PORT ANGELES — StreamFest was flowing with visitors Sunday.
The 10th annual fundraiser for the Olympic Land Trust at Ennis Arbor Farm was a continuation of the drive to teach about the trust’s work.
The trust exists to preserve natural habitat, including habitat on land that is privately owned, said Robbie Mantooth, who owns the farm with her husband, Jim.
“We started up 10 years ago when we were trying to get more people to know about what the trust does, and 100 people showed up on a rainy day in June,” she said.
“So we do it a lot later these days, but we’re still going.”
The warm weather and blue skies were an ideal environment for teaching the scores of people about Ennis Creek and the lands that surround it.
“That is what it is all about,” Mantooth said.
“Celebrating what we already have.”
One of the features of the festival is a stroll along Ennis Creek.
Scientists and workers from the Land Trust talked about the various features in the hourlong walk.
Some of the restoration of Ennis Creek for salmon runs is necessary because of human interference, said Bob Campbell, executive director of the Feiro Marine Life Center, who also counted fish as an intern with Peninsula College’s program.
About 50 years ago, many of the natural logjams were removed, allowing the river to flow faster and with fewer obstructions.
“You look at it, and you think it looks pristine,” Campbell said.
“But then you don’t know what pristine means.”
The logjams and other natural water-blocking features are essential for salmon runs, he told the more than 30 people on the “Ennis Creek Open House.”
“They have to have somewhere to rest when they are going up the rivers,” he said.
James Karr, a University of Washington professor who developed a system of measuring the health of habitats based on biology rather than chemistry, said that decision led to declines in salmon and trout populations.
“One of the essential things I always emphasize is that we should always ask nature before we do something,” he said.
“I don’t know what they thought the fish did before we were there to ‘help them out,'” he said, using air quotes around the last phrase.
Another feature of the walk was a view of the cattail-surrounded man-made pond up the hill of the creek.
The pond was formed by the removal of trees, which were put back into the creek to help restore it.
The pond is full of murky water, mostly drainage from higher-ground areas, the neighboring Peninsula Golf Club in particular.
The pond helps filter out some of the fertilizers and other chemicals that could have potentially harmful effects on the creek’s habitat, said guide Coleman Byrnes.
Barb Coner of Port Angeles said it was her first visit to StreamFest and that she’d return next year.
“I’m really impressed by all that they have going on,” she said.
“I’m not sure that the walk really told me anything that was brand-new information, but it reaffirmed some things that I already knew.”
Joan and Rick Kinnee of Sequim were also visiting the festival for the first time.
“This is really a beautiful walk down by the creek,” Rick said.
“These are some areas that I didn’t even know existed.”
The couple also said that they enjoyed listening to Karr speak of his research measuring bug populations to predict salmon populations in the creek.
“That was really surprising to me,” Joan Kinnee said.
“It was a surprise to hear that they are really studying the biology of the species around the creek rather than the chemistry of the creek itself.”
Other events included an auction, food from area restaurants, informational booths from local organizations and an annual “Parade of the Species,” in which people can march in masks created at the festival.
The fundraiser benefits the land trust, established in 1990, which has been instrumental in protecting 60 properties and more than 1,515 acres across the Peninsula. The nonprofit trust manages some properties and directly owns others.
It depends on the generosity of the public.
Because there is no charge for admission, Mantooth said she was not sure how many people attended.
This year, the event shrank from two days to one.
“It has been really good, because running a two-day festival was just too much work,” Mantooth said.
“And holding it on a Sunday is really great because we can get restaurants here that are closed on Sundays, so they are available and the Port Angeles Farmers Market — of course there is no way we would get them here otherwise.”
Mantooth is also the volunteer communications specialist for the land trust and StreamFest.
For more information, visit www.nolt.org.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
