— from Russel Barsh, KWIAHT —

More than 500 people visited two-acre Indian Island over the long Fourth of July holiday weekend, many of them taking advantage of the opportunity to observe an annual bivalve census that measured nearly 800 clams and cockles, and bimonthly seining of fish in the island’s extensive eelgrass meadows.

Volunteers continued to discourage visitors from climbing from tide pools to the summit of the island, where rare Black Oystercatchers are raising their first chick in four years. The fluffy charcoal gray chick, nicknamed Izzie by the Kwiaht science team, could be seen following its parents learning how to pry tasty limpets and mussels from rocks on the island’s southeast point. Volunteers expressed relief that Izzie survived the fireworks display nearby, and estimates that the chick will be relatively independent in a few weeks, although it will probably follow its parents on foraging trips far from Indian Island during its first winter.

OchreStarThe island’s colorful Ochre Stars, still gradually recovering from an outbreak of wasting syndrome (SWS) two years ago, were not so fortunate. Just one day after Kwiaht apprentices counted 416 healthy sea stars—the highest number seen since 2013—vandals overturned more than a dozen large rocks on the south shore of the island, exposing some fifty sea stars to direct sunlight. Most were dead or badly injured when discovered by Indian Island stewards on Wednesday.

“It’s bad enough that these animals have struggled with disease for two years, but why do people feel the need to roll over sea stars’ hiding places and leave them exposed to die?” asks Kwiaht director Russel Barsh. “Most of the dead animals are juveniles, so the people that did this have set back sea star recovery seriously.”

For further information visit: indianisland.info

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