West Seattle, Washington
31 Saturday
If you’ve driven, walked, rode, or run past Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook (4503 Beach Drive SW) in the past few weeks, you’ve seen the seawall work – but not from the beach side. Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Seattle Parks shared progress photos.
The new $3 million seawall is being built in front of the failing old one.
Building the 465-foot-long seawall will last about half a year, project leaders said at the pre-construction meeting we covered in June.
Before we get back to The News – a bird break! Three beach photos:
The Bald Eagle above was photographed by Raul Baron; the next two photos are by Larry Gilpin – an Osprey:
And a Great Blue Heron:
(Sorry, we don’t know what The Catch Of The Day was!)
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
That beach-cleaning machine had to be dispatched to Alki this morning, with people continuing to ignore the beach-fire ban, less than a week after Seattle Parks removed the long-locked fire rings people had been damaging. Seattle Fire has been dispatched to Alki five of the six nights since then – three times on Thursday, once on Friday, once on Saturday, three times on Sunday, once last night. We asked Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin if anything else is planned. She replied, “I think the next move would be to close the beaches. We are grateful to SFD for their support and grateful that you are covering this and reminding folks that beach fires are not permitted this summer. In case folks wonder why, it’s because beach fires are more often than not used as a place for larger groups to gather. As we are still in Phase 2 and gatherings must be 5 people or less, beach fires are not permitted.”
The photos and report are from David Hutchinson of Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network:
On Wednesday, Seal Sitters’ volunteers responded to the first harbor seal pup in West Seattle this 2020 pupping season. Early in the morning our Hotline received a report of a small pup swimming by the steps along the Alki promenade. The pup, nicknamed “Echo”, finally settled on one of the lower steps.
While Seal Sitters is the official NOAA stranding network for West Seattle, we partner with other groups to provide specialized health evaluations and care. SR3 (headquartered in Des Moines) sent their vet to do a visual assessment. Echo still had an umbilical stump present. This usually dries up and falls off by a week to 10 days after birth, so this was a very young pup. A seal pup’s best chance for survival is always with its mother, so it was decided to monitor Echo throughout the day in hopes that she might reunite with her mother at some point. The chances of a pup being abandoned due to disturbance is much higher in a busy urban environment. After many hours of rest, Echo returned to the water with the rising tide around 5:00 that evening and after a brief detour as far as the Alki Bathhouse, was seen swimming offshore to the west toward the Alki Lighthouse.
On Thursday morning, Echo was reported on a private beach west of the promenade. With the consent of the property owner, Seal Sitters responded and watched over the pup until the arrival of SR3 staff. The pup appeared thinner and there was no evidence of an attending mother. Because of this, it was decided to remove Echo and transport her to PAWS for rehab. Seal Sitters received a report yesterday morning from PAWS – Echo is female, just under 30 inches long and weighs a bit less than 20 pounds. She arrived at their facility thin and dehydrated and the hope is that she will do well in rehab.
Harbor seal pupping season is from late June through September in our area, so you may come across more pups on our West Seattle beaches over the next few months. This is typical behavior as they need to rest and warm up. Please remember to keep back and ask others to do the same. Always keep dogs on a leash and at a distance. As soon as possible, contact Seal Sitters’ Hotline at 206-905-7325.
The request in bold is extremely important – another wildlife advocate told us about Echo just before we heard from Seal Sitters, and noted that spectators were way too close and abundant when she was at the public beach, which could have led to her mother abandoning her.
(WSB photos)
Thanks for the tips. A Seattle Parks crew has been out on Alki Beach this morning, removing the fire rings and cleaning up the debris/trash left behind. The fire rings have technically been “closed” for months but Seattle Fire crews have been called out many nights because people have set fires on or near them anyway.
And indeed, Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin confirmed to WSB after we photographed the ring removal this morning: “Fire rings have been locked all summer to prevent the crowding and congregating that happens with beach fires. Folks were lighting fires on top of the pits, so we are removing them for now.”
Thanks to David Hutchinson for the photo! He explains, “Artist Naomi Haverland was at the east end of the Alki promenade (Saturday), creating a 3D chalk artwork. She was doing this in association with the Alki Art Fair, which unfortunately had to be cancelled this year due the COVID-19 situation.” A nearby sign directs you to stand on marked “footprints” and use your camera “to see the illusion.”
