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> A Brief History of Hines Marsh > Earth crime editorial - Chinook Observer
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WHERE IS HINES MARSH? Hines Marsh is located in the Southwest corner of Washington State at the north end of on the Long Beach peninsula. The Long Beach peninsula is bordered on the west by the Pacific ocean, and on the east by Willapa Bay. Hine's Marsh is an extensive freshwater wetland system approximately 3.5 miles long, north to south, encompassing public and private lands. The wetland system is approximately 900 acres in size, incorporating an intertidal estuary and two large Palustrine wetlands, hydraulically connected but separated east and west by a dune. This marsh is the largest interdunal wetland on the Pacific Coast, and one of the largest in the United States. The majority of the system is presently isolated from residences and roads. Pacific County has classified the north end of the Long Beach Peninsula as Conservation under the Shoreline Management Act which restricts development. This entire wetland system was ditched and drained in 1963. North-south canals were dug up both arms of Hines marsh, and a west-to-east ditch was dug about two miles north of Oysterville Road to prematurely drain the marsh into Willapa Bay. The west-east ditch was designed as a temporary structure until the canal system was completed. However, the developer went bankrupt and the ditch remained as a continuing drain from the wetland system. The marsh remained in this artificially low water condition until 1986 when a mediated agreement was reached. At this time The Trumpeter Swan Society took ownership of these two small parcels of land and restored the breached dunes at two sites along the west-to-east ditch. A culvert at the north end of the marsh is the only outflow to this extensive wetland system and is inadequate as a water control structure. See A Brief History of Hines Marsh. A unique partnership, the Friends of Hines Marsh, is taking shape on the Long Beach Peninsula, Pacific County, Washington. The purpose of FHM is to bring together people, organized groups and agencies that have an interest in Hines Marsh and its conservation. FHM will be gathering information on the history, ecology and hydrology of Hines Marsh and associated areas. Hines Marsh is the large interdunal wetlands that extend north from the Oysterville Road and drain to the bay out Stackpole Slough at Leadbetter Point State Park. At over three miles in length, and 900 total acres, Hines Marsh encompasses an intertidal estuary and two large freshwater wetlands running north and south, separated by sand dunes. "Hines Marsh is one of the largest forested interdunal wetlands remaining in the entire United States. Because of its size and relative undeveloped state, it is of national importance," says Sarah Cooke, a wetland scientist familiar with the marsh. The Friends of Hines Marsh effort is being coordinated by Martha Jordan of The Trumpeter Swan Society (TTSS). FHM are seeking to understand how to conserve the marsh, its wildlife habitat, and its critical function of protecting water quality in Willapa Bay, while at the same time balancing the needs and concerns of property owners in the area. Partners in the project so far include The Trumpeter Swan Society, local private citizens, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Ducks Unlimited, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Columbia Land Trust, Willapa Hills Audubon Society, Grays Harbor Audubon Society, and Washington State Department of Ecology. The group is actively seeking more supporters. OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE Heavily forested, and protected by sand dunes to the east and west, Hines Marsh is still largely undeveloped. In some places an impenetrable swamp, in others it can give visitors the feeling of standing in the middle of a quiet, unspoiled wilderness. Over the years, local naturalists have documented over 85 different bird species in the marsh, many of which nest and raise their young there. Historically, it was home to at least 80 wintering Trumpeter Swans. In fact, when Trumpeter Swans were thought to be extinct everywhere else on the Pacific Coast, they were still found wintering in Hines Marsh. Otter, bear, beaver, deer, elk and bobcat are also common inhabitants. Coho and Chinook salmon have been observed above the tide gate on Stackpole Slough, and it is likely that the marsh could be restored to once again provide over wintering habitat for coho salmon. MARSH PROTECTS WATER QUALITY The Friends of Hines Marsh have hired hydrologists and wetland scientists to assist them in obtaining a better understanding of the hydrology and wetland systems of the marsh and surrounding areas. According to hydrologist Rob Schanz, "Despite years of hydrologic alterations, Hines Marsh remains a vital wetland system that provides significant flood control, water quality, and habitat values." Hines Marsh, and the other peninsula wetlands, play a critical role in protecting water quality in Willapa Bay. Runoff from the peninsula collects in these internal wetlands, instead of pouring directly into Willapa Bay. This slows the flow of runoff and allows the wetlands to filter solids and contaminants, so that large amounts of fresh water and sediment are not dumped directly into the bay. This protects the bay, along with its shellfish industry and recreational uses. The key to protecting these wetland functions lies in balancing the needs of development with the need to