just how important those guys are.) It's also close to a confirmed sand lance spawning site and is certainly providing important habitat to other fish and intertidal species as well.
• Amazingly (to me) the county has decided at this point that no environmental impact assessment for this permit is necessary. I think in the very least it deserves that.
• Shoreline development is a major issue in Washington State right now. Puget Sound and the Salish Sea are beautiful places, but not healthy ones. Habitat preservation and restoration are absolutely critical if we're going to protect any species, or give ourselves a healthy place to live. There are some amazing restoration efforts going on in Washington, but due to new and continuing development projects, the net result is we are still losing habitat. Yes, this is just one site. But they all add up.
• Shoreline development is also a major issue in San Juan County right now. There is a major divide locally between those that want to preserve the rights of property owners and those that want to preserve the environment. San Juan County has recently undergone a mandatory process to update its Critical Areas Ordinance, which dictates how development activities intersect with environmental regulations. The new ordinance was appealed by both sides: FRIENDS of the San Juans, a local conservation organization, claims the regulations aren't adequate based on current science to protect habitat. The Common Sense Alliance, a grassroots organization that claims they stand for "the complete disregard" of property owners, believes the ordinance is mandating harsh solutions to undefined problems that have no scientific basis. The two sides have clashed in sometimes ugly debates in the local media, but it truly seems that our islands are at a crossroads. Which path will we take? Will we put the land before ourselves, aiming towards a more sustainable environmental future, or will we maintain the status quo, where you can do whatever you want on your own land, especially if you have the money to back it up?

So, regardless of your opinion on the issue, I hope you can see by now....this about a lot more than just one dock.

A Fond Farewell to Mar Vista

Lime Kiln Point State Park is one very special place in my heart. It's where my best orca encounters have happened, where I've met so many amazing people, and where I continue to spend a lot of time every summer. But if you asked me where I fell in love with the San Juan Islands, I would tell you it was at Mar Vista Resort.

The sign at the entrance to Mar Vista

The 40-acre resort just south of False Bay opened about 75 years ago. In addition to two homes near the top of the property, it contains eight rustic cabins spaced out over the grassy meadows that gently slope down towards the water. The small cabins are clean and simply outfitted. This is a place you go to get away from it all: no internet, no TV, no phones or cell service.

One of the two-person cabins at Mar Vista

I believe I first stayed at Mar Vista in 2001 when my mom and I came to spend two weeks on San Juan Island after coming here for a family vacation the year before. We booked the cabin at the very end, closest to the water: Number 8, named the Gillnetter. We liked the location because we knew it would give us a chance to see whales from our lodging. It was something I was so excited about I couldn't quite believe it was true. When we pulled up and started unloading the car, I remember my mom looking out to the water and saying, almost casually, "There's a whale".

"No way!!" was the response from my 16 year-old self. I dropped whatever I was carrying and scrambled for my binoculars, running to the point to watch as a couple of whales made their way slowly north. By the time they had passed and I came back, my mom had finished unloading and was starting dinner. When the time came to eat, we sat at the tiny table in front of the kitchen window eating our hot dogs and baked beans. Our meal was interrupted by the whales passing again, this time heading south.

A panorama of the view from the bench at the point at Mar Vista - click to see a larger view

 

Less than a day into our stay, my mom and I agreed that no matter what, we would spend at least a week at Mar Vista every summer together. ("Could you ever imagine," we mused during that first visit, "living on San Juan Island?" Little did I know what my future held! I'm living proof that if there's a will there's a way.) For the next few years, we always made sure our first dinner on the island was the same: hot dogs and baked beans were lucky, and brought the whales.

It wasn't just the resort's prime location on the west side of the island where the whales pass by that made it such a special place - far from it, actually. Even when the whales aren't around, the wildlife is abundant. Deer, eagles, otters, raccoons, harbor seals, great blue herons, and many other bird species frequent the property. I remember my mom waking me one morning to peek through the shades out the window where a mama deer had tucked her twin fawns into some grass just feet away from where we stood. The two babies gazed up at us with open, trusting brown eyes, as curious about us as we were about them.

A yearling deer at Mar Vista

 From the cabins, north of the point overlooking Haro Strait, you can walk through a tunnel of foliage down to the water's edge where there's a small, private cove. It's here where the families of otters and harlequin ducks frolic, and it's one of the best little beach-combing beaches on the island.

The cove at Mar Vista

At the end of the summer of 2003, when it became apparent I would be spending more and more time on San Juan Island in the coming years, my family bought a houseboat in Friday Harbor. We still visited Mar Vista every year, however, and after I started living on the island full time in 2007, Mar Vista became the place my parents would stay every time they came to visit during April-October, the season the cabins were available for rent.

