Nutria in Lake Sammamish ?

South American rodents found in Seattle

Recently, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published an article concerning the sighting of “nutria” in Lake Washington. What are nutria?  According to the PI article they are “... a water-loving rodent native to South America that has destroyed thousands of acres of wetlands in the southeast [United States]. “Nutria are semi-aquatic, chocolate-colored rodents that can weigh more than 20 pounds and eat one-quarter of their weight a day in crops and plants of all varieties.  Also called coypu, or swamp rats, they burrow through marshes and levies, and females can produce more than a dozen offspring a year.

“Nutria breed year round and are extremely prolific.  Males reach sexual maturity between 4 and 9 months, whereas, females reach sexual maturity between 3 and 9 months.  Sexual maturity may vary with habitat quality.  With a gestation period of only 130 days, in one year, an adult nutria can produce two litters and be pregnant with a third.  The number of young in a litter ranges from 1-13 with an average of 4.5 young."

What’s wrong with nutria?  The presence of nutria usually has a negative impact on wetlands and marshlands, and the native wildlife species that live there. 

Because they are “colonial” in habitat (that is, the same den is shared by the dominant male with two or three females and their offspring), nutria often over-harvest edible plants within their small range, resulting in the killing of the desirable plant species.  Cattails, reeds, and sedges appear to be especially prized items of food. These "eat-outs" destroy productivity, as often less desirable plants replace the more desirable ones. (See photo above.)  A recent National Public Radio story described nutria as “a buck-toothed rodent that can mow down waterfront gardens and turn dikes into Swiss cheese.”

Where are they now?  The P-I stated that “nationally, nutria are found in at least 15 states, including Louisiana, Texas, the Carolinas, Florida, Maryland and Oregon.  In the 1930s and '40s, they were raised in Washington and elsewhere for their fur.  They're vulnerable to cold and flooding, though, and it's believed they died out of the Puget Sound region over the years.” However, the P-I article goes on to say that a trapper recently caught nine nutria along the shores of Lake Washington.  Two University of Washington students are studying the rodents to determine where they may show up next. Are nutria in Lake Sammamish?  Gene Morel, who lives on East Lake Sammamish Parkway SE in the City of Sammamish sent SLS the following report: "I have been seeing these in front of my house for about 2 years.  I thought they were muskrats, which we have had here for years.  But then I saw them out of water and they are huge, no muskrats." This report stimulated the SLS Team to conduct a poll of members via e-mail to see if anyone else had spotted them in Lake Sammamish.  The responses were surprising! There were 26 possible sightings in and around Lake Sammamish, and 1 in the Sammamish River.  The reports varied widely in the degree of certainty.  But the one we received from Jim Wolfe, who lives in the 1100 block of E Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE, was the most certain because he actually trapped a nutria! To the right is a map showing the areas on the Lake where residents said they have seen nutria.

NUTRIA SPOTTED HERE! Based on a poll via e-mail taken by SLS in April, 26 residents said they had spotted nutria.  Reponses came from residents living on East and West Lake Sammamish Parkway NE and SE; 193rd Avenue SE; SE 40th and 41st Place, and 20th Pl. SE.

What should you do if you sight a nutria?  If you think you see a nutria in or around Lake Sammamish, first make sure that you’ve correctly identified it.  Nutria look similar to muskrats (except larger: 15-20 pounds vs. 2-3 pounds for muskrats), beavers (except their tails are long and skinny, not broad and flat like beavers), and river otters (except bigger and broader all over).  To help you in your identification, below is a side-by-side comparison of these four different animals.

Nutria Myocastor coypus	Beaver Castor canadensis
River Otter Lontra canadensis	Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus

If you have confirmed a sighting, please call:

        Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife 360-902-2200

SLS would like to monitor this as well, so please send us a report at:  info@savelakesamm.org

A statewide Invasive Species Council was recently created to track nutria and other invasive plant and animal species, and to find methods for removing them.  The Council will meet over the next few months to come up with an appropriate control plan to prevent further population and re-introduction of invasive species.

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Recording the Level of Lake Sammamish

SLS learned in January that operation of the US Geological Survey (USGS) gage on Lake Sammamish, which records the lake level, was scheduled to be discontinued in July 2006, due to lack of funding. 

In the opinion of SLS, this could not have been happening at a worse time.  We were just experiencing a period of unusually high water in the lake that caused flooding to homes and gardens with the resultant washing of pollutants into the lake, and damage to bulkheads and docks.  With predicted climate changes, high water events are likely to become more frequent.

