I took a hike the other day to visit one of the new properties in the North Cascade Mountains purchased for preservation by the Whatcom Land Trust. After driving several miles along an old logging road I, along with other Land Stewards and staff members, got to the top of a not too old logging site that provided a wonderful vista of the drainage from the Twin Sisters’ peaks and the watershed for Skookum Creek which they had just bought.
View of Twin Sisters peaks on the western edge of the Mt. Baker Wilderness Area. Midground is the Skookum Creek canyon and drainage with fireweed in the foreground.With this purchase, along with adjacent properties that are pending, we will secure a total of 2,400 acres of watershed to the South Fork of the Nooksack River. Looking across the valley with the creek in its bottom you can see much of this area has been logged at least once, although there is a section, not visible in the photo that remains ancient forest (old growth Douglas fir and Western Red Cedar). We have now ensured that the current second growth trees will become old growth over the next 100s to even thousands of years. That is, it is now being preserved for visiting, mild human powered recreation, and for sustaining wildlife and natural flora.
Following the drainage up toward the Sisters leads up to the boundary of the Mt. Baker Wilderness Area. Once we are able to finalize the purchase of this drainage, we will have preserved an extensive and continuous tract from the Wilderness Area through Skookum Creek and on to the South Fork of the Nooksack.
If preservation isn’t enough, the added value in this conifer and deciduous tree property is that these trees are a major source for sequestering atmospheric carbon which increases as they age and now they are secured to age for a very long time. The bigger they grow, the more carbon they sequester. No more logging on these properties, no more hillside erosion and muddy runoff into the streams. Some day it will be like yesteryear, although perhaps a bit warmer.
This is the uphill side of the logging road from which the previous photo was taken. Although this uphill portion remains owned by logging companies, that below the road is preserved. Note that the logged area has been replanted with some small fir and that the hillside is covered with fireweed in full bloom.THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, WATER AND PLANTS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS.WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU AND SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS BELOW.
Skookum:Those of you live or have lived in the Pacific Northwest will likely understand the northwest Indian adjective “Skookum.” It is term taken from an early Chinook jargon developed by northwest Indians to facilitate communication with the new arrivals and trading partners in the 18th and 19th centuries. It also served for communicating with neighboring tribes who spoke another dialect of the Salish languages.
Skookum is a Chinook Jargon word that has historical use in the Pacific Northwest. It has a range of meanings, commonly associated with an English translation of "strong" or "monstrous". The word can mean "strong",[1] "greatest", "powerful", "ultimate", or "brave". Something can be skookum, meaning "strong" or "monstrously significant".
When used in reference to another person, e.g., "he's skookum", it conveys connotations of reliability or a monstrous nature, as well as strength, size or hard-working.
Skookum is used as in many place names throughout the PNW territory. A common usage is “Skookumchuck” used to denote strong waters or tidal flow as in Skookumchuck Narrows in coastal British Columbia as well as coastal shores in Washington and Oregon.
Down to the Creek: blocked ATVAfter viewing the new and prospective purchase and the clear cut hillside above, we headed down into the canyon to meet Skookum Creek itself. The first thing we saw just a few yards from the logging road was a parked ATV that had been blocked by a downed tree across the trail. This is exactly what we are trying to prevent and protect this area against. Somehow the owner had gotten around the locked gate below but could not get past the tree.
Beyond the ATV, the trail down to the creek was interesting in its own right and provided a veritable berry feast along the way. Due to some active springs still flowing from up the clear cut hill above, there were trickling water holes along the trail that fed the berries. In one of the puddles we found a hoof print of an elk that had been drinking at the trail.
Among the edible berries we partook of Salmonberry, Thimble berry, Red huckleberry, and Wild Blackberry. Mahonia (nervosa, the medium sized variety) also had its berries out but not quite ripe. Also Red elderberry was plentiful.
Trailing Blackberry (Rubus ursinus), aka, Dewberry Red Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium) Dull Oregon Grape (Mahonia nervosa) Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) These were ripe and more tasty than I had recalled. Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)Plants grasses and shrubs..
Next to fireweed, spirea and foxglove were very prominent both as shown on the clear cut slopes and along the trail.
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) Spiraea douglasii AKA as : Hardhack, Steeplebush Northern wild rice, (Zizania palustris), along the soggy trail Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), aka California Hazelnut Self-heal, (Prunella vulgaris) pink, with Large leaved Avens (yellow, Geum macrophyllum). Self-heal is a major medicinal plant for indigenous peoples. The Creek:Arriving at the creek we were first struck by how clear and pristine the water looked. One of our fellow hikers was an expert in Benthic macroinvertebrates and he dashed directly to the stream and started turning over rocks. First he found a couple of Caddis fly larva, one ensconced in a piece of bark and another having covered itself in tiny rock material where they will hangout until they hatch. The caddis fly and the stone fly below are water quality indicator species and are among the most sensitive to water pollution of the macroinvertebrates. If you find them, the water is clean. This is significant here in that when loggers first moved into this area a hundred or more years ago, they nearly destroyed the water and the fish in this creek and the South Fork that it feeds. That it has come back to its present state, even with continued logging is a wonder. From now on, it will remain unadulterated.
Stonefly, (Insecta plecoptera) need high levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, just like salmon and trout.Secondly he found a stonefly nymph. Generally if you find stone fly in a stream, you will find trout and/or salmon.
Later I found a something larva that I did not get an ID on but it was alive and I did not want to disturb it further.
A larva of some sort is curled in the rock just above center. I did not get this one identified but I am happy it is there. Lower reach of the creek, taken in Fall before the rains hit so it is crystal clear with a bluish-green tint and shallow. Trees:In addition to the usual stately Douglas-fir and Western Red Cedar, there were various deciduous trees of significance.
The damp riparian zone was well covered by these towering shade producing Black Cottonwood Huge Big Leaf Maple covered in moss. (true green colors were not captured.) a small copse of Paper BirchSo there you have a snapshot of our skookum hike to Skookum Creek on one very warm July day. It was a beautiful trip and I am pleased to say that it such trips will be available to the public pretty much like we saw it for generations to come.
SPOTLIGHT ON GREEN NEWS & VIEWS" IS POSTED EVERY SATURDAY AT 3:00 PM PACIFIC TIME ON THE DAILY KOS FRONT PAGE. IT'S A GREAT WAY TO CATCH UP ON DIARIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED. BE SURE TO RECOMMEND AND COMMENT IN THE DIARY. What sorts of environmental preservation projects are happening in your neck of the woods?