One spring, we watched numerous bald eagles engage in courtship behavior right at sunset:

Courting bald eagles at sunset at Mar Vista

All of the west side of San Juan Island is stunning for watching sunsets, but some of the best I've ever seen have happened at Mar Vista:

Mar Vista sunset - September 2008

Mar Vista sunset - October 2010

Mar Vista sunset - June 2013

This is pretty much how I always felt when I was at Mar Vista:

Monika enjoying another Mar Vista Sunset - September 2009

Over the year's I've gotten to share Mar Vista with so many family and friends. Here's my niece making her first exploration of San Juan Island, holding the hand of her dad and my brother in 2008:

 

In early 2008 came the sad news that Lee Bave, who had owned Mar Vista since 1957, had passed away. Her children decided to sell the property, and it was listed for something like 14 million dollars. Mar Vista never did much advertising, but word of mouth kept the bookings coming in and many people returned for a visit every year as my family did. All of the regulars were devastated, wondering if this visit to Mar Vista would be their last.

The Mar Vista property is so beautiful and relatively undeveloped, I thought it would make a great acquisition for either the San Juan Preservation Trust or the San Juan County Land Bank. Could you just imagine, I thought, if this place became public land?! Positioned partway between Lime Kiln and American Camp, the other west side shoreline public accesses, it would also fill in a gap for shore-based whale watchers. I started a petition that quickly gathered nearly 500 signatures, asking local organizations to help save Mar Vista. It soon became apparent that the necessary funds just wouldn't be available, however. Meanwhile, the real estate market took a turn for the worst, and no one made an offer on the property. For five years, things continued more or less as they had, with the same family of caretakers running the resort every summer and the same devoted visitors making the pilgrimage every year to come visit this special, restorative place.

My favorite cabin at Mar Vista: Number 8, the Gilnetter

This year came the news that we all knew was inevitable: the property was selling. So many of us, my family included, have been saying for years that if we won the lottery the first thing we would do is buy Mar Vista. Ironically, a couple from the east coast that won the lottery are the buyers, though they've never actually stayed at Mar Vista before. It sounds like they are good people and will appreciate the beauty of the place, but sadly this means that as of July 8, 2013, Mar Vista will be closed.

My parents came up to spend one last long weekend at this amazing place. They invited me and Keith out to have dinner there and watch one last sunset. Appropriately, just like my first dinner at Mar Vista, my last one was also interrupted by whales. Preparation had to be halted when Keith saw the splash from a tail slap out the window, and we all ran out to the point. The whales are never as close to shore at Mar Vista as they sometimes are further north along Land Bank and Lime Kiln, but on this night they were about as close as I have ever seen them. It was L-Pod, and they were in a lazy, playful mood. I don't think I've ever seen so many tail waves!

L-Pod whales off Mar Vista - June 29, 2013

A whale spyhops off the rocks at Mar Vista - June 29, 2013

After a while, the whales turned and meandered back south, and we headed back inside for one last delicious dinner cooked in the cabin's not quite fully equipped kitchen. After dinner, before Keith and I left to head back home, we all stood outside in the darkness of the warm summer evening looking up the stars. That's another thing we've done a lot of at Mar Vista - star-gazing. My dad, an astronomy major, pointed out some of the summer constellations. My mom spotted a satellite passing by overhead. It was a perfect last evening at Mar Vista, but it was bittersweet. It's a place I will definitely miss.

Bald Eagle Sunset

Yesterday afternoon on a walk I finally confirmed a sighting of a rufous hummingbird (142). This guy was unmistakable - a male displaying by diving into huge U-shaped arcs from about 50 feet in the air. 

My parents arrived for a visit in the late afternoon, and I went with them out to Mar Vista, the amazing place on the west side of the island where they are renting a cabin for a few nights. It's one of the first places I stayed when visiting San Juan Island during the early years of my time here, and I still count it one of the most beautiful spots on the island and a site I love to visit. Shortly after getting out there, I heard my first savannah sparrows (143) of the season, singing their buzzy song among the tall prairie grass.

The visit with my parents was interrupted several times by bald eagles. At one point there were six to eight of them soaring over the water. They kept going down as if to catch something, but were never successful as far as I could tell. Several of them came to shore and would periodically perch in a big snag just outside the cabin window. As the sun began to set, the photographic opportunity was amazing. Here are a few of my favorite shots, showing two and then three bald eagles silhouetted by the April sunset:

More Sparrows and Petition Update

Our houseboat porch is turning into a pretty popular place to spend the night, especially with all the rain we've been getting! We now have two male house sparrows that make nightly visits. One night they shared a little hole, but usually they choose separate ones. We try to keep the lights off as to not disturb them, but when I had to turn them on briefly tonight I took two quick pictures of them roosting.

Also, you may have noticed that the Preserve the Mar Vista Resort petition has been removed from my blog. I heard last week that the property was going to be shown to a prospective buyer, and the signature rate had dropped to less than one per day, so I decided it was time to submit the petition. In all, the petition got 485 signatures! Thanks so much to all who signed and sent it along to their friends.

The Petition Site created a nice pdf document for me, which included the letter, signatures, and all the comments left by all the signers. I sent it to San Juan County Land Bank, San Juan Preservation Trust, and Coldwell Banker, the agency with the Mar Vista listing. I have also heard back from all three.

