Don't Mess with Nature

Well it looks like the laws of science win agian! Last week the WDFW team did the last of our Sandlance spawn data collection. For those who are unaware of the intricacies of the Sandlance, Ammodytes hexapterus spawn from November 1st through Febuary 15th. needless to say it has been a cold month and a half. In any case, one of the most iteresting places that we sample, ecologically, are the Elwha buffs.

Years ago, when the Nippon paper industry moved into Port Angeles, they needed a ready supply of fresh water for there paper making needs. Any anyone could tell you, the most ready supply of fresh water around PA is the Elwha river. Figuring that mother nature could take one more for the team, Nippon Paper constructed a large cement pipe to funnel water from the Elwha to the plant (a distance of ~4 miles). The interesting thing about all this is that, in order to protect the plant, Nippon 'armored' the Elwha feeder bluffs with ripwrap (large block of rock) and sheet pile (large sheets of iron). The result of this is that the Elwha system is sediment starved due to the poor transfer of wave energy from shoreline to bluffs. It seems, however, that nature is beginning to have enough.

As can be seen from the picture, we came across a hole in the great Nippon pipe, proving that rocks and iron will only get you so far when defending against the straight of Juan de Fuca. long story short, the pipe is clearly eroding away, and it seems that the mentality that spawned it (hopefully) may not be far behind. Don't mess with mother nature.