"They will find another place to feed"

Comments on the discussion at FLOD-milfoil

Well, I didn't read this thread until last night, probably a good thing. I tend to shy away from online discussions about this--I'm a bat researcher, I'm long-winded, and some contributors' fact-checking seems to be terribly poor in these debates about Capitol Lake vs. an intertidal mudflat. A couple of the previous posters have clearly done research... Guglielmo, Thad, 'emmettoconnell' and others are seeking out, and presenting, credible information. Some others have made comments that are just baffling to me. We can read the CLAMP committee minutes and reports that have come out of the CLAMP process, but the facts and back-story, much of which has not been presented in the newspapers or on OlyBlog require some digging beyond the official Estuary website. I've done some linking to custom site searches at Capitollake.com. The one report not to miss is the 'ITR' or Independent Technical Review completed last November, a comissioned review and critique of the 4 prior 'technical reports.' My opinion is that it tore soem of those studies to shreds, but you wouldn't know that from the Executive Summary. The text of the ITR points out many examples of inappropriate analysis methods or study design, constrained RFP guidelines (I believe code for 'here's what we want to hear'), uncertain results, the RFP not asking the right questions... Its a can of worms, not all that long to read, and can be found here:
www.ga.wa.gov/CLAMP/Deschutes_ITR_Report_Oct23_2007-Out_300dpi.pdf

I have radio-tracked bats from the Woodard Bay nursery colony to Capitol Lake, starting in summer 2003. The vast majority of these bats feed at Captiol Lake every night, April/May through Aug/Sept.

I noticed a great milfoil bloom on Capitol Lake. What does this portend for the future of the great reflecting lake? Is there a dredger in the future? A weed harvester? Or perhaps a return to the native estuarine habitat? What if we just let it be and see how thick the weeds can get. Do you think the entire surface of the lake could become overwhelmed by them? What if they became so thick that they jammed up the dam and caused a flood. It seems that the "FLOD" (Fetid Lake of Doom) maybe having the final say on this human altered landscape experiment.

Unfortunately the milfoil doesn't show up very well in the following image, but if you go there, it's plain to see.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at about 10:15 pm Full Moon Rise over Capitol Lake

Capitol Lake, Olympia, WA

Hosted by Saint Martin's University in cooperation with Washington Dragon Boat Association.

Dragon boat racing dates back to fourth-century China to commemorate a famed poet, Qu Yuan, who threw himself in the Milo River to protest the political turmoil and suffering of the people at that time. Nowadays, dragon boat racing is primarily for fun and is festive in nature.

This will be the third dragon boat race at the Capitol Lake in Olympia. The event is expected to draw up to 1,000 spectators. Saint Martin's University is proud to be hosting the event with the cooperation of the Washington Dragon Boat Association.

More

Capitol Lake

It's beautiful, but I would like to see the lake returned to its original estuarine status.