Back by popular demand! The US Fish and Wildlife Service invites you to explore Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) during a series of ten guided canoe and kayak trips during June, July, and August 2008. On these outings visitors will spend about one and a half hours paddling through the heart of Siletz Bay NWR as they learn about the natural history of some of the plants, wading birds, waterfowl and other wildlife that inhabit the estuary. Siletz Bay NWR also consists of some of the most scenic estuarine habitat along the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway. On either side of the Highway 101, starched skeleton trees jut forth from the estuary and are reminiscent of a time when the salt marsh was diked. Osprey, Red-tailed Hawks and occasionally Bald Eagles can be seen roosting at the top of these snags. A variety of estuarine dependant birds including Great Blue Heron, Great Egret and many species of waterfowl can be seen foraging in the tidally influenced waters. The refuge also provides nursery grounds for Coho and Chinook salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout. Siletz Bay NWR was established to protect salt marsh, brackish marsh, tidal sloughs, mudflats, coniferous and deciduous forestland and the wildlife that depends on these unique habitats. Don't miss your chance to come out for a personal interpretive tour of Siletz Bay NWR!

Participants must provide their own canoe or kayak for each trip. The site allows for a primitive drop-in site with no dock therefore we ask that you dress appropriately for walking on a muddy bank and potentially inclement weather. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can provide binoculars and field guides to use during the trip if needed. Space is limited; please call ahead to make a reservation. The tours will take place at the following dates and times:

Sunday, June 1 11:15am-1:15pm
Wednesday, June 4 2:00pm-4:00pm
Thursday, June 12 8:30am-10:30am
Sunday, June 29 10:00am-12:00pm
Tuesday, July 8 5:30pm-7:30pm
Tuesday, July 15 12:30pm-2:30pm
Thursday, July 17 1:30pm-3:30pm
Saturday, July 19 2:30pm-4:30pm
Friday, August 1 1:15pm-3:15pm
Saturday, August 9 7:45am-9:45am

Participants will meet at the end of the old highway 101 spur road on the east side of the new Highway 101 at the time listed for the date. From Lincoln City go south on Highway 101, after crossing the Siletz River make the first left (east) onto the old highway 101 and meet at the end. From Newport go north on Highway 101, cross Millport Slough and make the first right (east) onto the old highway 101. The old highway 101 turn off is directly across from the Frank Nettleship Dental Office. For further information please see the Oregon Coast NWR Complex website: www.fws.gov/oregoncoast or contact Annie Kilby directly by phone 541-867-4550 (office), 541-270-5606 (cell), or via email at anne_kilby@fws.gov.

A new Oregon state champion Sitka spruce has been designated and it's on public land in Tillamook County. The giant Sitka Spruce, the largest known representative of its kind in the state, is 144 feet high and is located within Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). The Cape Meares champion spruce was designated after winter storms toppled the The Klootchy Creek Spruce in December. The Klootchy Creek Spruce held the post of national champion Sitka Spruce for 34 years and was the first tree to be designated an Oregon State Heritage Tree. Knowing that the Klootchy Creek Spruce was in decline as a result of a huge cavity exposed from a previous storm, two arborists, Brian French and Will Koomjian, who lead expeditions to climb and measure the largest trees of each species, started querying tree watchers about other large Sitka Spruce trees in the Northwest. French and Koomjian operate under the name Ascending the Giants and their stated goal for these climbs are to aid in preservation efforts for champion trees and to raise awareness of the importance of trees and the sensitive ecosystems that exist in and around them.

While designation as a state champion tree does not come with legal protection, the Cape Meares Spruce is already protected from harvest due to its location within the federally protected Refuge. The Refuge itself was established in 1938 to protect a remnant patch of coastal old growth forest and the surrounding rocky cliff habitat used by seabirds as breeding habitat. In fact all of Cape Meares Refuge, with the exception of Oregon Coast Trail, was further designated a Research Natural Area (RNA) in 1987, which requires that natural processes are allowed to continue without management interference from humans. Activities on RNAs are limited to research, study, observation, monitoring, and educational activities that are non-destructive, non-manipulative, and maintain unmodified conditions. RNA designation for Cape Meares Refuge was awarded to showcase the Sitka spruce forest and coastal shrublands of the area and was further considered an important site in the RNA program as it represents the most northerly stand of old growth Sitka spruce remaining along the Oregon coast.

