Tim Williamson

Much of the 200-acre area being grazed on the peninsula is intended to be eaten down to 2 inches, which will stimulate plant growth when spring arrives, said Tim Williamson, Lake Earl Wildlife Area manager with the state's Department of Fish and Game.Williamson will leave his post next week to take a position as Oroville Wildlife Area manager.

Williamson has checked on the goats and herders often, he said, and except for a few instances, everything was being done correctly.Early on, herders kept the goats in a penned-in spot,where they readily feasted,for too long, but herders have since moved the flock every day, he said.

It's been about 10 years since the peninsula was heavily grazed, Williamson said.As a result, thick vegetation has overwhelmed many of the native plants.

"In the spring it's going to look so much better," Williamson said."There will be stuff coming up we haven't seen in years."

Intense grazing of this nature probably won't need to be done again for another six or seven years, Williamson added.

"The idea is to return it to as near natural as possible," said Tim Williamson the Fish and Game area manager, who oversees the Lake Earl Wildlife Area.
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"Ninety percent of the residents here either learned how to drive here or were conceived here," Williamson said.

Tim Williamson, Lake Earl Wildlife Area manager, stood on the north end of the breach site Monday, training his binoculars on the sand separating lagoon waters from the ocean's surf.

"Just a few sanderlings," said Williamson, noting the difference between these shore birds and the threatened western snowy plover.

Seeing no sensitive wildlife, Williamson turned around, signaling the bulldozer to follow him onto the beach to begin breaching the lagoon.
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After water has rushed out of the lagoon, many birds will migrate south to find more suitable open water, Williamson said, because most of Lake Tolowa becomes a mud flat after the breach.

"I suspect most of the shootable waterfowl will probably leave," he said.

In compliance with breaching permits, Williamson with the Department of Fish and Game must check for western snowy plovers before the breach.Before and after the event, he collects water quality tests.Shortly after the breach, Williamson will check for the endangered tidewater goby in the lagoon's deeper pools.

Detailed specifications with breaching permits can make it difficult to juggle nature's plans with human management of Lake Earl.

"A lot of times I wish it were more flexible, but it's not," Williamson said.

"The idea is to return it to as near natural as possible," said Tim Williamson the Fish and Game area manager, who oversees the Lake Earl Wildlife Area.
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"Ninety percent of the residents here either learned how to drive here or were conceived here," Williamson said.

Photo submitted by Tim Williamson
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Late Friday night or early Saturday morning, a 2-foot-deep trench was dug on the lagoon side of the sand spit and along the crest of the berm, said Tim Williamson, Lake Earl Area Manager.

It appeared that about four people,including children,dug the trench by hand, judging by footprints and shovel marks, he added.

"They worked at it pretty hard, but they had a long way to go," he said.

Williamson said he got a call from a duck hunter Saturday afternoon, alerting him to digging along the breach site.He spent most of Saturday night near the site, but no one came back to continue digging, he said.

It's been about three years since people last attempted to illegally breach the lagoon, he said.Up to three wardens, Williamson and Redwood State Parks rangers regularly patrol the area.

"It's pretty well covered," he said.

Tim WilliamsonArea Manager - Texas

"There will be not quite so many hoops to jump through," said Tim Williamson, California Department of Fish and Game's area manager.