Happy New Year!

And may the magical spell of The Eld be with you throughout 2010!

Playgrounds vs Hunting Grounds.....

We obviously got it backwards....

Would seem logical to assume that an area would be zoned no-hunting BEFORE permits were issued
to allow play areas for our children.....

Peace Over Eld, Good Will To All

And may you and your families enjoy another beautiful Christmas in the Land of Eld

To keep our neighborhood safe, healthy and livable, can we ignore....

The shooting?
 (Notice floating duck blind just off point in front of a residence, upclose and personal)





The Litter?
(They came to shoot it up, not clean it up)                                

The noise?

(Decibel reading from gunfire is comparable to an airplane taking off outside your window)                                                                              

Shall we go on?...........

Unfortunately, the time of just kicking back watching the oysters grow is gone. We urge every person to be vigilant and question what their eyes over Eld Inlet witness...Document and photograph harmful activities over and around Eld Inlet; then, notify your County Commissioners, Dept.of  Natural Resources and Dept. of Ecology. Let us help them help us!

It doesn't get any closer to home than this

Even the fallen trees are watching!

                                                              

The beautiful sunrise over Eld Inlet belies the truth

 And the truth is:


The people and wildlife living here are not safe. 
And the people living here have a simple request: protect us by law from shooting in our neighborhood.


It's the truth, it's that simple

Pay to the order of Thurston County Treasurer___$5,500,000.00

5.5 million dollars is the estimated/average/combined annual taxes of just the Eld Inlet waterfront residence. Taxes paid on the adjacent water view and forest view parcels are over and above this amount.

Our request to the County Commissioners: Please apply a small portion of our tax dollars to cover the costs to re-zone all of Eld Inlet and Steamboat Island Peninsula with a controlled or no shooting zone. Like we tell our children..."In all matters, safety first". And who can disagree with the belief that home should be the one safe place to where our children can always retreat.

The first hand chilling statement of our neighbor supports the urgent need for a controlled/no shooting zone:

"There is nothing more frightening then awakening to the sound of gun shots in your own front yard at dawn. Then to raise your shades and actually see the gun fire is not something you expect to see in a poplulated area from your own bedroom. I called the police to complain and told my daughter to get out of bed and move to the other side of the house. This should stop. I am not anti-gun; I own some myself. I wouldn't dream of shooting in someone elses neighborhood."

This is how it should and can look...

with respect for our neighbors, environment and wildlife.

An Eld Inlet resident sent in this picture of peace and harmony and a healthy ecosystem at work.

This is our neighbor's refreshing message:
"We are happy to see the Golden Eyes return to feed on the mussel and barnacle laden sticks that anchor our oyster bags(plus the closest in which is used as a Kingfisher perch). Since the hunters have decided not to open fire(yet)this year, the other wintering birds should hopefully return and actually survive the winter. They are always fun to see. We are also getting some Cacklers showing up with other geese once in a while. Cacklers are cute little geese as they look like someone left a Canada Goose in the dryer too long and shrunk them. They're quite easily spooked so we only get short glimpses of them. And the most exciting are the bald eagles and osprey that seem to be multiplying daily. Anyway, we are extrememly excited to see so much activity. This is how it should be. And this is how it used to be before hunters and aquaculture over-do took over."

The Salish Sea are WE!!

a Bay,
an Inlet,
the Sound,
a Sea-
So many names
to call home
for you and me!

For the salmon,
whales,
dolfins
and ducks
their watery home
is all the same-
they could care less
about a name.

But if we listened we'd hear them say
"Save us from your garbage, poison, guns and nets,
please clean up your mess and just let us play".

On October 30th, The Washington State Board on Geographic Names approved "Salish Sea" as the official name for the body of water encompassing the Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Strait of Georgia and the many watery connections in between. You will now see the name on all maps and publications. The name acknowledges the ecological continuum that spans the international boundry between Canada and the United States. The new name does not change or eliminate the old names.

Eld Inlet is Eld Inlet is Eld Inlet FOREVER!

I have learned. . .

. . . to come together with good intentions and

   Vote !

Safety In Large Numbers?

Not so much if living on the land and bay that time forgot.

Map illustrates the No-Shooting/Controlled Shooting zones currently in place around Eld Inlet. The stats indicate the year and zone population when the existing ordinances were adopted.  The map also illustrates that the bay and Steamboat Island Peninsula(white and blue zones) are lacking the safety ordinances enjoyed by our Cooper Point neighbors.

The documented (estimated) population of our Steamboat Island Peninsula more than supports the urgent need for a no shooting/controlled shooting ordinance. If  you believe it is time for the ordinances to catch up to the population growth please contact your County Commissioners and let them know you are in favor of a no shooting or controlled shooting zone.

ZONE:       YEAR:     POPUL:   ORDINANCE:

Cooper Point Peninsula:

PINK        1964      P+G=     #3227 no shooting
GREEN       1965      1400     #3269 controlled 

ORANGE      1987      1450     #8886 controlled 

TAN         1988       180     #8690 controlled

Steamboat Island Peninsula:

WHITE       pending   *3850    pending
*population divided between:
 2180 - Eld Inlet drainage side
 1670 - Totten Inlet drainage side
BLUE        pending(swim.sail.kayak.fish at own risk)


(Stats courtesy of the Thurston Regional Planning Council, 2009)

E L D = I B A

Say what??? Let's just say....Bring camera, not gun!!

We all know how special Eld Inlet and Mud Bay are, but did you know.......

The National Audubon Society has identified

Eld Inlet/Mud Bay as an Important Bird Area.

Per the National Audubon Society literature, to qualify as an IBA, a site must satisfy certain special criteria and  prove ESSENTIAL HABITAT for one or more species of bird. IBA's include sites for breeding, wintering, and/or migrating birds. They are discrete sites that stand out from the surrounding landscape.