According to French, the massive sitka spruce shows all the hallmarks of coastal life: vigorous growth and numerous breakouts. Like the Klootchy Creek tree the Cape Meares Spruce had its top half blown out in a storm so the tree has a stout appearance. French postulates that the tree is probably in the age range of 750 to 800 years old and is in rough condition with decay in its core. Visitors can see the Cape Meares champion Sitka spruce by hiking a short trail that branches off (to the south) from the Oregon Coast Trail which meanders through the heart of the old-growth forest on the Refuge and adjacent Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint forestland. Cape Meares is located along the Three Capes Scenic Route approximately ten miles west of the town of Tillamook. When approaching Tillamook on US Highway 101, follow signs for the Three Capes Scenic Route and the town of Oceanside. Turn west into a small graveled parking lot to access the trailhead at the entrance to Cape Meares.

On October 14, 2007, Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge - the first national wildlife refuge established west of the Mississippi River - will turn 100 years old. A full century after formal protection, Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, located 1/2 mile off Oceanside on the northern Oregon coast, provides habitat for Oregon's largest breeding colonies of Tufted Puffins and Common Murre. This refuge is one of the smallest designated Wilderness Areas in the country, providing 15 acres of coastal island habitat for over 100,000 nesting seabirds. It is also the northernmost pupping site of the federally threatened Steller Sea Lion. Other seabird species breeding on this refuge include Common Murre, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Leach's Storm-Petrel, Brandt's Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Rhinoceros Auklet, Cassin's Auklet, Pigeon Guillemot Western Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull and Black Oystercatcher.

To mark this special occasion, Rogue Ales of Newport teamed up with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to offer a limited bottling of a special commemorative brew "Puffin Pale Ale." The 22-ounce bottles, which sport a custom label portraying the refuge and a tufted puffin and telling the refuge story, went on sale in July and will continue through October. Rogue Ales will donate a portion of the profits from the sale of the brew to the refuge's environmental education program.

The need to designate Three Arch Rocks as a protected wildlife area was brought to the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt by two pioneer naturalists and conservationists from Oregon, William L. Finley and Herman Bohlman. Because of their perseverance and dedication to wildlife conservation, Three Arch Rocks became the first refuge west of the Mississippi River. Far-sighted citizens and leaders including President Theodore Roosevelt and Oregon's William L. Finley nurtured the seeds of conservation and acted on the belief that America's wildlife heritage should be protected. In 1903, Roosevelt established the first national wildlife refuge at Pelican Island, Florida and by October 1907 he had designated the first Pacific Coast refuge at Three Arch Rocks.

William L. Finley and his childhood friend, Herman Bohlman, first visited the wind and sea-swept rocks in June of 1901 and 1903 to photograph its unique wildlife. During the first expedition they witnessed a tugboat filled with target shooters circling the rocks blasting seabirds for sport every Sunday, throughout the week they further witnessed other boats carrying gunners who were shooting Steller Sea Lions for their skins and oil. Finley wrote, "The beaches at Oceanside were littered with dead birds following the Sunday carnage." They knew they had to put a stop to this slaughter as the seabird and seal colonies could not survive much longer. Bad weather conditions prevented them from getting good photographs of the wildlife on the first trip but a second trip in 1903 proved successful.

After waiting out 19 days of storms, heavy fog and tumultuous seas on the desolate Oceanside beach, a fair weather day greeted them. They loaded up a dory with food, a tent, water, clothing and photographic equipment and rowed toward the rocks. Shag rock was the only rock with a landing spot and the men unloaded their equipment. The exhausted men spent a sleepless first night as the campsite, high on a small rocky bluff, was not only cramped but noisy. Waves blasted through the rocks' arches thundering like cannons and tens of thousands of seabirds called throughout the night. Finley wrote that "We awoke the next morning feeling as if we had spent the night on top of a broken picket fence." They lived on Shag Rock for two weeks during which time they took some of the first photographs of nesting seabirds, collected eggs and specimens for study, and documented some of the life history of the birds.

Finley had already heard about President Theodore Roosevelt's desire to protect habitat for species conservation, and a few months after the Three Arch Rocks visit he traveled across the country to Washington, D.C. for a personal audience with the President. Finley spread the photographs of the wild animals of the Pacific Coast on a table in front of Roosevelt who found the photos so compelling, he exclaimed, "Bully bully, we'll make a sanctuary out of Three Arch Rocks." But Finley's job was not over, he had to lobby four years until the President designated Three Arch Rocks as the first National Wildlife Refuge west of the Mississippi River on October 14, 1907. During that time, Finley and Bohlman worked with the Oregon Audubon Society (now Portland Audubon Society) to establish the State Model Bird Law that outlawed the sport hunting of all seabirds. Armed with the new law, the Oregon Game Warden for the Tillamook area confronted the owner of the tugboat Vosberg and mercilessly put an end to the shooting parties.

To further protect breeding habitat for seabirds and marine mammals, Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge is closed to public entry year-round and waters within 500 feet of the refuge are closed to all watercraft from May 1 through September 15, when birds are nesting. However, the Refuge can be viewed from the mainland at Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint and from Oceanside Beach.