The Grays Harbor Audubon Society may be the smallest chapter in Washington state, but over the course of the past three decades, its members have had a lasting impact in Grays Harbor County.

The Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival at the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, the Our Backyard Birds murals in Hoquiam and conservation of over 3,000 acres of forests, wetlands, and riparian areas are accomplishments of this dedicated, passionate group of birders.

This summer, the chapter celebrated its 30th anniversary at the Hoquiam Library. During the celebration, members reminisced about the chapter’s beginnings and memorable outings. And in conversations with members, they shared why they joined and continue to volunteer.

Becky Durr, Aberdeen resident and founding member, shared that discussions began in 1990 about needing a local Audubon society since the closest society was Olympia.

“These two women [Hazel Wolf and Helen Engle] came down and organized us and started the Audubon society,” said Durr.

From that meeting, volunteers came forward to form a board, and in 1994, the Grays Harbor Audubon Society received their 501(c)3 status. Later that year, Diane Schwickerath joined the society as a member. After she and her husband, Dean, moved to Grays Harbor County, their interest in birds gradually developed.

There’s “so much biodiversity and great birding opportunities in this area,” Schwickerath said.

Schwickerath attended meetings, met the board members, and within a year found herself elected to a board position. Being a society in good standing included having a certain number of meetings per year and organizing field trips.

“People want to go on birding trips with knowledgeable people who can help them learn and identify birds, so we made that happen too,” explained Schwickerath.

Linda Orgel, secretary for the society, and R.D. Grunbaum moved to Grays Harbor in the early ’90s and they too didn’t know much about the birds who visited their property. Upon hearing of an Audubon Society being formed, “we thought, well that would be a really interesting thing to be a part of, so we decided to attend some of the early meetings, which we did,” Orgel said.

Orgel was asked to join the board, and Grunbaum became editor of the chapter’s newsletter, The Sandpiper, a position he still holds.

The Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival is held each April, and this year was its 29th year of being held. It began as a conversation. Schwickerath recalled chatting with Robert (Bob) Morse, a society member and author, after he returned from a birding festival in Arizona: “He said, ‘Grays Harbor needs to have a birding festival. Grays Harbor has all these amazing birds. It has shorebird migration.’”

The first festival was modest, its location at a local motel in a couple of large rooms with limited advertising.

“But lo and behold, a few dozen people came,” Schwickerath explained. “It just continued to grow and blossom from that.”

This year, the festival had activities at the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, Hoquiam Middle School and Events on Emerson, with guided walks at Bottle Beach State Park and Chehalis River Surge Plain Natural Area Preserve, and field trips in Ocean Shores, Tokeland, Grayland, and Westport.

“We had people here coming from all across the country and several countries just to see the Shorebird Festival and see the fieldtrips,” said Arnie Martin, a long-time volunteer with the festival. “It’s quite amazing how many people have shown up.”

The Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival and the Grays Harbor Audubon Society were two reasons why Martin and his wife, Judith Armstrong, retired to the county in 2005.

“We saw that this society had been around for 10 years already, [and] had a good reputation,” said Martin. “My wife and I are both active birders and we got involved in fairly rapidly.”

Martin served as president for about 10 years; additionally, the couple served on the board. Leading the field trips to the refuge for the school groups during the festival has been a highlight.

“To have the children have the experience of seeing the migration of the shorebirds and showing them the amazing migrations that occur every year in spring. … They’re in breeding plumage and they’re gorgeous,” Martin said. “It’s really a wonderful sight.”

These viewing opportunities are possible because the Sandpiper Trail at the Refuge has increased accessibility, for not only viewing the spring migration but year-round birdwatching. And the society helped support and fund its construction.

“Pre-boardwalk, you had to wade through the swamp and the mud and the plants to get to a place where you could see the shorebirds, which is going to dissuade a lot of people,” said Janet Strong, president of the Grays Harbor Audubon Society.

Constructing the trail was controversial because it meant taking out red alder trees. However, “we were reducing the damage to the actual wetland vegetation because people would slog through and stomp on the plants,” Strong added.

Their becoming one of the few Audubon societies in the state to own property came about because of an anonymous donor.

In 1996 or so (Schwickerath can’t remember the exact year), she received a phone call at work: The caller wanted to donate $25,000 so the society could purchase and secure wildlife habitat.

“And I said something like, ‘Oh, you must have us mixed up with another chapter. We are really small, and we don’t own any property,’” Schwickerath said. “I just couldn’t wrap my head around that concept.”

The caller followed up with a phone call to Schwickerath’s home and told her the society was the right organization. Schwickerath recalls the board having a lot of discussion as to whether to accept the donation.

“The whole concept of accepting that responsibility was huge, especially back then when the chapter was so young and small,” Schwickerath said, adding that the board decided to “take a leap.”

The first property was purchased off state Route 105 outside of Westport. Another donation funded purchase of another parcel. Leveraging chapter connections, along with donations and a federal grant, has resulted in the chapter now owning over 3,000 acres across 80 parcels in Grays Harbor, Jefferson, and Pacific counties. The properties have conservation easements so they will be protected in perpetuity.

“We ended up with this beautiful portfolio of property that is protecting wetlands, protecting riparian areas,” said Schwickerath.

To connect residents to the daily presence of birds, the society spearheaded the Our Backyard Birds mural in Hoquiam that was painted by Jenny Fisher last year. The mural is to show people the different birds in their neighborhood and on their street, said Strong.

As the society enters its third decade, members were asked what they’d like to see accomplished.

“I’d like to see this chapter grow and get more local people involved … to recognize what a treasure we have here for birds and all of nature,” said Strong.

“We’re a coastal estuary and we have very important wetlands and habitat, and natural resources-marine resources that need to be protected,” Orgel said. “We feel that the local Audubon chapter is really important in that effort.”

A recording of the anniversary celebration is available on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=734yb7nlOeM.)