The fence is up, the new crosswalks are painted, and the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook seawall-replacement project is about to launch into major construction mode. When we covered the first of two public pre-construction briefings, the traffic plan for the site wasn’t finalized yet, but it was ready for the second meeting last week So in case you missed that- see it here. The plan includes crosswalks at Jacobsen and Snoqualmie. You can also read a transcript of the July 1st meeting and see the slide deck – which includes the planned truck routes for the work – by going here. If you still have project questions, here’s the contact info: AlkiSeaWall@usace.army.mil or 206-764-3750. Construction is expected to last into early next year.
Your neighbor Jessica is organizing community cleanups at Alki Beach every first Saturday, 10 am-2 pm. Yes, THIS Saturday – the Fourth of July – too! “Meet outside 2452 Alki Ave SW. Help pick up garbage before it ends in the ocean. Bring gloves, mask, and a bucket or garbage bag with handles for ease. I have 10 pick sticks provided by City of Seattle. Please RSVP at 206.769.6330. Supervised children welcome. FRIENDLY LEASHED Pets welcome but cannot be on Beach. Let’s keep Alki clean.”
(Photo from meeting presentation)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Work will start as soon as next week at the site of the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook seawall replacement project on Beach Drive.
The project’s been years in the making. One year after an in-person community meeting (WSB coverage here), Seattle Parks and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are ready to get it going, and they told attendees that construction of the 465-foot-long seawall will last about half a year.
Major concerns voiced during the meeting included the team’s mention of a construction fence covered with a “green tarp” and how that might affect views. (Here’s the meeting slide deck.)
(Corps of Engineers photo, 2014)
The long-in-the-works seawall-replacement project at Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook (4503 Beach Drive SW) is finally about to start – and that means changes in park access and parking. Two online meetings are coming up for updates and Q&A. As announced by Seattle Parks:
The Seattle District – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Seattle Parks and Recreation will be holding two virtual public meetings to kick off the project to replace the Emma Schmitz Overlook seawall in West Seattle and discuss the latest project news.
The construction contractor, Bainbridge Island-based Redside Construction, is preparing to begin staging equipment in the coming days, as suppliers have been able to produce key project materials ahead of schedule. It’s anticipated pre-staging will help avoid delays caused by the West Seattle Bridge closure. Redside Construction could start pre-staging equipment and close public access to the park as early as June 22. Construction is still set to begin early-July.
“The good news is the pandemic has not affected the supply chain for the critical construction materials for this project,” said Jeff Dillon, Army Corps project manager. “The unexpected early delivery of the custom piles puts the project in the best position to start and finish on time. Park users and project neighbors will experience some inconvenience earlier than expected, and we appreciate the community’s patience. We look forward to completing a new seawall that will protect the shoreline and underground utilities for years to come.”
In the first week of staging, residents will see the installation of no-parking signs and detours as well as fencing around the construction site. Temporary office trailers and steel piles for the seawall construction will also begin to arrive. Additional construction materials and a crane will be delivered by the end of the third week.
Here’s how to access the June 17th (Wednesday) and July 1st meetings, both at 4 pm:
TO JOIN ONLINE
(VIEW MEETING MATERIAL, PARTICIPATE THROUGH A CHAT AND JOIN BY PHONE):Use this link:https://usace.webex.com
Enter the meeting number:
146 580 1139 (for June 17) or 146 002 2703 (for July 1)Enter your name and email address then select “Join Meeting”
Select ‘Connect to Audio’ (phone icon – the first circle)
Select ‘Call Me’ and enter your phone number to receive a call from the conference system.
If prompted for a security code dial: 1139
TO JOIN BY PHONE ONLY (LISTEN TO MEETING): Call: 1-888-273-3658
Enter Access code: 5721558 followed by #
If requested, enter Security code: 1139 followed by #
We covered an in-person community briefing last July (here’s that report).
(WSB photo, low-low tide last month)
Today is the first of four days that’ll bring very low tides (we like to call them “low-low tides”) to local shores – -3.0 feet at 11:14 am today, -3.4 at 11:56 am Saturday, -3.2 at 12:39 pm Sunday, and -2.8 at 1:23 pm Monday. If you go to the beach, tread lightly – the low-low tide leaves many creatures vulnerable. Best way to admire is from a distance – you can walk Alki and marvel at how far out the water recedes, for example.
