News-Times Whidbey
LIVING: See artists in action on Studio Tour. A11
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 | Vol. 113, No. 79 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
Intrepid elk finds way to Whidbey By NATHAN WHALEN Staff reporter
A bull elk decided to explore Whidbey Island and residents are taking notice. The wandering elk, which are rarely seen on the island, has been hanging out near Strawberry Point on North Whidbey. He’s been hiding in the grass and enjoying the apples on nearby trees. “It’s been pretty low key. We knew it would be a matter of time,” Ralph
Downes, an officer with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, said about reports of the animal being spotted on Whidbey. He said he got the first reports about the elk about three weeks ago. It took several reports before he thought the sightings were credible. “A chance of an elk on Whidbey Island is very, very slim,” Downes said. Judging from reports, it looks like the elk could be five years old.
He said the elk is also safe from potential hunters because Whidbey Island is in a game management unit that lacks a hunting season. Some people have managed to photograph the elk. “He was huge,” said Madeline Biekert, who snapped a shot of the elk as it meandered onto the property near Strawberry Point she owns with her husband, Kevin. See ELK, A4
Photo courtesy Madeline Biekert
North Whidbey resident Madeline Biekert snapped a shot of a bull elk that managed to swim across Skagit Bay to visit.
A PARK, A PASS, A STORIED PAST Deception Pass State Park may be added to the national and state historic registers
By JESSIE STENSLAND
D Staff reporter
Jessie Stensland/Whidbey News-Times
Anacortes resident Jerry Baker casts for salmon underneath historic Deception Pass Bridge Friday morning. the park. They built the famous rock walls on the side of Highway 20 and many other walls and fences within the park. Using native materials, they built many dozens of buildings, includ-
ing shelters, pump houses, latrines and a caretaker’s residence. The distinctive buildings are still used by visitors today. “The workmanship is just incredible,” Hartt said, but added that
maintaining the 70-year-old structures takes a lot of work. “It’s a treasure for all of us and we need to take care of it,” he said. Of course, there’s the famous and historic Deception Pass Bridge that
• YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER • YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER • YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER • YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER • YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER •
Est 1991
830 SE Pioneer Way Oak Harbor, WA 360-679-3700 Tues-Fri 11-5:30 Saturday 10-5 21 years at the same location
“THE BEST”
Diamonds, Bridal, Estate and Fine Jewelry We Buy Gold, Silver, Coins, Diamonds, & Estate Jewelry
FREE $20 GAS CARD FREE $100 minimum purchase required.
• YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER • YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER • YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER • YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER • YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER •
YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER
YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER
eception Pass State Park has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington Heritage Register. It’s an honor that may improve the park’s opportunities for grant funding, but offers no new protection or restrictions on the park or surrounding areas. Deception Park Manager Jack Hartt is something of an expert on the park’s history. He said the bridge and another area of the park are already in the national register, but the entire 3,380 acres should be added. “There are a lot of different narratives that meld here and create a mosaic of stories that weave together,” he said. Hartt said that the pass — with fertile shellfish beds and salmon running close to shore — was home to at least two different Native American tribes. In the 20th century, prisoners were used to quarry rock from the steep cliffs. The park itself was created by a group of unemployed young men brought in from all over the nation in the 1930s. The “boys” of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Depression-era New Deal program, built the roads and trails throughout
connects the two sides of the park. It was listed in the national register in 1982, but the rest of the park was left out. Michael Houser, an architectural historian with the state, said it’s very likely that the park will be added to the state and national registers. The Governor’s Advisory Council meets Oct. 11 to discuss whether to recommend the listing. A decision will likely be made later this year. Houser emphasized that the listings don’t bring about any restrictions and don’t protect structures, which he said are common misconceptions. “It’s strictly honorary,” he said. If the park is listed, a plan will be developed that documents all the historic aspects of the park and maps out how the park can maintain the integrity of the history, Houser said. Houser said the listings don’t come with funding, but it could help the park with grant funding. “The national register isn’t a golden ticket to grants, but it gives you some great brownie points,” he said.