Weatherwax Ecosystem Survey

May, 2008 By Janet Strong, professional botanist/ecologist

The portion of land with the oldest forest, between the power line road and Duck Lake, possesses the characteristics of an old-growth forest. This alone exhibits the natural history of the Ocean Shores peninsula, as well as providing habitat for animals needing large trees, and the upper canopy. That area, as well as the portions to the west of the power line road and to the east of Duck Lake, contain forest stands of great plant diversity. When you have a large variety of native plants, you attract a large variety of wildlife, from birds (a recent bird survey of the Weatherwax acreage found 77 different species of birds), to large and small mammals, to amphibians like salamanders, to butterflies and other insects. The "snags" or dead and dying trees and downed logs are present in all three zones. These critical features of a healthy forest provide homes and food to a surprisingly large number of wild creatures, including woodpeckers, squirrels, bats, raccoons, many small birds, ducks and other species. (50 different birds and mammals in western Washington depend on snags for their necessary habitat.)

The pocket wetlands and the larger wetland along the western edge would be very important for the area's amphibians (salamanders, frogs and toads), especially in the spring during their concentrated reproductive period. Their greening up early in the spring provides a much-needed food supply to browsers such as deer. Another point to consider is the fact that all the small wetlands and the long, large one are most likely connnected to each other hydrologically, with the water table being a short distance below the ground. The ground is hummocky and the low spots with wetland vegetation are "lenses" where the high water table is exposed on the surface. Disturbances like ditching or channeling in one section could have deleterious effects on the larger natural system.

The vertical structure, from the ground-hugging forbes, to shrubs, to younger trees and finally overstory shade trees, logs and snags, provide a multitude of nesting, resting, feeding and hiding places for the area's wildlife. Although the "point" jutting out into Duck Lake is much younger and contains some non-native plant species, its plant composition, especially the food plants beneath the trees, add even more diverse places for wildlife to the mix.

Tying the whole system together is Duck Lake, sitting right in the middle of all these various forest types. Open water is an important component for animals residing in the adjacent forest and nearby forests are critical for some waterdependent wildlife. The open water and its wetland edges complement and complete the natural system.