How can our lake be managed without adequate data?  The gage provides valuable, baseline information on the lake.  In fact, SLS would like to see the gage upgraded to a real-time gage, so that current data can be retrieved from the internet.  Currently, someone from USGS manually uploads the data on a quarterly basis. In order to protect the health of Lake Sammamish and the property surrounding it, SLS sent a Listserve e-mail message urging members to contact designated officials and ask them to continue operation of the gage.  There was an excellent response from SLS members and responsible local officials.  King County offered to assume responsibility for coordinating sharing of both on-time and recurring costs for the gage in Lake Sammamish, starting in July.

The USGS Lake Sammamish level gauge located on private property north of Vasa Park.  Photographed in January 2006, at a time of unusually high water.

King County currently maintains weather, streamflow, and water temperature gages throughout the county, including the two floating stations in lake Sammamish.  (Go to savelakesamm.org, click on “Live Data,” and then on “North Sammamish” or “South Sammamish” to see data from either site)

David Funke, Hydrologic Engineer within King County was given the challenging assignment of working with the four cities bordering the lake to reach an agreement.  Through a series of e-mails and meetings, all necessary decisions have been made.  Our thanks go to the elected leaders and staffs of King County, Bellevue, Issaquah, and Sammamish.

This story provides examples of several dimensions of the potential power of the community, namely:

• Getting a problem description and needed action out rapidly to people who care.

• Willingness of individuals to follow-up and keep the action going.

• Several local governments working together to solve the problem.

The end result of these activities will be to provide an IMPROVEMENT in a service that was to be eliminated. 

It doesn’t get any better than that! 

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Why Monitor the Level of Lake Sammamish ?

The answer is analogous to a doctor's need for knowing the patient's vital signs.  It is necessary to know the status of the patient at a given time and be able to measure changes over time.

In the case of the level of Lake Sammamish, we need to know how the lake responds to given rainfall events; if the lake is rising more rapidly than it used to do; if more properties are being flooded than previously; and other issues such as these.

A practical reason for monitoring lake level is that building setbacks (or buffers) are being measured from the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM).  Proposals to change setbacks and buffers are being raised in the review process of the Critical Areas Ordinances in the jurisdictions surrounding Lake Sammamish. 

As people want to build larger houses on smaller lots, there is a push to allow construction closer to the Lake.

If people feel they are likely to be flooded, then they build more bulkheads.  This destroys the natural shoreline, decreases fish habitat, and displaces water from one property onto all the others around the Lake.  The bathtub is getting smaller!

Another practical reason to know what is happening with the water level is that new proposals are surfacing to convey additional stormwater volumes from upland development directly into Lake Sammamish via pipelines. 

Trees can intercept up to 50% of rainfall.  Therefore, conversion of forest land to impervious surface increases both the volume of rainfall hitting the ground and the rate at which it runs off and into the lake.

In the case of Lake Sammamish, there is no easy fix.  The additional flooding of properties and pollutant loading is the cumulative impact of thousands of actions taken during the last two decades in particular, including illegal filling and bulkheading, variances and exemptions from the Shoreline Master Plan and setbacks, removal of trees and vegetation around the lake, massive watershed development, use of tributary streams as stormwater conveyance, etc., etc.

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Practice Smart Watering

Too Much of a Good Thing:  Did you know that watering too much or too little is the cause of many common plant problems in our area?  You can have healthier plants, save money on water bills, and conserve precious water by learning to give your lawn and garden just what they  need and no more.

Water deeply, but infrequently:  Most plants do best if the soil is allowed to partially dry out between waterings.  For lawns, footprints showing or a loss of shine indicate that it’s time to water.  Vegetables and other annuals should be watered at the first sign of wilting, but tougher perennials (plants that live several years) only need water if they stay droopy after it cools off in the evening.  Trees and shrubs usually don’t need any watering once their roots are fully established (2 to 5 years), except in very dry years. Moisten the whole root zone:  Watering deeply builds deeper, healthier root systems.  To see if you are watering deep enough to moisten the whole root zone, dig in with a trowel an hour after watering to check the depth.

Make every drop count:  Some easy ways to lower water bills and get more water to plants include:

• Build your soil with compost and mulch to hold water and prevent evaporation.

• Choose low-water-use plants.  Once established, they can often thrive just on rainfall.

• Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation on beds – they save 50% or more compared to sprinklers.

• Use a timer that screws onto the faucet (available at garden stores) to water just the right amount.

• Water lawns separately from other plantings.  Make sure sprinklers aren’t watering the pavement too.

• When soil is dry or compacted, it won’t absorb water quickly.  If water puddles, stop watering a while and then restart, so the water has time to soak in.

• Water in the early morning or evening – if you water at midday, half the water just evaporates.

