Shore Bluffs, Sediment and Beaches: One Example

The composition of beach sediment is dictated by the source material for the beach as well as wave energy. A common beach type in western Washington is gravel and cobble beaches with scattered boulders.

East shore of Lopez Island

The sediment source is from an eroding bluff that extends to the south.

Glacial erratic boulder embedded in a poorly sorted glacial till

The sediment source for this beach is glacial till. The silt and clay content is much greater than the gravel, cobble and boulder content, but the fine grained silt and clay is readily transported off the beach by wave action.

Typically I would call this bluff a "feeder bluff". That is erosion of the bluff provides sediment to the beach, and hence, feeds the beach. MacLennan and others (2013) came up with a mapping scheme to identify and map feeder bluffs.

This particular bluff was mapped as a transport zone, not a feeder bluff. In this case the erosion rate is very slow due to the very moderate wave energy combined with the very hard resistant glacial till. The fact that much of the slope is vegetated and in many areas tree covered further suggests that this shore bluff is providing very little sediment input. Another possibility is that the toe of the slope did not exhibit the erosion shown above when the shore reach was mapped.

Another mapping scheme might be to call this a slow feeder bluff. For rapid erosion bluffs that send lots of sediment to the beach, MacLennan and others (2013) use the term "feeder bluff exceptional", but for slow erosion sites like that shown above they use transport zone. That is a reach where sediment is transported along the beach with very minimal input from the bluff.

Shore reach designations can be important in regards to shoreline regulations. Feeder bluffs in particular are important; if the sediment source from a feeder bluff is stopped, the beach will become starved and the beach will disappear - a loss for recreation and habitat. Hence, the effort to identify and map these shore forms.   

Culvert Case Notes: a Few Highlights

Washington State appealed a 9th Circuit Court ruling on culverts to the US Supreme Court (Washington State v United States 17-269. Oral arguments were earlier this week. The short story is State roads stream crossings in many places have blocked salmon fish passage. This blockage led to a 9th District Court ruling that the State of Washington needed to accelerate culvert replacements on State Road stream crossings due to the violation of Indian treaties.

I can't say I understand the State's position other than it is keeping with a long time Washington State tradition of not being very supportive of "usual and customary" treaty fishing rights for treaty tribes.

The Supreme Court oral argument transcripts are HERE for those that try to decipher where the Supremes might be heading. 


I noted a few highlights:
  
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR (to Noah Purcel arguing for Washington State): In the courts below during the argument in the Ninth Circuit, you said the Stevens Treaty would not prohibit Washington from blocking completely every salmon stream into Puget Sound.

MR. PURCELL: I remember that answer well, Your Honor, and that was a mistake at oral argument about how our theory....


JUSTICE GORSUCH: -- the treaty, which guarantees the right to all usual and customary fishing grounds, really means half of them?

  The point of a treaty I would have thought would have been to -- to freeze in time certain rights and -- and to ensure their existence in perpetuity, regardless of what other social benefits a later municipality might be able to claim.

I don't see anything in the treaty -- maybe you can point it to me, maybe I'm just missing it textually -- anything in the treaty that says: Ah, and your rights to those usual and customary grounds and stations is limited by, and may be completely eliminated, if necessary, to meet other domestic interests that a municipality might have, which is, I think, the position you're taking, I think, before this Court.

 MR. PURCELL: Not exactly, Your Honor.

JUSTICE KAGAN: And like Justice Gorsuch, I'm wondering where that is in the treaty? 

Much of the Washington State argument and back and forth with the Justices at oral revolved around vague standards about that applied prioritization of culverts. Given a recent opinion by Gorsuch on another case, being vague may not be a good idea. I did not fine the 9th Circuit ruling on prioritization vague:

"The court ordered correction of high-priority culverts — those blocking 200 linear meters or more of upstream habitat — within seventeen years. For low-priority culverts — those blocking less than 200 linear meters of upstream habitat — the court ordered correction only at the end of the useful life of the existing culvert, or when an independently undertaken highway project would require replacement of the culvert. Further, recognizing the likelihood that accelerated replacement of some high-priority culverts will not be costeffective, the court allowed the State to defer correction of high-priority culverts accounting for up to ten percent of the total blocked upstream habitat, and to correct those culverts on the more lenient schedule of the low-priority culverts."


Allon Keden arguing for the United States of America against the Washington State appeal had this quote: "The state takes about a half dozen quotations out of context from more than 1,000 pages of record and briefing."