Thanks to Laurence Shaw for this series of photos from Alki during low tide earlier this week.
He says, “I was lucky enough to witness a pair of Great Blue Herons battling over a spot of lunch near the 1300 block of Alki Ave SW.”
“Happy to report that the bird who made the catch ultimately held on to its prize.”
(WSB photo: Quiet moment on Beach Drive by Constellation Park, May 13)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Would removing parking solve the problem of drivers gathering along West Seattle’s public waterfront?
That was one of the suggestions as residents of three Alki-area neighborhoods dominated the discussion at the Alki Community Council‘s online meeting last Thursday night.
The meeting began with an update from Southwest Precinct operations commander Lt. Steve Strand. While police have launched their seasonal emphasis at Alki, he warned that the city’s COVID-19-related budget crunch is reducing the amount of money available for overtime to staff those extra assignments (and others). Nonetheless, extra officers were planned for two of the three days on Memorial Day weekend.
Addressing the driver-gathering concerns, he said the “Stay Healthy Streets” designation for Beach Drive by Constellation Park (and then Alki Avenue west of 63rd) was inspired by the ongoing problems there. The situation worsened after the Don Armeni Boat Ramp parking lot was closed, he noted, displacing the “car clubs” who liked to gather there. He acknowledged that the problem keeps shifting, and noted that they’re “looking at long-term solutions” if, as has been suggested by SDOT, the Constellation Park-side change is temporary.
(WSB photo)
That’s the view from the west side of Duwamish Head a little over an hour ago, as we head toward this month’s lowest tide, -2.9 feet at 1:09 pm. If you’re headed out walking/running/rolling, the views are great – and the crowd thinner, at least when we were out – the further east/northeast you are along Alki Avenue (and part of Harbor Avenue as well). Tomorrow brings a low-low tide too, -2.6 feet at 1:46 pm, and then on Monday it’s -2.0 at 2:33 pm. Later this month, the tide will be out to -2.1 feet on Memorial Day (Monday, May 25th). Next month, it gets even lower, with tides out to -3 feet and beyond on June 5, 6, and 7.
P.S. The Alki shore is of course far from the only place to enjoy the low-low tide view. Don Brubeck took this photo at midday Friday along the West Seattle side of the Duwamish River:
Thanks to Alki photographer David Hutchinson for the sighting. While Alki and other major city parks are NOT closed this weekend, the city’s new exhortation is to “Keep It Moving,” with accompanying signage (as shown here Thursday). That’s not so much of a challenge on a cooler, gray day like today, but if anyone needs prodding, officers from the SPD Mounted Patrol is on hand. The horses are actually based in West Seattle, on the east edge of Westcrest Park in Highland Park.
The photo and report are from Jessica:
Dominic, my son, is insisting we jump in the Sound every Sunday morning so we get a fresh start to the week in this time of Corona. He’s a 5th grader at STEM-Louisa Boren.
Anyone else with new routines to mark the time? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
On the last night of winter, Alki was a popular place. We drove over for a look after several people messaged us, worried that too lttle social distancing was happening. Most of what we saw was people walking in couples or family groups – but not all – remember, keep your distance! Meantime, it was defintely a lot like a summer night – cars and motorycles being shown off:
The wind and waves finally calmed down – but earlier this week, some great scenes we wanted to share before it’s too late:
The view above is from David Hutchinson – below, looking the other way, from Theresa Arbow-O’Connor:
And this one, also from earlier in the week, is by Chris Frankovich:
More sunshine is forecast tomorrow – and then at 6:30, join Alice Enevoldsen‘s equinox sunset watch online!
Thanks to Jim Borrow for that photo from Upper Alki. He explains:
It’s very difficult to capture this late winter phenomenon with a camera, but the outgoing tide after the 12.0 high at 9:16 a.m has cleaned the local beaches of much of the wood and debris (mostly wood) that has collected over the past year. There likely is an increased amount because of recent river flooding and landslides into the Sound have generated more debris than normal. This band of debris stretched out into Alki side of the mouth of Elliott Bay across our view from Alki Pt. toward Duwamish Head & the city front, gradually dissipating as it drifted to the NE. There have been higher tides, so the wind and wave conditions must have been just right to keep the debris in the water and pull it away from shore. Overall the drift lasted about 1.5-2 hours. Of course this is cyclical and the debris will be redistributed and elsewhere along the shoreline, with a new load deposited on our beaches.
