Submitted by Erik Chandler.
Prior to 2017, before Pierce College finally fixed their Sewage System, Waughop was still suffering Cyanotoxins, the really bad ones, but they tended to show up in the “warm” periods of the year and when the Lake was low on H2O. And during those times waterfowl were pretty much absent.
When there was enough water and it was cooler, The Lake saw hundreds, if not thousands of waterfowl, during the FALL and EARLY WINTER Migrations. Evidence of this can be found during the Xmas Bird Counts done by the Tahoma Bird Alliance (formerly known as the Tahoma Audubon Society) done on the third weekend of December…every year.
Recently my wife and I have been down to the old Boat Racing area several times in the Fall and Early Winter. Per usual, all we saw of bird activity was practically nil…only a very-few Mallards, sitting on the bank or in the water at the NW end of the Lake…down from where the Pierce College Pond which collects runoff from their parking lots and other hard-surface areas.
BUT, NOTHING like we have seen in the 38 years we have lived on Lake Louise Drive. FYI….we live less than half-a-mile from the SW corner of the lake…the area the City of Lakewood likes to show off in their photos of The Lake.
So, today, since we have been unable to see waterfowl of any consequence, I decided to look for some photos I knew I had that DID SHOW WATERFOWL. And….here is what I found.
All of the photos you will see were taken by me (using a Nikon CoolPix Camera) and represent what USED TO BE how the “JEWEL” of Fort Steilacoom Park looked pre-2020. The waterfowl pictured below were found on Waughop Lake during LATE FEBRUARY and EARLY MARCH, from CIRCA 2011, 2012, & 2017.
Did you know there used to be Wood Duck Nesting Boxes on the West-side of The Lake close to the water. They were put there by someone…but, they are no longer there….just like the Wood Ducks.
I could have had more photos, but I did not carry a camera with me all of the time. I finally got a Samsung Cell Phone in 2020, and it’s w/me nearly always.
Even so, it’s way too late to capture all of the wildlife that USED TO inhabit Waughop Lake….thanx City of Lakewood!
We too have noticed a drastic drop in water fowl over the many years visiting there.
Thank you for sharing the fond waterfowl memories of pre-treated Waughop Lake. In addition to the waterfowl population collapse, I have yet to hear or see the traditional trill of the red-wing blackbirds nesting near the lake this spring or the screech of the towhee’s along the lake trail. It has truly become the death pool of Steilacoom Park.
I thought the red wing blackbirds were gone also, until yesterday. I happily saw two of them!
There is a very noticeable and dramatic drop in wildlife around Waughop lake. Lakewood, PLEASE reconsider your lake treatment methods. So sad…
Also…NOTICE the CLARITY of The Lake’s water in the photographs !!!!!
The Lake certainly earns the name, at this time, of the “JEWEL” of Ft Steilacoom Park…..PRE-Alum-treatments.
You can actually AND clearly see the rocks on the bottom close to the shore. And….the water looks clean & clear further out.
All of the photos are PRE-Alum-treatments and NOW the water is a Pea-Green Muck where one can hardly see the rocks at The Lake’s bottom.
And….also Notice the Xmas Bird Counts AFTER Pierce College FIXED THEIR SEWAGE ISSUE…..
And…also Notice to what happened to the Xmas Bird Counts AFTER the Ciy of Lakewood’s AND WA State Ecology’s AUTHORIZED ALUM TREATMENTS.
One has to be B L I N D….”N O T” T O S E E T H E D I F F E R E N C E !!!
Yeppir….MANY Thanx……City of Lakewood…..
ESPECIALLY Mr Brynn Grimley
Mr. Bryon Grimley is the City’s mouthpiece for TetraTech’s self serving propaganda that denies any culpability for the biological consequences of its unprecedented 2020 and 2023 aluminum, sulfate, sodium and sulfide ion and hydrogen sulfide pollution of Waughop Lake.
The Tacoma Pierce County Health Department is missing in action in dealing with the adverse health consequences of Ecology permitting the discharge of three unprecedented in dosages and timing of liquid aluminum sulfate and sodium aluminate into Waughop Lake.
Waughop Lake at the time of the first 2020 alum application was not experiencing phosphorus release from sediment, but rather was transitioning from a turbid water cyanobacteria dominated stable state into a clear water aquatic plant dominated stable state as a result of Pierce College’s 2017’s action taken to stop its 40 years of raw sewage being intermittently discharging into Waughop Lake.
Apparently the Lakewood City Mayor and Council members support Mr. Grimley’s false narrative, rather than insist that the truth about Waughop Lake’s post alum treatments condition be told and that Waughop Lake’s current polluted condition be mitigated by those responsible for its pollution.