Batwater Station

08/15/2026

We adjust our plans on wetlands thanks to knowing this about beavers.

In the 1960s, a Swedish biologist played the sound of running water through a loudspeaker on a dry concrete floor. A beaver that had never seen a dam, never met an adult beaver, and had been raised in complete isolation from birth walked over and started piling sticks and mud on the speaker. It had no reason to build. There was no water. There was no leak. There was no stream. There was a sound coming from a box on a concrete slab, and the beaver's brain said that sound means build.

Lars Wilsson conducted the experiments as part of a long-term behavioral study on European beavers, published in 1968 as My Beaver Colony. He raised beavers from infancy in isolation to determine which behaviors were learned from parents and which were hardwired. The first finding was that dam-building is entirely innate. A beaver that had never observed another beaver build anything constructed a near-perfect dam on its first attempt when placed in running water. Nobody taught it. The engineering was already in the animal.

The second finding was the trigger. When Wilsson placed his isolated beavers in still water or water that moved too slowly to make noise, they showed no interest in building. They burrowed into mud and settled in. The water was there. The beaver was there. Nothing happened. Then Wilsson turned on the speaker. The moment the sound of running water entered the environment, the beaver began building. On dry ground. Over a loudspeaker. With whatever material was available. The sound was the instruction.

When Wilsson buried the speaker inside a concrete wall, the beavers stacked mud and sticks against the wall. When he placed it on a flat open surface, they covered it. When he moved it, they followed the sound and built over the new location. Every experiment produced the same result: the beaver built wherever the sound was, regardless of whether water existed there.

Then Wilsson designed the experiment that separated what a beaver sees from what it hears. He installed a transparent pipe through the beavers' enclosure that allowed water to escape silently and visibly. The beavers could see the water leaving. They could watch it flowing through the clear pipe. They did nothing about it. Then he placed a speaker playing the sound of running water at a completely different location. The beavers ignored the visible leak and built over the speaker. They chose sound over sight. The acoustic signal was more powerful than direct visual evidence of water escaping through their dam.

A beaver does not look for leaks. It listens for them. The sound of water flowing through gaps in a dam, trickling over rocks, or rushing past an opening is the signal that tells the beaver something is wrong and building must happen. Everything else, the sticks, the mud, the engineering, the overnight labor, follows from that single auditory cue. Remove the sound and the beaver rests. Add the sound and the beaver builds, even if the sound is coming from a plastic box on a concrete floor with no water within 50 feet.

The finding has been applied to beaver management across North America for decades. Devices called beaver deceivers and pond levelers use Wilsson's discovery in reverse. They drain beaver ponds through long pipes designed to move water silently, with the intake placed far enough from the dam that the escaping water makes no noise at the dam face. The beavers hear nothing at the dam. The water drains through a pipe they do not know exists. The same instinct that made a beaver in a Swedish laboratory build a dam over a loudspeaker on concrete is the instinct that modern wildlife managers exploit every time they install a silent pipe through a beaver dam and the beaver never finds it.

Image is for illustration purposes only

Source: Wilsson (1968), My Beaver Colony / Wilsson (1971), Observations and Experiments on the Ethology of the European Beaver / Mental Floss / Gizmodo / Discover Wild Science.

07/14/2026

Batwater has beaver families that live on the island and several dens and dams on our wetlands. They help keep the water within the wetlands during the summer months.

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/01/oregon-beaver-conservation-animals-law-wildfire-house-bill-3464-3932/?fbclid=IwdGRjcATDKRJwZG9mA2ZkaWQWUKjE5V4VD3-XRXPGOi6GxFTsBjcxg2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzE3Mzg0NzY0MjY3MDM3MAABHnRCdy6GYJnxYXFlxNnlVqyHMHEZIHgnU9cBOXY5n6oy-MMAGnd3w5AavDwm_aem_tNN7RXlt0jN0dhjVtVfkSQ

Oregon just passed its second beaver protection law in as many years. The hope is that a bigger beaver population will help salmon, slow wildfires and also safeguard drinking water.

06/04/2026

We have plans to improve the wetlands this summer by removing more canary grass areas and adding a canal to this site. Your donations are tax deductible and help us maintain and improve our wetlands. Thanks.

