Beach Naturalist season kicks off with low tides revealing some of King County's most precious communities

2005 Archived News

With the first low tide weekend of the summer on hand, King County's Beach Naturalists are preparing to greet thousands of beachgoers expected on the waterfront for beachcombing and viewing marine life Saturday and Sunday.

Beginning this Saturday, June 4, Beach Naturalists will be on duty on low tide weekends at seven local beaches to provide fun and useful information about the fragile sea creatures and plant life left unprotected during low tides.

"It's fairly common for visitors to unknowingly harm sea life when it is exposed at low tide," said Polly Freeman, beach naturalist coordinator for King County. "Our program is designed to encourage kids and adults to roam the beaches and marvel at curiosities such as seastars, crabs and barnacles, but with the help of a Beach Naturalist, to ensure these sea life communities can be enjoyed without being harmed."

The Beach Naturalist Program, a collaboration of public and private organizations, protects area beaches and marine life by teaching youth and other beach visitors about beach stewardship. Beach Naturalists are citizen volunteers who care about Puget Sound beaches and want to teach others how to protect them. Wearing khaki vests and crab-emblazoned hats, they teach beach-goers important beach etiquette, show off moon snails and anemones, and reveal the answers to such mysteries as why barnacles stand on their heads and what sea stars eat.

Last year, more than 100 volunteer Beach Naturalists spoke with more than 22,000 beach visitors over the five summer weekends of the program.

Look for Beach Naturalists at Richmond Beach, Carkeek Park, Golden Gardens, South Alki Beach, Lincoln Park, Seahurst Park in Burien and Des Moines Beach Park on the following weekends:

• Saturday, June 4: 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (tide -1.2 at 10:14 a.m.)
• Sunday, June 5: 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (tide -1.8 at 10:50 a.m.)
• Saturday, June 11: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (tide -0.7 at 2:32 p.m.)
• Sunday, June 12: 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (tide +.1 at 3:14 p.m.)
• Saturday, June 25: Noon - 4:00 p.m. (tide -2.7 at 2:02 p.m.)
• Sunday, June 26: 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (tide -1.3 at 2:51 p.m.)
• Sunday, July 3: 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (tide -1.4 at 9:51 a.m.)
• Monday, July 4: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (tide -1.7 at 10:30 a.m.)
• Saturday, July 9: Noon - 3:00 p.m. (tide -1.1 at 1:27 p.m.)
• Sunday, July 10: 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (tide -0.4 at 2:03 p.m.)
• Saturday, July 23: 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (tide -2.7 at 12:58 p.m.)
• Sunday, July 24: Noon - 3:30 p.m. (tide -1.5 at 1:44 p.m.)

For proper beach etiquette, remember these tips:

Walk carefully. Watch where you are stepping and avoid eelgrass beds, which are near shore nurseries for many animals.
Leave dogs home. Dogs are not allowed on most Seattle beaches. Instead, take them to parks with designated "off-leash" areas.
Leave it at the beach. Don't take away rocks, shells, seaweed, logs and other beach items that are food and shelter for many critters.
Let it be. Don't pull on animals like anemones and barnacles that are tightly attached to rocks or pilings. Also, if you move rocks to look underneath, gently put them back the way they were. Rocks protect critters -- many too small to see -- that live under and on top of them. Also, fill in any holes you or others dig to protect the critters that live buried in the damp sand and need cover.
Remove trash. Remove the trash you bring and the trash you find, especially fishing line and plastic six-pack holders.

The Beach Naturalist Program is co-sponsored by Seattle Aquarium, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Forum for WRIA 8 (the Lake Wash./ Cedar/ Sammamish Watershed), Forum for WRIA 9 (the Green-Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed), King Conservation District, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team, People For Puget Sound, Russell Family Foundation and King County Water and Land Resources.

For more information about the Beach Naturalist program, call the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks at 206-296-8359, Toll-Free 800-325-6165 Extension 68359, TTY 800-833-6388 or the Seattle Aquarium at 206-386-4365. Reasonable accommodations will be provided to people with disabilities upon advance request.