2012 has arrived and with it, thoughts of renewal. I'm writing something a little different this time: three true stories that all point toward ecological and cultural renewal. If you are from this part of Washington State, you won't be surprized to see each of these accounts is accompanied by totems made by First Nation peoples.
On June 10, 1999, the Olympic Pipe Line burst in Whatcom Creek, spilling 277,200 gallons of gasoline into the waters and exploding in a fireball and a river of fire that reached 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Three boys lost their lives. One was fly fishing at the time. The fire left a mile of forested creek bed devastated.
press photo by Bill Pifer
Community action led to tougher laws and a finding of criminal negligence against the corporations involved, but healing still had to occur. The creek bed had to be brought to life again. Natural bends and oxbows were reestablished in the previosly channeled waterway. Log riprap was anchored to the creek sides to encourage salmon to return. The burned inclines on each side of the creek, were replanted with native shrubs and trees, but still there was the grieving of the community, who lost three youths: Liam Wood (18), Wade King (10), and Stephen Tsiorvas (10).
Lummi Healing Totem
Carver Jewel Praying Wolf James and the House of Tears carver guild of the Lummi Nation set up this totem to commemorate the three young men. This area is now a park.
As I walk along the Red-Tail Restoration Trail by Whatcom Creek, I can see signs of ecological succession: the regrowing of a biologic community.
There are Pileated Woodpeckers.
There are Red-Tailed Hawks.
And toward the bay, there are now salmon runs. This leads to the second story of renewal. I have been told that sixty years ago, no salmon returned to spawn. The creek was in a sense dead.
With the help of the Bellingham Technical College, the cooperation of local fishermen, and a group that is restoring Salmon on local rivers, salmon are again making yearly runs in Whatcom Creek. This particular salmon is being taken into one of the holding ponds of a fish hatchery, where the milt (sperm) and eggs will start a new generation that will spend its life at sea, before returning.
This salmon was part of a fisherman's catch. All salmon fishing in the creek is monitored by the Bellingham Technical College, which also runs the hatchery. Catch limits are set and enforced so that there is no overfishing.
This part of Whatcom Creek from the bay to the first falls is called Maritime Heritage Park and its trail is called the Salmon Art Trail. Again, you can see totems. To me, they are a sign of human commitment to Whatcom Creek's restoration.
My third story has to do with ecological education on the Lummi Reservation, at the Northwest Indian College. Recently, the college, which was originally a fisheries school, established a Bachelor's degree in Biology. Along with the standard biology classes, the first nation students take classes that teach the Salish Indian viewpoint of nature - their traditions, as it relates to nature and the stewardship of nature. Salish Indians include a large group of related tribes in the Pacific Northwest, including the Lummis. A new generation of native americans is being given the opportunity to become ecologists.
Totem Carver at the Lummi Stomish, a yearly tribal festival
Happy New Year!