🌟 Join us in Creating Change! 🌟At Batwater Station NPO, we know that caring and improving our wetlands helps salmon smolts, waterfowl, and the critters that call Batwater’s wetlands their home. Change starts with people like you. Every act of kindness, every dollar, and every moment of your ...

04/19/2026

Today I am writing the Corp how this will affect Batwater wetlands, waterfowl, wildlife, guests, and our house that is 50 feet from the rail road track.

PUBLIC OPPOSITION COMMENT No. 1

THANK YOU! The community comments sent in opposition to the NXT refinery have been overwhelming.

Tomorrow is the deadline for public comment submission, April 20th, to the Army Corp.

I am going to share my top five favorite comments submitted. Our community is truely amazing with some brilliant minds. I summarized this 269 page comment down to its 50 core principles….

Technology and Air Quality

Technology Platform Change: In November 2025, the applicant switched from UOP/SMR technology to a Topsoe platform, rendering the DEIS’s air quality and safety analyses outdated.

Hydrogen Plant Emissions: The hydrogen plant is the largest source of NOx, CO, and PM emissions, but its profile changed significantly with the new technology.

Cancer Risk Disclosure: The facility's residential excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) numbers (0.2 to 0.7 per million) were omitted from the main DEIS body.

Gas Combustion Exemption: 78% of the facility's modeled cancer risk is from gas combustion, which is exempt from state compliance but must still be evaluated under NEPA.

Outdated Meteorological Data: Air modeling used a single year of surface data (1993–1994) that is 32 years old and does not reflect current climate patterns.

Background Air Quality Baseline: Cumulative air data was pulled from a monitor in Portland, 50 miles away, which does not accurately represent the rural Port Westward site.

Hydrogen Sulfide Analysis: H₂S was only assessed for odor, not for health-based chronic effects at sub-odor concentrations.

Natural Gas Discrepancy: There is a 27% discrepancy in reported natural gas needs between the DEIS (18 MMSCFD) and state permit applications (14.2 MMSCFD).

Unmodeled Toxics: Seven emitted toxic air contaminants were excluded from risk assessments because they lack specific state risk-based concentrations.

Confidential Emissions Data: Flare startup and shutdown emission rates are marked as "Confidential Business Information," preventing public verification of acute risk.

Flood Risk and Levee Integrity

Levee Accreditation Misrepresentation: The DEIS describes the BDIC levee as "FEMA-accredited" based on 2010 data, ignoring a 2014 Corps evaluation that found it fails freeboard requirements.

Known Flooding Risk: The Beaver Drainage Improvement Company (BDIC) itself testified the site remains at risk for a 1% annual chance of flooding.

Subsidence on Levee Segments: Documented subsidence on levee-adjacent roads was not analyzed for its impact on structural integrity.

Floodplain Management Failure: The DEIS fails to document the eight-step floodplain management process required by Executive Order 11988.

Levee Consequence Classification: The "low risk" classification is based on current agricultural use rather than the 82 million gallons of fuel that would be stored there post-construction.

Sea Level Rise: A documented 3–5 foot freeboard deficit exists, yet the DEIS characterizes the impact of a projected 4-foot sea level rise as "minor".

Seismic and Geotechnical Concerns

Outdated Geotechnical Data: The entire geotechnical foundation for the project is based on a 25-year-old report (2001) prepared for a different facility (a power plant).

Seismic Science Advancements: The DEIS ignores the 2023 USGS National Seismic Hazard Model and DOGAMI earthquake impact analyses for Columbia County.

Liquefaction Risk: The site has "high" to "very high" liquefaction susceptibility, but site-specific lateral spread analysis was not included.

Foundation Vulnerability: 15,200 steel piles terminate in liquefiable soils rather than bedrock, relying on "skin friction" that may fail during an earthquake.

Compound Hazard Scenarios: The DEIS fails to analyze a combined scenario of a major earthquake, liquefaction, levee failure, and chemical release.

Water Quality and Spill Risk

Impaired Receiving Waters: The Columbia River reach is already impaired for dioxin, PCBs, and temperature, but the DEIS does not analyze how project discharges fit into TMDL limits.

Stormwater Pathway Omission: Only one of two primary stormwater discharge pathways was prominently disclosed.

