Activities at Lake Ozette

It was a fun week getting to explore all of the opportunities that Lake Ozette had to offer! The interns kicked the activities off with a 6-mile round trip hike to Sandpoint with Amy Olsen and colleagues from the Seattle and Oregon Coast Aquariums. They were greeted with a wonderful sunny day with great visibility to set up spotting scopes and binoculars to assist with a statewide survey that collects data on the foraging behaviors of sea otters. While they discovered how difficult it is to try and count sea otters in a tight raft, Jerriq, Tanisha, TeJae, and William looked out upon approximately 55 otters that were resting and grooming among the thick kelp beds. After observing the raft for a while, a couple otters began to feed, and the data collection process began. The interns were able to see how sea otter foraging studies are conducted and were impressed by how quickly the otters would pop up with a snail, mussel, or urchin, devour it in mere seconds, disappear beneath the surface, and then repeat the process soon after. While watching the sea otters fill up on benthic critters, a mother black bear and her cub snuck out of the woods to the beach, allowing us the opportunity to set up the spotting scope and watch in awe as they poked around.

The interns also crawled around the shoreline of Lake Ozette with scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and our department’s water and air quality programs. The goal was to collect dragonfly larvae, otherwise known as nymphs, to contribute to understanding the health of the lake and its inhabitants through a mercury deposition analysis. The interns got to play in the mud and used field guides to identify the insects they were finding.

Lastly, the week of Lake Ozette activities was capped off with two hard days of work removing vegetation from the shoreline to promote Lake Ozette sockeye spawning habitat. This is a unique subset of sockeye salmon which migrate upriver in the early months of April and May, and stay in the lake until it is suitable to spawn in the late months of November and December. Poor logging practices of the past caused fine sediments to wash down towards the lake, where vegetation grew and locked up these fine soils. Instead of rocky gravel beds rich in dissolved oxygen, sandy, silty shorelines dense in vegetation took hold which is unsuitable habitat for salmon fry as they grow and develop. By removing the vegetation from the shoreline, wave action and precipitation can wash away the fine sediments, leaving ideal salmon spawning habitat behind in hopes of helping the population recover in future years. After swinging maddoxes, shoveling in rocky substrate, and carrying heavy loads of roots, grasses, and shrubs, the interns were rewarded with a much deserved end to the week with tubing in the lake. It was a sight to see the smiles as they bounced over wakes. It was clearly a highlight for each of them as they talked about it the majority of their wet drive back to the office.

Between the forested trails, sandy coast, marshy shorelines, and calm lake waters, the interns explored Lake Ozette in full and had fun enjoying the park while contributing towards important scientific projects. What a week!