Use automatic irrigation systems efficiently:  Automatic systems can either waste lots of water, or they can be fairly efficient, depending how you set and maintain them.

• Have a professional test, repair, and adjust your system annually

• Inspect the system while operating once a month – look for leaks or heads that are plugged or misdirected.

• Install a rain shutoff device (ask your irrigation expert where to find them).

• Adjust the watering schedule at least once a month through the season – plants need a lot less water in May and September than they do in July and August.

Let the rain soak in.  Winter rain rushes off roofs, pavement, and compacted soil.  This causes flooding downstream, erodes stream banks, and muddies the water, which harms salmon and other wildlife.  You can help slow this winter runoff, and help the soil hold the moisture plants need in summer.

• Direct downspouts out into lawns and beds, or “dry wells.’

• Use compost and mulch to reduce erosion and help rain soak in.

• Use open pavers, gravel, or other pavement options that let rain through into the soil.

• Plant dense strips of native trees, shrubs, and groundcovers next to streams, lakes, and ditches to stabilize the soil, and to slow and filter runoff.

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This information came from King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Solid Waste Division; City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities; and Saving Water Partnership, a service of your local water utility.

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Report from Save Lake Sammamish Technology Committee

The SLS Technology Committee has had one (virtual, of course) meeting at which we discussed our goals.  The Chair-person is Donald Sherrard.  Membership includes a hydrologic engineer, a medical scientist, and an educator.

We have discussed a number of projects and needs. 

First, we felt it was important to monitor stream flows, along with sediment and pollutant levels (particularly phosphate) in both the Lake and streams, and turbidity (clarity) of the lake water.  These are rather grandiose ideas, but, hey, we were brainstorming. 

For all of these activities we would need volunteers, in most cases lake front or stream-side home owners.  Measuring turbidity would require inexpensive Secchi discs. Measuring pollutants would require more complicated instrumentation, along with laboratory support, for which we may need outside funding.  We would also need a coordinator to collate and track the data. There are obviously numerous other projects we could pursue, but we felt we should start with things that were readily doable and that would provide useful information promptly.  For some of the more expensive projects, we have the expertise to develop grants for support.  Collaboration with fisheries biologists, foresters, and limnologists at the University of Washington could be anticipated, as we have often consulted with them in the past, and grad students in these fields are hungry for hands-on projects.

Typical Secchi disk

It is clear we need volunteers for the practical activities, but we could also use additional expertise in such things as grant proposals, statistics, civil engineering, and unique new ideas. 

Do not hesitate to make your suggestions or ideas known by e-mailing us at   info@savelakesamm.org or writing to us at the address on the back of this newsletter.

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First Ever SLS Contest - Win Starbucks Coffee !

Here’s how it works:  Just create a tag line for use by SLS in our promotions and submit it to us.  For non-marketing types, examples of a tag line are:  “It’s the real thing”, “Have it your way,” and “Wanted Drivers.” 

The winner will receive every month -- for six consecutive months -- a one-pound bag of one of Starbuck’s monthly special coffee beans.  This has a $65 value and is valid at any Starbuck’s store.  Our thanks to Starbucks for donating this tasty prize!

Submissions are due by August 1, 2006.  Either e-mail your entry to us at info@savelakesamm.org or mail it to us at the address on the back of this newsletter.  The decision of the Board will be final and Board members are not eligible for the prize. We look forward to hearing from you!  Good luck!

Looking for a few good . . .                                                                      VOLUNTEERS !   Do you have a flair for the creative?  Yes?  You're just the person we're looking for! The Marketing Committee for Save Lake Sammamish is looking for one or more creative and energetic individuals to help us update the way we meet and greet our existing and prospective members.    Items we're seeking help on include our:   Membership brochure   Website   Display booth used at events and fairs We are looking to schedule our kick-off meeting in July, with our new look and materials ready to be launched in time for Issaquah's Salmon Days at the beginning of October. For more information, please contact Erika Vandenbrande at (425) 868-9545.

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THANKS AND GOOD-BYE Remembering Dan Reider We were fortunate to have had an outstanding newsletter editor, Dan Reider, work on the SLS team since mid-2003.  Before his arrival, we had not published one for three years, and with him on board we were able to achieve our goal of a newsletter every four months as planned.  We hope you agree that the quality has been excellent.  Although attending Board meetings was not part of his job, he was usually there and he not only brainstormed ideas and cajoled others to provide draft articles for upcoming issues, his always positive attitude uplifted everyone’s spirits.  Sadly, Dan contracted cancer and passed away on April 21st.  SLS members and Board join in remembering Dan for his talent and hard work.  We give our deep sympathies to his wife, Joann.

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