Keden's quote matches how things went during the first appeal to the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The Court of Appeals panel stated "Washington misrepresents the evidence and mischaracterizes the district court’s order.

It should be noted that much of the 9th's ruling was based on Washington State's own studies:

"WDFW and WSDOT, stated, “Fish passage at human made barriers such as road culverts is one of the most recurrent and correctable obstacles to healthy salmonid stocks in Washington.” The report concluded: A total potential spawning and rearing area of 1,619,839 m 2 (249 linear miles) is currently blocked by WSDOT culverts on the 177 surveyed streams requiring barrier resolution; this is enough wetted stream area to produce 200,000 adult salmonid annually. These estimates would all increase when considering the additional 186 barriers that did not have full habitat assessments."

In sum, we disagree with Washington’s contention that the Tribes “presented no evidence,” and that there was a “complete failure of proof,” that state-owned barrier culverts have a substantial adverse effect on salmon. The record contains extensive evidence, much of it from the State itself, that the State’s barrier culverts have such an effect. We also disagree with Washington’s contention that the court ordered correction of “nearly every state-owned barrier culvert” without “any specific showing” that such correction will “meaningfully improve runs.” The State’s own evidence shows that hundreds of thousands of adult salmon will be produced by opening up the salmon habitat that is currently blocked by the State’s barrier culverts. Finally, we disagree with Washington’s contention that the court’s injunction indiscriminately orders correction of “nearly every state owned barrier culvert” in the Case Area. The court’s order carefully distinguishes between high- and low-priority culverts based on the amount of upstream habitat culvert correction will open up. The order then allows for a further distinction, to be drawn by WSDOT in consultation with the United States and the Tribes, between those high-priority culverts that must be corrected within seventeen years and those that may be corrected on the more lenient schedule applicable to the low-priority culverts."

Orchard Arsenic and Lead Legacy

Spraying dry lead on apple trees

(Washington State Historical Society, A.G. Simmer, 1925)

An effective means of controlling pests in orchards was to spray the trees with a mix of lead and/or arsenic. This practice continued into the 1950s. As lead and arsenic are elements, they do not go away. As such old orchards are often locations of residual contamination. Other pesticides may be present as well from past agricultural activities, but the long term use of lead and arsenic simply do not go away.

Conversion of agricultural land to residential or other uses has created a potential risk to human health due to the residual soil contamination. Washington State Department of Ecology has been attempting to address this issue and has conducted numerous soil cleanups where schools have been located on former orchards with elevated lead and arsenic levels in the soil (Former Orchard Lands). Thus far 26 school sites have undergone cleanups. The cleanups often simply cover the soils so there is no direct contact with the arsenic and lead. This is an effective approach but does require periodic inspection and an awareness by the property owners (school districts).

While the school sites have been treated, neighborhoods within former orchard areas face the same problem. An educational program has been the approach used by Ecology and local health departments. Some newer residential areas have gone through cleanups since the hazard has been recognized, but it is a significant planning issue for local governments in cities and counties where urban growth has been expanding into former commercial orchards in eastern Washington.          

Oil and Fuel Ship Parking at Samish Bay

Fuel tanker in Samish Bay with Chuckanut Range behind

Samish Bay is used as a fuel ship parking area. The bay is fairly protected from long fetch wind driven ways. Further protection can be gained by slightly adjusting position within the bay during high wind events. The bay provides good access to the northwest Washington oil refineries at March Point and Cherry Point. The water is too deep and too open nearer to Cherry Point. The waters around March Point have limited space with narrow shipping lanes and very shallow water to the east in Padilla Bay. Hence, Samish Bay and the adjoining bay to the north, Bellingham Bay, has appropriate depth and proximity to be a good anchorage for oil and fuel ships.

A variety of oil and fuel ships and barges use the space when waiting to either load or off load their products. The big tanker ships will pull into the bay and wait for off loading when dock space at the refineries is taken or if some time is needed at the refinery for having the right blend of crude oils in their mixing tanks. 

Oil Tanker on Samish Bay

North tip of Samish Island on the left and Lummi Island in the distance

Waiting ship on Samish Bay

BC Coast Range in the far distance

The ships are fully crewed while they wait and there are a number of attendant tugs that serve the ships as well as the barges that anchor in the bay. Non fuel bulk ships and even on occasion container ships use the bay on occasion, but are more typically anchored to the north within the adjoining Bellingham Bay.