The director of San Juan County Land Bank informed me that money is, of course, the biggest issue, but that they are speaking with potential donors about the property in addition to pursuing state and federal grant money. The director of conservation at San Juan Preservation Trust also said they are exploring all possible conservation options, and would love to talk to me further about any of my thoughts and ideas.

The realtor said it is most likely that the property will be purchased as a private estate, which means no large scale commercial development will occur, but of course it will be closed to the public. He also expressed that he believes any money generated to purchase Mar Vista for conservation purposes would be much better spent purchasing other, cheaper development easements, because this way we could preserve more of the rural character of the whole island rather than a single waterfront property. He has a valid point, but I think Mar Vista is a unique property that could provide some pretty special opportunities as public land. For instance, a shore-based whale watching and research site on a part of the island where there isn't one.

That's all I know for now, but I'll continue to post updates as I learn more about anything related to thsi property.....

Northern Grasshopper

This past summer, this beautiful grasshopper held still long enough for me to take some cool macro shots. She (I learned you can tell male and female grasshoppers apart by the shape of the base of their abdomen) was perched on a bench, basking in the sun, something grasshoppers apparently like to do. By scouring through internet grasshopper field guides, I determined which of the hundreds of North American grasshopper species she is: she's a member of Melanoplus borealis, a species whose scientific name translates directly into their common name, Northern Grasshopper.

The Northern Grasshopper inhabits much of the northern United States, dipping down a bit in the central US, as well as occurring across a large portion of Canada. The bright red hind tibiae (lower portion of hind legs) are one of the characteristic field marks. I like this labeled sketch of grasshopper anatomy. I do a lot of bird identification, but it's always interesting and challenging to try and identify a species of a genus or family I'm unfamiliar with, whether it be a tree, insect, flower, or mammal. Some of my favorite labs in my college biology courses dealt with taxonomy and using or developing identification keys to narrow down species IDs. The true biologist and naturalist in me emerges, since thinking about species variation and taxonomy raises questions not only about evolution and species diversification and the processes that cause speciation to occur, but also about how we see and classify the world around us.

This grasshopper is just another one of the many inhabitants of the Mar Vista grasslands. The petition to preserve Mar Vista is only 19 signatures shy of our goal of 500, so please sign if you haven't already and encourage your friends to sign today so progress on protecting this special property can be made!

Update on Mar Vista Petition

Thanks to help from all of you, the petition I started to help preserve the Mar Vista Resort property has reached 420 signatures over the last month! My original goal was 200, and we surpassed that quickly since so many of you started e-mailing the petition around to others. In addition, several organizations have also written letters of support to the San Juan County Land Bank and San Juan Preservation Trust. My goal is to reach 500 signers, but unfortunately over the last few days the numbers of signers has started to drop off. This means I need YOUR help to reach my goal!

Do you know anyone who loves the San Juan Islands but hasn't signed the petition yet? If so, please send the link on to them and encourage them to sign. Just click here to access the petition. We're almost there!

Help Protect the Mar Vista Resort Property

Dear friends, fellow naturalists, and San Juan Islanders:

As you may know, the Mar Vista Resort property adjacent to False Bay has recently been put on the market due to the death of the estate owner. This property is commercially licensed, making it a hot commodity as a potential site for resort development.

This ~60 acre property is unique in many respects. It is still relatively undeveloped, making it a habitat that supports a wide variety of marine and terrestrial wildlife including otters, deer, eagles, foxes, harbor seals, and more. The prairie fields support one of the few remaining sites of a threatened species of wildflower. Additionally, it provides stunning views of Haro Strait, the Olympic Mountains, and west side sunsets, and could potentially provide a public access point to the westside shoreline in the "gap" area between Land Bank's Westside Scenic Preserve and American Camp. It provides excellent shore-based whale-watching, and would make a great additional site for land-based research.

I ask you to please join me in encouraging a conservation-minded future for the Mar Vista property. If acquired by San Juan County Land Bank, this land could be well-managed and open to low-impact public access. Regardless of who buys the property, Land Bank can encourage it to be managed in an environmentally respectful manner. The voice of the public community can be powerful in influencing the sale and development of land, as we learned so recently with Turtleback Mountain. Land Bank needs our show of support in this matter.

You can help by signing this petition to San Juan County Land Bank that I have created, which encourages an environmentally-friendly future for the land. You can also help by leaving your own comments on the petition site; forwarding this petition to your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers; and by promoting it on your own website or blog. Additionally, you can write a letter to the San Juan County Land Bank or to the San Juan Journal.

As I outlined this petition, I sat at the point of Mar Vista overlooking the water. A Steller sea lion swam by. A harbor seal poked its head up in a nearby kelp bed. A deer browsed in the brush a few yards away. Murres, gulls, cormorants, herons, and harlequin ducks flew by. All this reemphasized for me how beautiful this place is, and why I am so inspired to help protect it. This was the first place I saw orcas from shore, and where I truly fell in love with the islands nine years ago.

Margaret Mead said a small group of committed individuals is all it takes to change the world. I hope you will join me in being one of those individuals that helps change San Juan Island for the better. Please sign this petition by clicking on the petition box in the top right corner of this blog.