Please share these notes on cordgrass commentators and chipmunks.

First, spartina: Kim Patten is right that simplistic “tit for tat letters” cannot encompass the complex spartina situation. That was exactly my point, in my guest column of Aug. 1, in calling for care and precision from all concerned. In her Aug. 22 response, Miranda Wecker suggests I did her a disservice. As I wrote, Ms. Wecker has distinguished herself as a conservationist, and on the spartina battle in particular. As a conservationist myself, I have never before been accused of “lecturing from the sidelines,” and I wrote nothing about “a world in which we use no chemicals and cost is no object,” but I am glad that my column induced her to clarify her views and their basis. Miranda wonders why I brought up Agent Orange; clearly, it was to refute her implication that herbicides kill only plants. We agree on the good news that the spartina stand is much reduced, and I too celebrate the resultant increase in shorebird use of the mudflats.

Where we disagree is over our confidence in the testing for registry of biocides. To anyone who studies the toxicology of many EPA-registered chemicals, the question is not whether they are harmful, carcinogenic, teratogenic, etc., but how much and under what circumstances. Agent Orange was hardly the only lethal product registered, and the bad old days at EPA are far from over, for reasons elegantly parsed by Dr. Warren Porter in his Aug. 29 letter. Frequently, the most dangerous constituents of a preparation are not even subject to testing, especially in their synergistic interactions with the active ingredient. Some fully registered insecticides have been found, for example, to contain even DDT among their so-called “inert” ingredients. And don’t forget the entire class of hormone-disrupters now proving to be widespread in many federally approved plastic products. Many dedicated public servants in the EPA and DOE do their best, but it is seldom enough to ensure public or ecosystem safety.

While I salute her public service, Ms. Wecker may be overly confident in federal oversight for chemical approval, not to mention scientific testing involving concerned corporations. (Anyone inclined toward blind trust in such reviews should consider Northern Star’s DEIS for the LNG terminal at Bradwood and FERC’s response, laughably asserting “minimal” environmental impact.) I hope Miranda is right about imazypyr’s harmlessness, and I appreciate the references she has given. But as Aldo Leopold said, “you can’t touch just one thing,” and I feel it is naive to think otherwise.

Meanwhile, back on shore, you published a delightful photograph by Kevin Heimbigner on Aug. 29, depicting a creature identified in the caption as a “chipmunk.” The story went on to give an informative summary of the natural history of chipmunks. Unfortunately, the photo depicts another animal altogether. Chipmunks can always be told by their striped heads. In the mountains, people often confuse the larger, back-striped golden-mantled ground squirrel with more delicate chipmunks. But the animal shown here is actually our one native tree squirrel, known as the Douglas squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii), named for explorer-botanist David Douglas, who found it near the mouth of the Columbia River around 1825. Happily, it often occurs in Douglas-firs.

John Muir called it “…without exception, the wildest animal I ever saw – a fiery, sputtering little bolt of life…” This rodent is closely related to the red or pine squirrel of the North and East (T. hudsonicus), and both species are commonly called chickarees for their familiar, scolding calls. The western gray squirrel, endangered in Washington’s oaklands, and the eastern gray and fox squirrels, both introduced in some Washington cities, are larger and belong to the genus Sciurus. Apart from Douglas squirrels, which prefer conifers and woodsier areas, the eastern gray squirrel is the only tree squirrel likely to be seen on the Peninsula. Townsend’s chipmunk, heavily striped and smaller than the Douglas squirrel, occurs here as well, as does the northern flying squirrel.

Robert M. Pyle

Gray’s River