Massacring migratory waterfowl in an IBA? Shooting  in an established neighborhood? Beaches littered with empty shell casings(that one duck hunter stated he was not interested in collecting)?

There's something wrong with this picture...

...and many of us are working very hard to correct it. We hope we are convincing our County Commissioners of the great need to protect us and our environment with a "no shooting/controlled shooting " ordinance over all of Eld Inlet and Inland.

If you would like to help in this effort to stop the shooting, please sign the online petition or email us to request a paper petition.

AND THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE ALREADY RESPONDED!

"It doesn't get any closer to home than this"

So this is why it sounded like a war zone!

IT'S ALL IN THE  dB! The shots were being fired from a floating duck blind 1/4 mile away in front of an Eld Inlet home, yet the sound resembled a jack hammer being operated just outside our window. Most will agree by experience that sound is amplified over water. But this disruption was extreme....And here's why. . .

The amplitude of a sound source is measured in Decibels or dB

And according to the Shooter's Bible:

Frequencies The Human Ear Hears:

                 HEALTHY EARS   =    1 dB
                LEAF RUSTLING   =  10 dB

                         WHISPER   =  30 dB

                NORMAL VOICE
               CONVERSATION   =  60 dB or so
                   DISCOMFORT   = 120 dB or so

      PERMANENT HEARING
            DAMAGE OCCURS   = 140 dB

Moving on to the dB of firearms:

EVERY FIREARM EXCEEDS SAFE LEVELS.......

                  .22 rimfire rifle  = 134-144 dB

                .22 rimfire pistol  = 150-152 dB

              12-guage shotgun  = 154-156 dB

But most interesting is
the comparison of: 

VARIOUS RIFLES
= 160-172.5 dB 

VS

A JET PLANE = 160 dB

So, with this dB knowledge,  instead of  describing the gunfire blasts as that of a jack hammer being operated right outside our windows, we can now liken it to jet planes taking off in the back yard.

Please notify our County Commissioners with your thoughts on a "no shooting" zone, sign the online petition or email us for a paper petition to be sent to you.

"It doesn't get any closer to home than this"

Just a coincidence?

Does USDA Wildlife Services mean anything to you? Nothing? That’s what it meant to us until further research revealed a curious connection between this agency and the employment history of the duck hunters that turned Eld Inlet upside down last January. Alas, duck hunters, from where did thouest come? Depredation take or just for fun? Either way, the “Elders” have become disturbed and their wise old eyes are seeing red. It’s simply inconceivable to imagine our neighborhood a legal shooting zone…..and for what reason?

If you support a no shooting zone over all of Eld Inlet and Inland, please notify our County Commissioners or sign the online petition.



Our wintering Surf Scoter guest.
Sea Doc Society








Our winter visitor.
The Olympian Article May 10, 2009







"It doesn't get any closer to home than this"

Ever ask yourself why ??

Blasted out of a peaceful sleep by duck hunters last January…perhaps better described as being blasted out of a state of ignorance……

Once upon a time before the hunters came to our neighborhood, it was falsely believed for years, that we lived in a peaceful, pristine paradise. Awakened by relentless gun fire, we were shocked to learn that the migratory sea birds were being decimated. We were stunned to discover this massacre took legal precedence over our safety. Propelled into an uncomfortable investigation, we soon learned that other sea creatures were being systematically destroyed. The quiet inlet residents started asking themselves many questions…

• Why is our beautiful Eld Inlet under attack, from above and below the water?
• Why do so many of our Puget Sound beaches no longer have sea life… tiny crabs and other curious creatures scurrying here and there?
• Why are the wintering diving ducks being “legally” killed in record numbers when our tax dollars have paid for research revealing these sea scoters are already 50% in decline over the last 25 years in our county?
• Why have our refreshing bay breezes become the “smell of death”?
• Why was a deep trench dug in an Eld Inlet estuary to direct the fresh water to the salt water bay in a single channel?
Why are bags of Carbaryl laying in the back of a pickup truck parked next to Eld Inlet, at lowest tide of the year?

Now that we have been blatantly introduced to these unexpected and undesirable issues, we need to ask ourselves another question, "Can we continue living with our eyes closed to what is happening right under our noses?"

We need to come together to become guardians of our tidelands, shorelines and inlands, in other words, our home. Otherwise, there will be others who will gladly take over for us, and we may not appreciate the outcome.

Please join us here. There is no idea, comment or concern too large or small if we work together as a fortress around Eld Inlet….watching, documenting, photographing and reporting what needs to be revealed to us all and to our elected officials, for the welfare of all.

This website belongs to all of us “Eld-ers”, uniting for no other reason than pure, raw desire to take control of and protect our beautiful homeland and “homewater”.

Did you know .....

...there are approximately 900 waterfront lots bordering Eld Inlet? 600 lots from the tip of Steamboat Island Road to the southern most mud flats; 300 from the tip of Cooper Point peninsula to the southern mud flats. All are backed up by hundreds of water view and beautiful forest view lots.

Many lots=Many people!

Many have come together to request a "no shooting or controlled shooting zone". The paper and online petition have been signed by well over 150 citizens to date. Those living on the western/southwestern shores are simply requesting the same protection enjoyed by our "eastside" neighbors;and for this protection to extend over ALL of the water of Eld Inlet.

It is up to us to protect our families, homes, neighborhoods, and our migratory waterfowl that come to rest here in the winter. It is time to "draw a line" in the sand and stand up for safety, quality of life and environment.

Note: if you would like to view a larger map just email us your request: info@eyesovereld.com

"And it doesn't get any closer to home than this"