Letters to the Editor

Something awfully familiar . . .

Is it just me, or does it seem like architect Brad Cloepfil is selling the same drawing of an ATM machine to museum "movers and shakers" across the country ("Reputation Rising," Dec. 4)? The Museum of Arts & Design in New York is your "Classic ATM." Ann Sacks' Portland Penthouse is the "Las Vegas Drive-up ATM." Maryhill Overlook's design is the "Lonely Migrating ATMs" and the Seattle Art Museum is clearly "Two ATMs Holding Hands."

Also telling is Cloepfil's bristling at staffers . . . could be he's just sensitive for his lack of a genuine body of work.

Jim Kirby, Seattle

Honoring our wild side

I love beaches. My idea of heaven has always been a beautiful, wave-hushed beach to explore. More recently, I've taken to eating some of that beauty and nourishment in the form of wild harvested shellfish and seaweeds.

My friends and I recently participated in a wild harvest feast at Bowman Bay. The feast was featured in Pacific Northwest magazine ("Where the Wild Things Are," Dec. 18, 2005). A half dozen of us met at Bowman Bay in Deception Pass State Park. This was an opportunity to celebrate Northwest foods and culture. We brought reef-net-caught salmon from Lummi Island, chanterelle mushrooms from our woods, salal and huckleberries from under power-line clearcuts. We sought to supplement our bags of store-bought veggies, rice, garden potatoes, cream, and pie crust with fresh seaweeds and shellfish.

We thought we were entirely above board and prepared. We were biologists, educators, engineers and stewards of nature. We bought and carried Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife "Shellfish/Seaweed Licenses." Checked the tide book. Paid the park's launch fees.

We harvested by kayak less than 15 pounds of seaweed between all of us (the seaweed limit is 10 pounds per person) because we were looking for just a few types for our recipes. We even talked with a uniformed Deception Pass park ranger at the launch site who enjoyed seeing our wild harvesting cookery in the park's picnic area. We mistakenly assumed, therefore, everything was A-OK.

However, my heart sank when I learned the truth. Although no signs were posted on the information board at the Bowman Bay launch, we later discovered (thanks to a diplomatic letter from Ted Smith, assistant regional manager, stewardship, Washington State Parks) Bowman Bay is an underwater park. It is a vast park, extending beyond Deception Island, and that makes me happy to know it is protected. But oh, the sinking-heart feeling of doing something wrong I had perceived was OK.

I have since learned there are seven underwater parks in Washington state. Only three allow seaweed harvesting. At Bowman Bay, seaweed and certain shellfish harvesting is prohibited. Although it was OK to harvest a red sea urchin (as our urchin harvester had a shellfish/seaweed license), the chitons and limpets (no shellfish/seaweed license required) should have been left to themselves and the tides. Same for the seaweed. Wild harvesting, while a way to eat close to the source, needs to be pursued with the utmost care.

We who love beaches are all in this together. We stand on the same side — trying to honor, protect and love these amazing places. With multiple jurisdictions in these waters, it is difficult sometimes for even very well-meaning and law-abiding folks to figure out how to know all the rules. Let us all make a great effort at education. Join Beach Watchers. Read the fine print in sport fishing regulations. Keep an open dialogue between Parks, Department of Fish and Wildlife, schools and visitors. I, for one, will tell this humbling, embarrassing story to my students. We must roll up our sleeves for more than seaweed harvesting.

— Jennifer Hahn, naturalist/kayak guide, Bellingham

A philosophy of enjoyment

Wabi sabi (Plant Life, "Say Wabi Sabi," Jan. 1) may be the salvation of me as a gardener! Thank you so much for writing about it. I have found myself never satisfied with all my hard work because I focus on what I don't like or what is in the wrong place, or what is weedy or needs pruning. I can now dismiss those as adhering to the philosophy of wabi sabi, and really enjoy the wonderful things about my garden.

Mary Moore, Olympia

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