Heernett Foundation Newsletter
April 2005
Well it is official, the Thurston County Park and Recreation “Yelm to Tenino” Rails to Trails system is finished! They did a great job. We have a beautifully paved trail that starts in our local City of Tenino at the city park and runs 15 miles to the east to the City of Yelm and north another 30 miles to the City of Olympia! Approximately three miles of it runs parallel between the foundation property and Highway 507. It is a wonderful trail, I’ve been on it several times. We have lots of local citizens using it just about every day.
As you walk along the foundation section of the trail you can hear and see numerous migratory birds and wildlife. We have avid bird watchers that come and walk our properties on a regular basis to keep up with their activity list. These same bird watchers nominated our property to be included with the Washington State Audubon Society Birding Trail Map for 2005. That was a real honor for us. Our forests on our properties are still relatively young, so we’ll see if we can make the cut this year. There are 50 other properties, which have been nominated, but only 10 can make it to the final cut to be placed on the state map. We should know something by summer.
Remember if you folks have bird feeders out this year be sure to sanitize them. There are a variety of diseases our feathered friends can carry from bird feeder to bird feeder year after year. Just fill a five-gallon bucket with warm water and a 1/10 ratio of bleach. Soak the feeders for about 15 minutes or so then hang to dry. Make sure they are completely dry before adding seed. You don’t want to leave any moist areas where bacteria can grow again. The birds will appreciate their clean feeders and you’ll be feel better knowing you did your part to stop the spreading of disease for our visiting friends.
Something else to think about on these warm spring days is that it is baby time again! There are going to be young critters out and about. They will be trying to cross the roads with their mom, they will be out scavenging with mom for food (maybe your cat food or dog food you have left on your back porch) or they might all be living in your attic or under your house. Just remember that once the babies are big enough to leave with mom they will usually go. If you should hear some critters around the house, just be patient, leave them alone, don’t encourage them to stay by having unnatural food easily accessible and by July or August, the whole family will be on their way. Unfortunately our native wildlife is running out of natural places to stay and live without running into humans at some point. We all have to find a way to co-exist and with a little time and less interference we can all make do with what we have.
Please do not try and help the babies if you should find them. Mom is usually near by waiting for you to leave so she can come and take care of them. Unless you physically see the mother get hit by a car, or killed in some other accident, please leave them where they are and do not touch them. Every year PAWS receives hundreds of so called “orphaned” babies by good doers that more than likely had a very healthy and living mother near by. These babies have a very difficult time trying to survive without their mothers and a large percentage just doesn’t make it because of that. So again, if your not sure where mom is, call PAWS at 425.787.2500 or contact them at www.paws.org before you do anything about it!
If you would like more detailed information about what is happening around our watershed, or to attend a Partnership meeting, contact me @ 360-264-4310 or Heernett@aol.com. This is a great opportunity to come out and help us Make A Difference! Best Wishes Always, the Heernett Staff
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