7/3/09 UPDATE: The Olympian, "Tide turns for Capitol Lake, estuary"

The estuary of the Deschutes River was dammed several decades ago in order to form Capitol Lake. This action radically altered the ecosystem in Budd Inlet and has contributed to the overall decline of Puget Sound.

Today, more than 50 years later, the lake is unswimmable and choked with algae, fed by nutrient pollution in the excessively warm and shallow impoundment. Capitol Lake is filling so rapidly with sediments that local taxpayers will need to pay millions of dollars on a regular basis to dredge the lake in order to maintain it as a lake.

There is a better way for the community to manage this resource: allow the Deschutes to return to its natural state, flowing directly into Puget Sound.

Currently, the Capitol Lake Adaptive Management Plan Steering Committee (CLAMP), of which the City of Olympia is a member, is evaluating management options for the Capitol Lake/Deschutes Estuary basin. The Olympia City Council has the historic opportunity to weigh in on the future of the estuary and they are currently reviewing their options. It is critical that they hear from members of the public who support a healthy Puget Sound and a beautiful estuary at the heart of Olympia.

Please email CLAMP Steering Committee before July 6, 2009. Be sure to add your own commentary.

What is at stake:
More than 95% of the estuarine wetlands has been lost in the last 150 years in lower Budd Inlet. Over 75% of the river estuarine marshes in Puget Sound have been lost. Southern Budd Inlet is beginning to develop a late summer „dead zone“ with lethal low-dissolved oxygen.

Solution:
A ecologically restored estuary could be a beautiful centerpiece for our city. The Olympia City Council’s leadership on the recovery of Puget Sound would bring great credit to our community. Estuary restoration would improve water quality in Budd Inlet and provide critical habitat for declining species as well as restore the natural sedimentation processes necessary to combat sea level rise.

Restoring the estuary would:
1. Allow much the same recreational opportunities as the current lake.
2. Cost millions less than maintaining the lake even when infrastructure and costs for maintaining marina and port berths by dredging is included.
3. The north basin of the current lake would retain water for reflecting the capitol building most of the time.
4. Be the second largest restoration project ever undertaken in Puget Sound and it would be right on the state capitol campus thus showing that Washington really does have the will to lead Puget Sound recovery.
5. Create habitat for ten imperiled priority species and habitats and unfortunately worsen conditions for four freshwater using species.

Email your comments today! Be sure to personalize your message

If you should have any questions, please contact Dan Grosboll.

Thank you for your attention on this important restoration opportunity!

Cheers,
Rein Attemann
Field Director