preserve the natural flow and containment of water on the peninsula. A TROUBLED PAST, UNCERTAIN FUTURE The history of the marsh has been a turbulent one. In the early 1960s, Hines Marsh was ditched and drained to extraordinarily low water levels by a speculative developer. The development went bankrupt, but the ditches, and the damage to the marsh, remained. The creation of a new outflow to Skating Lake, to the south, further lowered the water table in this area of the Peninsula. The water levels in the marsh were so low at that time that the Trumpeter Swans, which need expanses of open water, were no longer able to winter there. In the mid-1980,s, The Trumpeter Swan Society and a few local citizens became actively involved in attempting to protect and restore the marsh to a more natural condition. Through cooperation with local citizens and government, The Society was able to restore the two dune breaches along the east-west ditch, thus restoring the marsh to its historical flow pattern to the north out Stackpole Slough. In 1998, vandals destroyed TTSS's east dune restoration in what is still one of the largest hydraulic permit violations in state history. The perpetrators, including one who was a Pacific County Planning Commissioner at the time of the crime, have since been held accountable for their actions. The destruction of this dune resulted in massive drainage of the marsh in just a few days, directly into Willapa Bay and over some of the most productive shellfish beds in the Bay. Water quality in this area of the bay was adversely affected for many weeks by sedimentation and altered salinity. With the cooperation of state and federal agencies, and the Herculean efforts of local private citizens, the commercial oyster growers, and The Trumpeter Swan Society, the dune was quickly restored yet again. There appear to be no long-term impacts to the Bay from this incident and today, the marsh is once again acting as a natural filter as water drains north to Willapa Bay. FRIENDS OF HINES MARSH NEED YOUR HELP The Friends of Hines Marsh are actively seeking new members and public support. They are also collecting historical, scientific and anecdotal information about Hines Marsh from local citizens and others who know its history. If you would like to participate in this effort to study and protect this national resource, or you have any information about the marsh you would like to share, please contact The Friends
of Hines Marsh or e-mail at swaninfo@swansociety.org. This natural wetland system was intact until approximately 1960. It provided habit for many species of wildlife, including about 80 swans, mostly trumpeters. 1960 - Surfside development to the southwest of the marsh constructed large canal ponds. The water level in the marsh dropped by 2-3 feet as did the surrounding water table. 1963 - Hines Marsh ditched and drained by developer (Terra Mar Project) who went bankrupt before completing the project. The north-south ditches and the intended temporary west to east ditch remained. The water levels were extremely low as a result of this draining. 1976 - Weyerhaeuser Company (WeyCo) built an easement road from Stackpole Road west across the entire north end of both arms of Hines Marsh (now Park Boundary Road). It was culverted in three places but the roadbed acted like a dam and the culverts soon became clogged from beaver activity and sediment. The main culvert was cleaned out but only occasionally. Water continued to flow out the west-east drainage ditch about one mile south of here. 1984 - A mediated agreement for mitigation, regarding another unrelated development (now known as the Sand Road Association), was approved by Pacific County and the Willapa Bay Oyster Growers Association to block the drainage ditch. The agreement gave two parcels of land along the aforementioned ditch to reconstruct the breached dunes and thus block the artificial drainage to Willapa Bay. 1984 - The Trumpeter Swan Society (TTSS) through their Washington Swan Working Group took ownership of the properties. The dunes cut by the ditch were restored in August. The normal hydrologic flow and to a limited extent water levels in the marsh were restored. However, the critical key to controlling water levels and insuring the long-term wetland restoration goals was the culverts on the WeyCo Road. The Weyerhaeuser Company continued to allow uncontrolled water flow and the culvert was often blocked, causing water to back up in winter to very high levels. 1989: TTSS purchased 140 acres of wetlands that included the culverts under the WeyCo road. A larger culvert with a water control structure was placed here. However, over the years beavers and sediment took their toll and the structure proved to be inadequate to maintain stable water levels during peak flows in the winter. 1991 - Washington State Parks purchased the 140 acres from TTSS with state funding through the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. The purpose of this purchase was to get land into public ownership for long-term conservation of the marsh. 1997 - Damage to TTSS's west dune discovered in October. It appears to be vandalism, but no proof could be found. Since the damage was only moderate, we obtained permits and repairs were made and completed by January 1998. 1998 - Vandals destroyed TTSS's east dune in January 1998 or late December 1997. The marsh was drained and draining out over the most productive commercial oyster beds in Willapa Bay. Restoration of the dune was begun immediately with the cooperation of federal, state and local agencies, private citizens, industry and us. The restored dunes were constructed to make it very difficult for vandals to remove or damage their function. The need for getting the water control structure constructed at the north end of the marsh became a priority with all partners. 