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Journeys
Marine sanctuary guards coastal waters
Brian Clark, For The Olympian In the early 1980s, oil and gas companies set their sights on potentially rich fields off the Olympic Peninsula.
Their plans brought a firestorm of opposition from Indian tribes, environmentalists, commercial fishermen, state agencies and Olympic National Park officials.
All said they wanted to protect the wild, pristine coast, its rugged sea stacks, sunken kelp forests and the nutrient-rich waters that rise from undersea canyons to support birds, fish, invertebrates and mammals.
As a result, oil and gas exploration was stopped.
In July 1994, the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary was dedicated. It stretches from Cape Flattery in the north to Copalis, sharing nearly 60 miles of coastline with the national park and Indian tribes.
The sanctuary runs seaward between 30 and 40 miles, encompassing some of the world's richest marine habitats -- both above and below the waves. It covers more than 3,300 square miles of water.
According to sanctuary spokesman Bob Steelquist, the explosive growth of marine life on the continental shelf and in deep canyons is produced by a combination of sun, currents and nutrients.
"There is nothing else like it in the lower 48 states," said Steelquist, a former Olympia resident who has written several books about the Olympic Peninsula.
"Whales travel here from Japan to feed. It's an important part of the migratory path for sea lions, birds and other animals."
The area has a profound cultural importance because of the four Indian tribes -- Makah, Quileute, Hoh and Quinault -- that live there.
"Those communities continue to have a strong interdependence with the ocean and rivers," he said. "They embody the relationship that native peoples have had with the region for thousands of years."
But it's not just native people who use the region, he said.
"Crabbers work out of Westport, and commercial trawlers and draggers come down from Neah Bay. There is an important fishery resource out there that we want to sustain and protect. There is a fine line of resource protection and compatible uses."
Steelquist said unrestricted marine travel is allowed in the area, though airplanes must stay more than 2,000 feet above the sanctuary.
"We want people to go out and enjoy themselves," he said. "In some ways, we are like the national forest.
"You can put a kayak in at Rialto Beach and paddle through the surf, take a whale-watching boat out of Ocean Shores, look for gray whales from a coastal overlook at Kalaloch or hike the Cape Flattery Trail on the Makah Indian Reservation."
Though he likes to experience wild and woolly coastal storms during the winter, Steelquist said his favorite times to experience wildlife are spring and summer, when seabirds are more abundant.
"The whales are moving north from late March through May," he said. "Really, though, there is always something going on out there."
"We're also working to help the tribes to develop their own interpretive programs," he said.
Steelquist said surveys have shown that visitors come to the coast with high expectations.
"They are looking for more than recreational opportunities," he said.
AT A GLANCE
For information on the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, write the sanctuary manager, 138 W. First St., Port Angeles, WA 98362, or call (360) 457-6622.
The Olympic Park Institute teaches classes that focus on the sanctuary, as well as other natural history classes dealing with the Olympic Peninsula. Call (800) 775-3720. The Olympian Copyright 1999
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