The fuel and oil ships and barges and their crews are regulated and monitored by a combination of international ship safety conventions, the Coast Guard, the State of Washington Department of Ecology and the Washington State Board of Pilotage Commissioners. The additional regulations in place by Washington State is an added expense that has been deemed well worth the cost by the Washington Legislature as the cost of a mishap would be very dramatic for seafood industries, recreational users and property owners in the Salish Sea.   

A Take on CO2 Tax

Paul Krugman (Paul Krugman 101-boosterism) gave a bit of a preview of a carbon tax write up by Dave Roberts (Putting a price on carbon is fine. It is not the end-all be-all). Roberts is a Seattle based writer and writes on energy policy for Vox along with Brad Plumber. Very informative and thoughtful assessments of energy policy, markets and politics that I routinely read. The Price on CO2 piece is the first of two articles by Roberts on CO2 taxing.
Washington State will have a CO2 tax proposal on the ballot this fall - so a chance for Washington voters to decide if this is a good idea, but also to recognize it is at Roberts notes not the be-all end-all. And keep in mind that after passage (if that does happen) there will be plenty of likely future modifications that can be done to improve or harm the tax plan in the future.   

Futurewise Lay of the Land

Futurewise has put out a report on stormwater and low impact development (Lay of the Land LID). Thus far I have just glanced through, but it appears to be raising some interesting questions and my quick glance indites that geology, that is the lay of the land, gets some much needed attention or consideration when it comes to stormwater.

A good weekend read except I am working. This wet winter has caused some troubles.  

Qwuloolt Estuary Visit

I had a little time between a job in Marysville and one in Everett so I took a little detour and visited the Qwuloolt Estuary. The estuary is a recent project that is part of a larger project of estuary restoration on the lowermost end of the Snohomish River near Everett and Marysville. The project involved reconnecting the lower flood plains to the river and tidal influences by removing levees along the river. I worked on a very very tiny piece of the project last summer. An overview of the project can be seen HERE. The project also has a web page:http://www.qwuloolt.org/.

The estuary with Everett in the distance 

Estuary with Olympic Range

Estuary with Marysville business park across the water

Raised berms within the estuary to provide mixed habitat as well as reduce wave energy when the estuary is fully flooded

View of north end of estuary and Allen Creek and new levee protecting business park

Much of the lower end of the Snohomish River had been poorly drained farm land. There remains industrial land around Everett and Marysville, waste water treatment lagoons and a huge capped landfill.

The restoration work on other parts of the estuary has greatly altered the landscape along Interstate 5. But the expanse of work is much greater than what can be seen along the freeway. I accessed some views along a trail that is located between a neighborhood and the new estuary on the east side of the estuary. Overtime the project will bring about significant wildlife population changes including hunting and fishing opportunities.

   

Pre Clean Water Act 1956 Port Townsend Bay

Port Townsend Bay 1956 (USGS)

Indian Island is on lower right with weapons storage bunkers

I had a bit of office time today after a long field stint with more field on the way, hence the low posting.

I needed to do some aerial photo review before my next field run and came across this pre Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act image of the paper mill in south Port Townsend. Typical of the era, the mill formerly put out a remarkable plume into the bay that would not be tolerated today.     

Dust Blow

Other than the very heavy late August rain event, this later summer early fall has been fairly dry. For the dry land winter wheat on the east side of the Cascades there was enough rain in August to get the wheat started. But the dry weather since has left some fields or parts of fields fully green and still partly dry. That was in evidence as the wind kicked up on Saturday at this central Washington site.  

Overall though conditions were not bad with the dust blow up in this area being limited to a bit of a low area that perhaps had had a bit less rain and was a bit warmer. Hence, a rather rare event of seeing dust blowing up into the sky but with overall clear conditions. It also helped that we were upwind of the dust - much better than being down wind. Dust storms do happen in eastern Washington, but the frequency has become less with improved farming practices.

This area of dry land wheat farming is winter wheat only. The wheat begins growth ideally in September and is well established by the time cold weather arrives and then finishes growth in the spring with harvest in the summer. After harvest the fields harvested are left fallow for a year to allow moisture to build back up. At wetter areas to the north and east of this site plantings may take place every year and may be rotated with nitrogen fixing crops.    

Usual and Accustomed vs. Cherry Point Coal Terminal

This video: Bellingham Herald Video captures just one of the usual and accustomed fisheries that may be impacted by the proposed coal terminal at Cherry Point. The 160 year old treaty between the United States and western Washington tribes is just one of the permit hurdles facing the terminal project. It is a big hurdle and at this point the most immediate.

