Ebey's Landing Administrative History

Chapter Nine:
MANAGING RESOURCES

For over a century, local residents have managed Crockett Lake, primarily for flood control and to reclaim marshlands. Over time, the lake went from predominantly salt marsh to nearly fresh water, and finally to brackish, due to attempts by local farmers and landowners to reduce its size. By the time the reserve was established, human manipulation had caused Crockett Lake to swell and shrink for years.

Gradually, popular concern grew about ecology and the preservation of wetlands around Crockett Lake. These wetlands were biologically rich and teeming with waterfowl, especially during the spring and fall migratory season. The Seattle Audubon Society, Save Whidbey Island For Tomorrow (SWIFT), and other conservation organizations wanted sufficient water levels to be maintained to protect bird habitat. In addition, administrators at Seattle Pacific University's Camp Casey Campus preferred that the lake remain at high levels to accommodate its environmental and canoe classes. On the other side of the growing controversy stood private property owner Bud Wagner and other landowners in the area. For more than two decades Wagner, chairman of Drainage District 6, owned part of the lake bed. [19] In the 1980s, he and nearby landowners tried to prevent flooding of the septic drainfields in the adjacent Telaker Shores subdivision, part of which Wagner had once owned. They hoped to keep the lake shallow enough to avoid water on the highway and to drain the marsh near Telaker Shores. [20]

In the early 1980s, the water level began to sink after Drainage District 6 repaired some long-defunct tide gates. By the summer of 1984 the lake was only one-quarter of its former size. The SPU dock was high and dry, and Crockett Lake had begun to resemble a mud patch. SPU sued the drainage district, and the NPS was called upon to offer its opinion. [21] NPS Project Manager Dick Hoffman, who had a master's degree in marine environmental studies, felt that NPS should let the state handle the issue. However, the National Park Service did state its position. The Service recognized that the lake had not been in a natural state within living memory, but it acknowledged that Crockett Lake had considerable natural, scenic, historic, and recreational value. NPS Regional Director Odegaard stated that the primary value of Crockett Lake was as a major link in the migration of shore birds. A brackish water/salt marsh environment, he said, must be maintained in order to provide a food source for birds during the spring/fall migratory seasons. Recommending further study to determine proper water levels, Odegaard suggested that extreme fluctuations in levels be reduced. The county currently attempts to maintain the lake as a wetland, with water levels of no more than three feet. [22]