Project Swan Safe status October 2021
Provided by John Acklen, OPAS project leader for Swan Safe.
Work on the Swan Safe project is finally complete. WAVE cable has spliced their connections into place and removed their overhead cable. Clallam County PUD removed the remaining utility pole stub holding the WAVE cable and backfilled the hole. OPAS has paid the contractors and PUD invoices. We completed the project close to our anticipated schedule, and well before the swans return from their northern breeding grounds.
We accomplished the work within our donated funds. We have closed our GoFundMe account, and removed the link from our website. There are some remaining Swan Safe funds which we plan to use to support our local swan protection or rehabilitation projects. We will consult with WDFW, and our other partners on the most productive use for the residual funds. We’ll provide our donors and OPAS members a report on how the residual funds will be used. We plan to do follow-on monitoring of the swans roosting on Kirner pond this winter and will provide folks updates from our swan monitoring team leaders.
This is the first project of this scale that OPAS has led. We’re humbled by the success of the work, and we fully acknowledge we did not do it alone. We owe a huge thank you to our project partners, and most especially to you, our generous and responsive donors.
(Click on the photo below to enlarge)
Before and after photos of Kirner Road with and without power lines. Viewing Kirner Pond toward the east. Before photo taken January 2021. After photo taken October 2021. Both photos by John Gussman