Summer Deer Lagoon Preserve Efforts
By Carlos Andersen
The draft Deer Lagoon Preserve management plan was finalized in June and handed over to Commissioner Bacon and Public Works Director Fred Snoderly. The county will be reviewing the plan and deciding on their next steps.
On July 3, 250 American White Pelicans were observed at the Preserve. The Bald Eagle nest to the north had two juveniles and one adult. The night of July 4th was like a war zone around Deer Lagoon Preserve. As it grew dark, fireworks explosions were non-stop for several hours. Reportedly, during the fireworks the pelicans flew in circles, would not land and appeared confused and stressed. This continued until it became too dark to observe their movements. The following day we counted 66 pelicans at the Preserve and only one juvenile at the eagle nest.
This incident is similar to the 2018 Padilla Bay pelican colony abandonment. By the 4th of July that year, 40 American White Pelican pairs (or 80 individuals) had established a colony. This was the only colony north of the Columbia River and the only colony in Washington State. Unfortunately, the colony was near the reservation and there were fireworks explosions. On the 5th of July, likely after all the explosions and bright flashes from the night before, the pelicans sadly abandoned this colony and did not return. This repeated itself in 2021.
The Deer Lagoon Preserve incident, as well as other fireworks and associated wildfire concerns and incidents, were presented at the public comment portion of the July 22 Board of Island County Commissioners meeting. Commissioner Bacon stated at the meeting that she would put forth a resolution to ban fireworks during a Type 1 Burn Ban, which she did on August 13. Unfortunately, Commissioner Bacon was the only “yes” vote, so the resolution to add fireworks to the list of prohibited fire uses during a Type 1 Burn Ban failed to pass.
We have put up additional Important Bird Area (IBA) signs at the Preserve, and we will be limiting access to one small area where visitors are known to go off the designated trail into critical habitat and culturally sensitive areas.
The Island County Animal Control Officer has also been doing rounds at the Preserve. A big thank you to Tammy Esparza for putting in time at the Preserve and helping with off-leash dog education.
Summer watering efforts continue for the west dike restoration plantings. We hope the twice-weekly watering will sustain the plantings through the dry season.
Finally, Whidbey Audubon Society is now the official Adopt-a-Park steward. See Linda Rhodes’s article to learn how you can get involved in Adopt-a-Park efforts.