Month: November 2020

This year, fall 2020, I harvested another black-tail deer from the land here at EEC Forest Stewardship. It was a wonderful gift from the land, and part of the stewardship practice here at EEC. For many, hunting is a very controversial subject, and I’ve talked about it a few times in this blog, so forgive me if I’m repeating myself to some readers. I am a passionate and ethical hunter, also a hunter education instructor here in Washington. My love of harvesting my own food has compelled me to hunt, and share this invaluable legacy with others to preserve access to the privilege of harvesting wild food.

Many other countries have no access to public land, or enough habitat to allow hunting. Here in America, hunting is conservation- all tags, licenses, gear (including camouflage clothing and ammunition) gives a percentage to conservation of land for public assess. The land bought with this money is public for all, not just hunters, and thousands of acres have been put into public domain through hunting. Wildlife biologists who study these public lands are funded by hunting. It’s how legal limits of each species, where they can and cannot be hunted, and general health monitoring of the ecosystem takes place. Hunters fund more wildlife studies on public land, than any other institution in this country.

Hunters have eyes in the woods, and observe wilderness first hand through scouting and siting during the hunt season. I hunt mostly in a recreational forest that is also an active logging facility. 100,000 acres spread across several miles directly east of EEC. Animals that roam there are linked to our forest, so what’s happening at the neighboring forest will have direct impact on EEC Forest Stewardship. When I’m scouting the clear-cuts, I am aware of how many there are, where they were made, and how the wildlife is reacting to the change in habitat. I see the streams nearby, and check to see they have a good buffer of trees still in place. Observing other indicator species, like salamanders and the croaking of Pacific Green Tree frogs lets me know the wetlands are intact. Bobcat returning to her den in a slash pile shows me the loggers did leave behind shelter for the wildlife. I would not see all this if i was not out hunting in these woods. It’s part of my greater stewardship of place.

When I set intention to eat something from the wild, I want to know that it is clean food. One might think, wild=clean, but this is no longer the case. Hunters back in New England will know what I’m talking about- there an horrific wasting disease is making the resident white tail deer population sick and mangy. The meat is diseased, and not recommended for human consumption. Hoof and mouth is also haunting wild animal populations, and more infection will come as domestic cattle continue to range unimpeaded into public lands where they infect wild deer and elk populations. This cross contamination might one day completely infect all wild populations, leading to mass killings- like the COVID infected mink. Harvesting wild game allows me to check the health of our resident deer population. I can look at the animal, his organs, and the amount of fat on his body to see that he is a healthy deer. So greataful for this good food, and all the nutrition it will give us this winter.

After harvesting the animal, I age the carcass in our walk in cooler for a few weeks before butchering. The amount of food from one animal is more than enough for me and my partner to share through the next year. Between that and our livestock, we don’t have to buy any commercial meat. That keeps our money out of industrial fast food feed lots. It also reinforces my direct connection to my food, from birth to death- even this deer was eating off the land which I tend, and enjoying all the rich biodiversity planted at EEC Forest Stewardship. In return, the deer feeds me, and I again plant more food and restore more habitat for the deer. It’s a restoration cycle which benefits all life.

Not all hunters respect the privilege of hunting, or tend good relationship with the land. But I do, and I greatly appreciate the practice, and recognize that it could be taken away if we as hunters do not show respect and good stewardship to place. The numbers of hunters in the field continues to drop over time, and this will lead to a loss of presence in our wild lands, lands that will instead be developed in the interest of other natural resources, like fossil fuels. In hunter education, new students are taught the concepts of carrying capacity, habitat restoration, and ethics of hunting to improve habitat and wildlife populations. Conservation is hunting, and by harvesting wild animals on the landscape, we weave ourselves into nature.

The grass is growing fast as hooved herbivores process the landscape. What a transformation we’re witnessing- mere grasses, forbs, and shrubs turn into prime lamb deliciousness. The sheep are entirely driven by mowing down lush green pasture, something EEC Forest Stewardship has. Though some of our pastures are transitioning into old growth forest, that shift will take generations, and intermediate care of the still open ground between plantings should be managed to ensure healthy restoration. Blackberry and grass are tenacious tenants of the land, and shading them out with trees is the slow, but effective answer.

The intact forest, pictured above, has a partially closed canopy, allowing dappled light through to the young trees below. On the forest floor, a thick layer of debris and rotting branches and logs weaves an intricate web of life, including nurse logs for young trees, the future giants of the forest. When EEC forests reach this stage, we’ll have only a few sheep tending, and light activity on the land. Katahdin sheep are foragers- allowing them to eat beyond grasses. This diverse browsing instinct mimics deer and elk more closely. Perhaps at this stage in our forest’s regeneration, elk might be wandering through.

The sheep are not only producing meat, but also playing an important role as invasive managers. They happily eat knot weed, blackberry, and canary grass. They poop out fertility for our young trees, and continue building biomass to support a climaxed forest one day. That fertility can be too much, if the numbers of sheep become too great to be supported on the landscape. Carrying capacity is crucial to understanding how stock work the land. There are so many irresponsible livestock owners who think you just turn an animal out onto a field and that’s that. It’s why so much desertification happens in ecosystems that were once rich and abundant. Mankind takes so much for granted. I’ve had sheep on the land for only two years, but before that there were goats (less in number) and throughout all eight years I’ve been here (Summer 2020) chickens and goats have managed the landscape.

Above is the earliest photograph of EEC Forest Stewardship land (boxed in green). Here, by the 1930s, all the old growth had been cut, clearing the land for dairy farms, which quickly began developing throughout the Snoqualmie Valley. Many cuts were not replanted, and so, natural seeding began. This is evident on the northern part of EEC, above Weiss Creek, also drawn in and labeled. Just to the right of our Forest Stewardship property, there is a dark grove, left untouched. This grove is still untouched today, with a few second growth giants hiding within. To the right of the old grove, there is massive disturbance- right in the middle of the creek. I’m not sure what was going on, but all evidence of human activity is covered over in alder trees today.

The 1930s aerial was taken about a decade before my northern neighbor built a dairy farm in what is now a sensitive wetland area. There are very few evergreen mature trees on the property, and most are ironically, near the farm house.

Near the living spaces of our Forest Stewardship acreage, the clearings are maintained to access what light we can for more intensive agricultural pursuits, and the psychological benefit of sky and light. Looking at the aerial photo below, it’s easy to see how eventually, the south grove of evergreens will one day breech our skyline, hemming us back into canopy as well. It will be well past my lifetime. When the light goes out, this land will have transformed back into healthy forest, and should be capable of stewarding its self. A few walking trails, with information about the restoration of the forest, will allow community a place to enjoy trees, streams, and wildlife. Till then, EEC will continue to produce clean food and healthy habitat for people and livestock; working towards the restoration of temperate rain-forest.