1999 to present - Efforts continue to conserve and restore the marsh to as much of its original state as possible. This include protection for wildlife, ground water recharge and water quality protection for Willapa Bay. TTSS has received a NAWCA small grant program grant to replace the water control structure on State Park land. We are working to get interest in purchasing key pieces within the marsh to afford permanent protection for the wetlands, including our east and west dunes. Historically, the entire Long Beach Peninsula wetlands and lakes, Willapa Bay, and the Columbia River estuary provided wintering habitat for large numbers (several thousand) of both tundra and trumpeter swans. Hines Marsh was especially important for wintering trumpeter swans as well as other waterfowl. Much of this historical habitat along and adjacent to the Columbia River was lost by the mid-1900's. Even when trumpeter swans were thought to be extinct along the Pacific Coast, they were still found wintering here, either in private ponds/lakes or in the large uninhabited wetlands of Hines Marsh (80 known to winter in the early 1960,s). The marsh has also historically provided habitat for other migratory and breeding waterfowl. Although Hines Marsh is still largely undeveloped, with large tracts of the marsh inaccessible, the ditching in 1963 removed one of the last strongholds of habitat for trumpeters. In 1964, use of the marsh by swans was documented at zero. HINES
MARSH - History of an Earth Crime
The Trumpeter Swan Society (TTSS) took ownership of these dune/dams and watched over the marsh in general. In early January 1998, vandals destroyed the east dune/dam using a backhoe; over 500 cubic yards of sand were flushed down the ditch toward Willapa Bay. The result drained the entire wetland (1,000 acres 2-3 feet deep) directly into Willapa Bay and over significant commercial oyster beds. The vandalism was a hired job paid for by a local developer who at the time was a Pacific County Planning Commissioner. This crime is the largest hydraulic permit violation in the state as well as a major Shoreline violation. The Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife law enforcement took the crime seriously and have done an incredible job to find those guilty and bring them to justice. Meanwhile, TTSS worked to get the dune/dam restored. We were required to get several permits from federal, state and local governments. The state and federal permits were granted immediately. After an unexplained three week delay by Pacific County Planning staff, we were finally granted our permits. We hired a contractor and began work. The job was completed on March 5. Water levels in the marsh began to rise immediately due to rain in early March. Editorial from the Daily Astorian 9 Feb 1998 EARTH CRIMES Creating is hard; destruction is easy Is it a crime to destroy
the environment? That is one question posed by the extraordinary
incident at Hines Marsh at the northern end of the Long Beach Peninsula
(Wash.). As reported last Wednesday by C.V. Hollander, someone breached
an earthen dam that held back a wetland of hundreds of acres. As
a consequence, the wetland is draining and fresh water is being
dumped on some of Willapa Bay,s most productive oyster beds. No
one has been arrested for this vandalism. It seems clear the work
was done mechanically and with intent. These peninsula events are
reminiscent of the infractions which led Hamlet logger Eddie Horecny
to a felony no-contest plea for first-degree criminal mischief last
October in Clatsop County Circuit Court. Horecny ran logging equipment
within a fish-bearing stream channel on the Little North Fork of
the Nehalem River. The earthen dam on the Long Beach Peninsula was
built by The Trumpeter Swan Society. That group vowed to rebuild
the structure. The wetland could refill within one month. Progress
is much more difficult to achieve than destruction. In country folklore,
it is said that a master carpenter takes months to build a sturdy
barn, but that a jackass can kick it down in an afternoon. The Trumpeter
Swan Society took responsibility for a situation that no other group
was willing to face. By contrast, whoever destroyed the earthen
dam is hiding behind the veil of anonymity. We are well past the
point when an incident such as this could be dismissed as trivial.
It is a stick in the eye. It flies in the face of what ought to
be clear in this ecosystem. With environmental threats all around
us, our challenge is to improve the situation, bit by bit. That
is what the earthen dam was all about.
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At
the north end of the Long Beach Peninsula in southwest Washington
State is an expanse of wetlands over 3 miles long and 1/2 mile wide
known as Hines Marsh, north of the Oysterville Road to Leadbetter
Point. Once supporting a wide variety of wildlife including over
80 swans, trumpeter and tundra, the marsh was ditched and drained
in 1963 by a developer who later went bankrupt. Swan use went to
zero and water levels remained low until 1984 when a mitigated agreement
with another developer allowed the two dunes that were breached
for the ditch to be restored, thus returning the marsh to its natural
flow.
Your comments
or suggestions on this site are welcome.
Please send to: ttss@threeriversparkdistrict.org