Save the salmon but return public access to Bateman Island | Opinion

Bateman Island is a Tri-Cities gem for many reasons. As many local citizens can attest, it is a favorite place to take a walk away from the hustle and bustle of a busy metropolitan area and see and enjoy nature on its own terms.

Quietness and solitude are getting harder and harder to find, but on a typical day you can find relief on the island.

But because the Bateman Island causeway is coming out, future access to the island will be limited only to those with boats. No bridge is planned to be built.

This brings up a second concern for the resulting lack of general access. The lack of a bridge will also hinder fire response, first aid response and police response for those individuals still able to access the island.

And the protection of cultural resources will also likely be compromised due to the lack of citizen vigilance.

Yet another reason to allow limited access is because Bateman is recognized as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society.

This designation was obtained because of the unique and vanishing habitat on the island along with the waters of the Yakima delta which support a thriving population of resident and migratory birds.

This designation can only be obtained under strict national criteria which this area meets. Bateman Island is one of a very few areas so designated in the state.

As an IBA, the local chapter of the National Audubon Society has been conducting and maintaining monthly or annual counts of bird species and numbers on the island since the 1960s.

The data is extremely important in understanding the changing dynamics of bird species and numbers of birds, and is another measure of how climate change is affecting world ecosystems. With the loss of the causeway and no bridge, continued data will be compromised or possibly totally lost.

For example, understanding bird numbers and trends, such as waterfowl, is important to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in setting waterfowl hunting regulations.

The Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society supports removal of the causeway. We anticipate that the removal of the causeway will allow the free flow of cool waters of the Yakima River and the migration of salmon up the river.

Much has been done on the mainstream Yakima to improve salmon movement and spawning; removal of the causeway will support these efforts and improve the survival of salmon.

But for the reasons noted above, we urge the jurisdictions to look for alternative ways (other than private boats) to maintain some equitable public access to the Island.

-Dana Ward is president of the Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society.