Late last night, Chuck S. sent this photo of what it looked like on Friday along the Beach Drive shore:
Our friends at Beach Drive Blog have posted about this, saying they checked with state and county agencies, who also believe the debris is from recent inland flooding carrying it to Puget Sound.
Saturday night, we reported on Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network volunteers keeping watch on two harbor seals who turned up on Alki Beach. Here’s a followup from SSMMSN’s David Hutchinson:
Saturday afternoon, Alki Beach played host to a couple of harbor seals. It was very unusual that one of them was an adult (below).
Adult harbor seals rarely haul out on a populated beach as they have learned to be wary of humans. The fact that this animal would choose Alki, and based on body condition, some coughing and lethargic behavior, all indicate the adult seal was likely suffering from pneumonia. Many young seals are also struggling with health issues this time of year. That is why it is critical that people stay far back so these animals can rest safely.
All marine mammals are protected by federal law. If you spot any on our beaches, please keep back, ask others to stay at a distance, and leash any pets. Be sure to call the Seal Sitters Hotline at 206-905-7325. Just a friendly reminder that it is illegal for dogs to be on any Seattle Parks’ beaches on or off leash.
Seen on Alki tonight – above, the full moon rising in the distance, the reason for “king tides” that have led to a line of sandbags along the water-side edge of Statue of Liberty Plaza. Next high tide will be 12.4 feet at 5:44 am; this week’s king tides (here’s a chart) peak with a 12.9-foot high tide at 7:24 am Wednesday (February 12th). Walking a bit further east along Alki, we discovered Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network volunteers taping off part of the beach because of two harbor seals:
That’s the best we could do with two on-their-backs seals – top one, older and a bit scrawny-looking, second photo, a pup – at sunset. Remember that if you see a marine mammal on the shore, or in distress offshore, call SSMMSN at 206-905-SEAL.
No snow yet, but it’s been breezy, with “king tides,” and late today, we got two separate reports of debris washed up at Constellation Park south of Alki Point. The photo above is from Chaucer, who says, “An expensive-looking floating platform bigger than a queen size mattress has washed ashore at Charles Richey Sr Viewpoint.” The photo below is also from Constellation Park, sent by Chemine, who reports: “There is a large chunk of styrofoam attached to concrete that is washed up on the beach. … It is eroding and distributing pieces of styrofoam all over the beach.”
This comes wtth high “king tides” – nearly 13 feet tomorrow just after 7 am. Here’s what you can do about major beach debris. For Seattle Parks beaches, you can notify Parks for starters – the 24-hour maintenance-request line is 206-684-7250. As mentioned in our coverage of a beach cleanup last year, you also can report beach debris via the MyCaast app.
9:11 PM: Thanks to the texter who sent photos from a briefly sizable Seattle Fire response at 58th and Alki. Turns out tonight’s the night of the annual unofficial Christmas tree bonfire:
Though the SFD response was quickly downsized, radio communication indicates the remaining SFD personnel on the scene are now asking for SPD help with “crowd control.”
9:52 PM: The SFD log shows the call now closed. Meantime, David Hutchinson sent this photo:’
(Photo by Kersti Muul, last week at Constellation Park)
The most-recent California sea lion to wash up dead in West Seattle had indeed been shot. That’s the update we received tonight from Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network:
Seal Sitters just received results from the radiographs taken of our most recent dead California sea lion, towed from Constellation Park to Don Armeni boat launch for necropsy on the 3rd. This is the sea lion that had originally washed ashore on a private beach further south on Christmas Day.
The X-rays confirm that the animal was shot in the head. Projectiles will be removed from the skull and turned over as evidence to NOAA Office of Law Enforcement.
The most current Fall/Winter statistics to date of pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) confirmed shot dead in Central and South Puget Sound now stand at 9. An additional 4 deaths are suspicious, but cause was not confirmed.
For more info, go here.
As always, please report all marine mammals on shore, live or dead, to Seal Sitters’ hotline @ 206-905-SEAL (7325).
A year earlier, at least a dozen shot sea lions were found in central Puget Sound.
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