By Peter Rimbos

Group Executive Committee Member and Communications Coordinator

Being Caribou Movie

Our bi-monthly meeting on April 16 was enjoyed by all, with two informative presentations concerning Alaska wildlands. First, we aired the fantastic wild nature film "Being Caribou." Environmentalist Leanne Allison and wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer followed a herd of 120,000 caribou on foot, across 1,500 km of rugged Arctic tundra.

The husband-and-wife team raised awareness of threats to the caribou's survival. They let the caribou guide them through a wild and remote landscape, from the central Yukon to coastal Alaska and back. During the five-month journey, they skied and hiked across mountains, swam icy rivers, braved Arctic weather, and endured hordes of mosquitoes. The movie included dramatic footage and video diaries that provided an intimate perspective of their epic expedition.

Following the movie SKCG's own Mark Johnston presented a hard-hitting slide show detailing what is at stake on Alaska's north slope including the caribou herd's delicate habitat (shared with so many other wild creatures). This habitat, along with the way of life for so many and native Alaskans, could be devastated if proposed oil and gas development goes ahead in the herd's calving grounds in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

There are many threatened wildlife areas in the Alaskan Arctic. For details and on what actions you can take to help protect them please see: http://washington.sierraclub.org/southkingcounty/wilderness1.htm. Also, there are several bills before Congress that are of interest: http://washington.sierraclub.org/southkingcounty/wilderness2.htm. Finally, please visit the http://www.alaskawild.org/ for a more thorough review of what is happening in the Alaskan Arctic.

Tenth Semiannual Restoration at Soos Creek Park

On May 17, the SKCG, in cooperation with Friends of Soos Creek Park and King County Parks, held its 10th semiannual restoration work at Soos Creek Park, a beautiful ribbon of greenery running through Renton, Kent, and Covington that provides exceptional wildlife habitat in an otherwise urban setting. This now completes our fifth year of restoration work at the park.

Twenty volunteers braved ~90 F temperatures to uproot invasive Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) making good progress on various infestations near the park’s northend. Unfortunately, Scotch Broom, a woody shrub with small yellow flowers that grows to up to 10-ft tall, was introduced as a garden ornamental by early settlers of the Pacific Coast. Our restoration work was well augmented this time by 10 students from Tacoma Community College doing restoration work as part of their biology curriculum. They did a wonderful job and we wish them well as they will soon embark on various majors at four-year schools.

The project has been a great success on many levels as it has proven to be a great vehicle of outreach to people both within and outside the club to the great benefit of not only the park, but also the Sierra Club and its goals. Over the course of the project’s history, we have been joined by numerous local park users, 2 soldiers from Fort Lewis, a group of MBA students, a high school class, various Cub Scout troops, and several club members who have never attended a Sierra Club meeting of any kind, but are drawn to this kind of work. In addition, the project has been covered twice in the Kent Reporter, which reaches 31,000 homes in the area.

We expect to continue this work in the years ahead to expand our positive impacts on this beautiful and accessible park, and ensure that the gains we’ve already made are sustained.

Summer Solstice Picnic & Nature Walk

On July 18 the SKCG, accompanied by members of the Tatoosh Group and Rainier Audubon, enjoyed a wonderful full moon evening at our annual summer solstice potluck picnic. The picnic was held at Gary Grant Park near the north terminus of the Soos Creek Trail. We celebrated the many accomplishments during the past hectic year, both politically and in supporting local natural areas. All the potluck foods and drinks were great augmented by various fresh salads and several homemade desserts.

We gathered together for our Nature Walk led by our Group's chair and avid birder, Dan Streiffert. At this time an additional group of people, who came just for the Nature Walk, joined everyone. Dan provided a brief introduction to the Soos Creek Trail and its history. We then proceeded south in small groups along the trail. We passed by several areas our Group had recently rid of invasive Scot's Broom. We watched Swallows swooping high over our head and noticed many birds singing high up in trees as well as in the underbrush, including Swainson's Thrush (pictured at left). Several birds including Marsh Wrens were first heard and then seen low in the bushes near wetlands. All had a wonderful time and look forward to a long sunny summer.

ExCom Openings

If you would like to direct some of your environmental enthusiasm and have the opportunity to help plan Group activities, actions, etc., please consider running for election to our Group’s Executive Committee. We meet bi-monthly in central locations in south King County. Contact Group Chair Dan Streiffert.

Keep Abreast of Our Activities and Actions

The SKCG’s next major activity is our summer hike to Mason Lake, which lies just inside the Alpine Lakes Wilderness on Saturday, August 9 (see Recreational Outings.)

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