Seattle Press on Line - The View From Tatoosh

The View From Tatoosh

Apr 25, 2002 -- I've just returned from a working vacation on Tatoosh Island. That beautiful windswept rock lies just off the tip of Cape Flattery. It's home to beautiful little hummingbirds who poke their long beaks into salmonberry blossoms. Overhead I saw majestic eagles observe and then swoop down on gulls and crows. The smaller birds fought back with remarkable teamwork and bravery. A wide variety of birds visit the island, including murres, cormorants, guillemots, auklets, petrels, peregrine falcons, and others. I watched Steller's sea lions swim around in a cove, and they watched me even more closely.

The island's most dramatic man-made feature is an ancient lighthouse that still warns approaching ships of rocks that can shred a steel hull into curly ribbons.

The least impressive human artifact on the island is a privy consisting of a toilet seat, ageing 2 x 4 lumber, and a scrap of old plywood for a roof. A major defect in design is that the tiny roof offers no protection from horizontal rain of the sort that blew across the island for the entire week of my visit. Another flaw involves the tendency for human waste to pile up in an unpleasant and unsanitary manner. Colin, Bill, George and I were there to construct a little building that will soon include a propane-fired incinerating toilet and shower facility. This will allow the scientists who study Tatoosh wildlife and ecology to have a slightly more civilized experience.

The scientists do their research on the island with the blessing and encouragement of the Makah Nation, whose very existence depends on careful preservation of the natural resources of this extreme northwestern part of our country. I got a wonderful glimpse of cooperation and friendship between the Makah People and the University of Washington folks. For me, having even a tiny role in this serious conservation effort was an uplifting experience.

Equally encouraging was the sense of good fellowship within our little group. We worked long hours in cold and wet conditions, yet seemed to have a pretty damn good time. This was, in part, because fellow volunteer Bill Fenimore is a remarkably good cook. We could look forward to the end of daylight and creation of a fantastic meal. Even more important for me was the discovery that I'd fallen in with truly great company. Each of my construction companions shared good stories and humor. They 're smart, but also considerate of other people. That's a rare and wonderful combination. Each of them would jump up to do little chores, but are also the sort to be willing to take on bigger jobs, such as caring for our planet.

We stayed in a little cabin that was once home to electrical generating machinery. Now its essential feature is a small woodstove. Without it I would have been truly miserable. Roughing it is all very well, but there are some things we really can't do without.

Even in our modern age of satellite navigation technology we continue to count on the powerful beacon that flashes from Tatoosh Island. We can't afford to have ships crashing against our rocky shoreline. Another vital piece of disaster prevention equipment for the region is the oil-spill-prevention tugboat Barbara Foss, stationed at nearby Neah Bay. Since September it has aided eight ships with engine failure and other problems. To prevent a catastrophic loss for the Makah, and for all of us in the northwest, we absolutely need that protection.

From the island, even through the rain and hailstorms, I saw a steady parade of freighters and tankers entering and leaving the Straight of Juan de Fuca. Unfortunately, Washington State provides funding for the emergency tug only during the winter months. Our Federal government has refused to help, and the State Legislature decided to take a huge and absolutely unacceptable gamble. Now the tug has gone, and help for ships in distress may come too late.

I must share this important bit of news from Tatoosh: The wind is still howling out there, and the surf is impressively high. That tugboat should be permanently standing at the ready!

Roger Faris is the Director of the Phinney Neighborhood Association Well Home Program and Project Impact Earthquake Retrofit Program. He can be reached at (206) 789-4993, unless he has been inserted, perhaps by helicopter, into some perilous perch in the wilderness.

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Anonymous	Feb 25, 2003
Is this the same Seattle Press that sponsored the Press Expedition in the Olympics in 1890?


Susan Gaede	May 11, 2003	Spokane, WA
This article is dated Dec. 1969. I lived on Tatoosh Island in 1969 and it was alive and well. The generator in your "little cabin" ran day and night. Tatoosh is full of wonderful stories.


Laurence Myers	Feb 25, 2004	Auburn, WA	retired sheet metal worker
I was born on Tatoosh Island in 1925. My father ran the weather station. He was also a weather man in Tacoma until he was called up as a reservest. He eventually retired in Portland, Oregon. My sisters and I enjoyed our time out there immensely. My childhood is full of fond memories, even of the Skagway crashing. The accident happened right before Christmas and we salvaged mandarine oranges off the ship. There were so many more oranges than we could eat, so my mother made marmelade so that it wouldn't be wasted. My father also found a bucket of clay on board and for island children, that was quite a treat. We celebrated all of the holidays together and even had school programs (there was one teacher there for the children.) I have a couple of little toy canoes made by the Makah Indians. I was able to return for two visits in the 1970's with my family. My father was with us on the first trip and we enjoyed watching him explore every inch of the island (while also worrying that he would slip off of the rocks.) On our second trip, the fog horn sounded every 38 seconds. The weather was terrible!


JOyce Colfer	Nov 08, 2004	Mercer Island, WA	n/a
How would I go about visiting Tatoosh Island for a day trip. Are there any opportunities to schedule a visit? thanks, Joyce Colfer

Roger's Home Journal

The View From Tatoosh

By Roger Faris

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