Release the River: Qwuloolt Project on the Snohomish

A big day for those that worked on the Qwuloolt project (/timelapse/tulalip/slideshow.htm). Steve alerted me to this time lapse of the opening of part of the Snohomish River estuary northeast of Everett and south of Marysville. The Snohomish estuary has been going through a transformation as poorly drained farm land that was protected by tidal flooding with levees has been opened up to the influence of tides. The changes have been fun to watch as Interstate-5 is a causeway over this periodically flooded estuary.

Overstocked Forest and Fire

I know just enough about wildfire and land management to know I don't know much. Its complicated stuff. Lots of factors that cause me to be always a bit skeptical whenever I read anything regarding fires in areas I do not know well. Fire and its role on the landscape is far from simple. Any given fire is a mix of causes. 

I had a traverse through a forest stand on the east slopes of the Cascades through a thick stand of fir and pine with no underbrush. Perfect fuel for an explosive fire if a one were to reach the slope under the right weather conditions.

The slope in question was adjacent to a forest service road and some fire wood cutting had been taking place as many of the trees were dead.

The slope was a north facing slope and hence moister with a shorter period of being dry enough to burn. The opposite slope of the valley, a south facing slope, was mostly treeless and rocky scree - too dry for trees at all. At the top of the south slope were clusters of pine and fir and larch. Most of the large trees had burn marks around their bases.

Fire is a routine event on the east slopes of the Cascades, but a few hundred yards and various slope angles make a big difference in the results. 

Notes on Wood Waste

Wood by itself is just part of the environment; however, large quantities of wood waste piled up along the shore or accumulated within water way sediments can lead to anoxic conditions as the wood decays. The anoxic conditions in areas where anoxic conditions would otherwise not be present can have an obvious impact on the biotic environment. Once the pile of decaying material goes anaerobic, the chemistry of the water and soils in the vicinity is going to be significantly altered. Oxidized metals in the soil have the oxygen stripped off and become mobile. 

The decay process in landfills that leads to anaerobic conditions cause landfills to generate methane gas, hydrogen sulfide gas and production of leachate (leachate-iron-stains-in-ditch). 

While piles of wood and organic matter leading to leachate and methane off gassing can and does occur naturally, wood waste is a legacy issue in many Washington waterways. Lots of wood material piled up around saw mills, paper mills and log storage areas. Due to the potential for this old wood waste to cause harm, the Washington State Department of Ecology has developed a guidance for wood waste assessment and cleanup (Ecology 2013).  

There is some difficulty in determining the difference between wood waste and natural wood or figuring out where the source of the wood waste came from (who to blame). For some sites such as the former Scott Paper Mill in Anacortes the answer is fairly straight forward. 

Former Scott Paper Mill, Anacortes

Wood waste in tidal zone (Ecology)  

Leachate seep in tidal zone (Ecology)

The north shore of Bellingham Bay poses a bit of a different problem. Large swaths of fine woody debris cover the upper beach - and it has a history of being moved around as the shoreline in this area is dynamic with the interaction of the Nooksack River. Where did all this material come from? 

Drifts of fine woody debris, Bellingham Bay shore

Compact mat of woody material along eroding shore.

Willow trees on this shore reach are holding some of the wood in place 

Fine grained woody material

I have no answers to this problem. I have a vague understanding that others have had a go at trying to solve the question of where the woody material came from. Perhaps a case of multiple working hypothesis. There is also a question as to what harm the material may be causing. Bellingham Bay has some health issues which have been a bit perplexing and wood may be a part of the problem.

Oblique shore pictures may provide some clues but nothing definitive.

2005 shore view (Ecology)

Note dark woody debris on the right along shore is same as pictures above.

Nooksack River on left is playing a role in the erosion rate at the shore.

Note dirt road to shore.

1977 view of same shore reach only a broader view (Ecology)

There is a bit of wood waste history in the image above and the one below. Within the near acute angle intersection at the airport note the trees in the above 1977 image. In the next image from 2000, the trees are gone. Georgia Pacific operated a wood waste landfill at the site from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.   

2000 view of shore reach and Bellingham Airport (Ecology)

The wood waste landfill at the airport points to a change in how mill handled wood waste. Initially burning the wood was a common practice. But with the Clean Air Act starting in the 1970s another solution was needed for the wood waste. Some could still be burned in better designed, cleaner boiler furnaces, but these were limited to the types of wood that could be fed into the furnace. Another solution was to land fill the wood waste such as Georgia Pacific did in the Bellingham area. GP had two wood waste landfills with some rumors about other smaller sites and even a rumor that some of the material was hauled out into the bay and dumped. The window of time when the mill was transitioning from burning waste to landfilling is one of those potential sources of uncertainty. 

