In May of this year, Conservation Committee co-chair Bob Phreaner and his wife Enid visited Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue near Port Townsend to check on …
OPAS honors our long-term conservation partner, Shelly Ament, for her dedication to Olympic Peninsula wildlife and habitat conservation with this recognition for “Career Achievement in Conservation.” Recently retired from 34 years with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)…
A GPS-tracked swan flying north in November turned the concept of autumnal migration on its head for me. Swans had feasted on flooded agricultural crops along eastern Vancouver Island…
Shelly Ament will retire May 31, 2026 from her position as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Biologist for Clallam County. For more than 25 years, she has been the person the OPAS Conservation Committee turns to whenever…
In the lush landscapes of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, home to old-growth forests and rich biodiversity, birds are more than silhouettes against the horizon—they are indicators of ecological health, threads in the web of biodiversity, and companions to those who seek solace in nature.
The OPAS Conservation Committee sets annual goals. For 2025-26 we are proposing that OPAS collaborate with DarkSky Olympic Peninsula. By collaborating with DarkSky…
Habitat refers to the foundation of resources that plants and animals need to survive and reproduce. It is the place where a specific plant, animal, or all human life lives a healthy life. It includes food, water, light, sound, cover, and space.
World Migratory Bird Day highlights the urgent need to protect birds and their habitats. In recognition of this cause, the Conservation Committee requested, and the OPAS Board approved, that the City Councils of Sequim and Port Angeles proclaim May 10 as World Migratory Bird Day.
I recently attended a webinar on Bird-Friendly Communities. One of the speakers was Timothy Beatley who authored The Bird-Friendly City: Creating Safe Urban Habitats.
“Birds are telling us—in their behavior, in their dwindling numbers and in their silence—that we must take action now, and that we must take action where birds need us most.”
Every OPAS member should be concerned about Initiative 2117 which is on the ballot in November. If passed, this would significantly impact our environmental efforts by weakening carbon pricing and stripping crucial funding for climate and conservation initiatives.
At our June 19, 2024 chapter meeting, OPAS recognized Ed Bowlby and Mary Sue Brancato with our 2024 Conservation Awards. Please read their Award Certificates to appreciate the scope of their accomplishments.
The winter of 2023–2024 started with a BANG! as our team counted a hundred swans pass overhead with a windstorm and still a week left in October. Half of them stopped over and swan counts…
I am writing this column on the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 99% of the over 1600 species listed for protection since 1973 have been rescued from extinction. The Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon have recovered enough to be delisted.
Last month we described the mission of the OPAS Conservation Committee to include initiation and monitoring of community science projects. This time of year the emphasis is on our wintering population of Trumpeter Swans (TRUS).
Pigeon Guillemots (Cephus columba) aka PIGU are considered an indicator species of the health of coastal ecosystems in the Salish Sea. In 2004, Whidbey Audubon community scientists started monitoring PIGU breeding and population numbers.