Of course the other issues is that there were prior to GP other mills on Bellingham Bay and currents and wave movement could also float material in from elsewhere.  And then there is also the river itself. Wood waste from up river may have been a contributor. And there is certainly a large volume of natural wood coming down the river.   

Nooksack delta with channel filled with wood

Some Healthy Sea Stars

I spotted a cluster of sea stars under the edge of this glacial erratic boulder on the shore below Birch Point in Whatcom County.       

    

Typically this would not be a big deal; however, a virus has been decimating the sea star population along the west coast including in Whatcom County. These stars appeared be free of the virus, but the sea star wasting syndrome was reported on a site a bit north of here and on the next point south at Point Whitehorn.

An interactive map showing the documented sites of sea star wasting syndrome and the presence or absence of the stars or the illness can be found at piscoweb.org/marine1/seastardisease.html. The term syndrome was due to the unknown cause of the wasting of the stars. There was some deep concerns about the ecology as the die off was huge and the broad implications of the loss of this predator species was very uncertain. But late last year the cause of the illness was reported to be isolated and is apparently caused by a virus that has been around for a long while (Hewson and others, 2014). These adult survivors and reported young stars elsewhere are good news for sea star population comebacks.  

Still unhealthy air, but improved

Still well within the unhealthy range for fine particulates but an improvement versus the peak conditions last night a-bad-air-night-in-northwest-Washington.

A Bad Air Night in Northwest Washington (Bellingham)

The smoke from fires in BC has descended on parts of northwest Washington. Bellingham's air is flat out unhealthy - a very unusual circumstance. It was poor all day on July 5 but this evening it progressively got worse and is on the border of unhealthy for any activity.

Air quality stations and status of air health can be found here: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/.

Plot of the Yew Street station:

 

One can see the July 4 fireworks peak and the rapid drop off. Slightly after noon the smoke which was already present and noticeable began to get worse and has continued all evening. Close to real time data can be found here: http://www.nwcleanair.org/airQuality/current.asp


 

Arsenic Plume in Everett: Don't Fence Me In

Neighborhoods in the north end of Everett have had numerous homes fenced in as part of an arsenic cleanup.

The arsenic was deposited over a wide area from a time when a metal smelter was located at the north end of Everett in the early 1900s.

Approximate boundary of arsenic plume impact in Everett

Washington State Department of Ecology has been conducting residential yard cleanups in north Everett. The project is funded in part by a settlement agreement with the former owner of the smelter combined with a Toxic Cleanup fund from a tax on hazardous chemicals and petroleum.

The approach has been to excavate identified shallow contaminated soils from yard areas and follow up with clean top soil and planting. The fencing was to allow the new vegetation to stabilize before the fences will be removed.  In the future develop projects in the area will require permitting specific to the potential that arsenic contaminated soils will be encountered. On the positive side Ecology review of the permits and any cleanup work will be free of charges or fees and potentially future Ecology funded cleanups will be conducted.

More info http://www.ecy.wa.gov/PROGRAMS/tcp/sites_brochure/asarco/es_main.html.

There is another even larger arsenic plume deposition area in Washington associated with former smelter that operated in Tacoma for a much longer period than the Everett facility. 

Fire and Forests on San Juan Island

Fire played a large role in shaping the landscape of San Juan Island and likely lots of other areas in western Washington. Tom Schroeder has assembled a site (http://www.rockisland.com/~tom/)devoted to observations and interpretations he has made  on the San Juan Island forests that is very consistent with my own observations and has greatly aided me in understanding the forest ecology of the San Juan Islands. 

 

On a recent venture to San Juan Island I passed through a mix of fire scarred trees with a mix of old growth. Most of this forest was Douglas fir. But with the dry aspects of the site and thin soils areas of open ground still persist. 

 

Sam sniffs the ground near a fire scarred Douglas fir

 

Weather beaten firs on the upper slopes of a bald area

Old Douglas fir with very heavy limbs would have had no appeal for lumber value

More fire scars

Large fir on summit

Heavy limbed Douglas fir

No need to loose limbs when growing on open ground 

Large old snag

Open meadows and old growth firs and snags

Another fire scarred tree

Older fire scarred tree with younger trees and open understory 

I did have some historic information that this area was impacted by multiple fires well into the 20th century. A review of aerial photographs showed a slow encroachment of forest into open ground as fires became less frequent and grazing and logging diminished.