Spill Transport Modeling: No transport modeling was conducted for downstream receptors or municipal water intakes.

Biological Inconsistency: The applicant's Biological Assessment found the project is "likely to adversely affect" 13 ESA-listed species, but the DEIS characterizes impacts as "minor".

Regulatory Gap on "Oil": It is unclear if renewable diesel qualifies as "oil" under Oregon law, potentially exempting it from mandatory spill contingency planning.

Smolt Outmigration: There is no analysis of how potential spills would intersect with the seasonal migration of millions of salmon smolts.

Wetlands and Alternatives

Massive Wetland Fill: The project proposes 104.3 acres of permanent wetland fill, a 13,000% increase over the cumulative 48-year baseline for the area.

Inadequate Alternatives Analysis: No upland or reduced-footprint alternatives were analyzed despite the project not being "water-dependent".

Unequal Depth of Analysis: Alternatives involving far less wetland fill (6–16 acres) were dismissed with "limited technical analysis" compared to the preferred site.

Mitigation Plan Risks: The 484-acre wetland mitigation site may actually threaten the levee's FEMA accreditation by altering drainage district operations.

Noise and Transportation

No Ambient Baseline: No actual field measurements were taken to establish current noise levels; baselines were estimated via aerial photos.

Nighttime Noise Violations: Modeling predicts operational noise will exceed state nighttime limits at nearby receptors, but only unquantified controls are proposed.

Rail Traffic Impact: The DEIS disclaims responsibility for analyzing the effects of rail traffic (900+ cars/month), despite it being a foreseeable consequence of the project.

Rail Spur Litigation: A pending appeal with the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) regarding the rail spur is not disclosed.

Socioeconomics and Environmental Justice

Lead Paint Exposure: The neighboring community is in the 89th state percentile for lead paint exposure, a finding the DEIS omits from its overburdened community summary.

Visual Impact on Monastery: A 350-foot flare stack and 24-hour lighting would fundamentally change the visual environment required for silent meditation retreats.

Odor Study Omission: The monastery was omitted from the odor study despite being within the distance where odor detection is likely.

Procedural and Commercial Issues

Withheld Documents: Critical reports (HAZOP, blast study, air modeling input files) were cited but not included in the public record .

Feedstock Discrepancy: SEC filings show a feedstock mix (60% soybean oil) that is much higher than the DEIS baseline, which affects rail traffic and carbon intensity calculations.

Capacity Inconsistencies: There are three conflicting capacity figures (37,500 to 50,000 bpd) across the DEIS and financial disclosures, affecting all volume-dependent analyses.

Commercial Agreement Failures: The DEIS does not disclose that key feedstock and offtake agreements with BP, Shell, and Chevron have expired or terminated.

Infrastructure Repurposing: Planned future uses (hydrogen, RNG, third-party terminaling) for the permitted infrastructure were not analyzed.

Project Abandonment Precedent: The failure of Red Rock Biofuels (recently acquired by the applicant) is cited as a reason to analyze the consequences of partial project completion.

Premature Record of Decision: The commenter argues the ROD should be deferred due to pending litigation and the instability of predicate permits (Section 401, 408, and ESA) .

Institutional and Receptor Omissions

Monastery Omission: Great Vow Zen Monastery, a residential community of ~20 people located ~990 meters from the facility, was excluded from all receptor-specific analyses (noise, air, visual, and cumulative).

Scoping Notice Ignored: The monastery was a co-signatory on the initial scoping letter, yet the Corps failed to include them in receptor-specific analysis despite actual notice.

Agricultural Receptor Omissions: Multiple operating farms (e.g., Hopville Farms, Seely Mint) were omitted from noise, air quality, and agricultural inventories.

Incomplete Study Area Application: While the monastery is within the 1,500-meter air quality study area, it was categorized only as a "business" rather than a residential receptor.

Refuge Impacts: The Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge (0.65 miles away) was only analyzed as a "visual resource," omitting indirect effects on wildlife from vessel transits, noise, and air emissions.

04/04/2026

Stashia and I had a great kayak today. Went upstream to see the eagle nest and saw both parents. Took shots of the Cabin, yurt and docks on our way back. Mount Saint Helens in the distance.

04/03/2026

This is really cool. Mammals will be able to pass on the sides underneath the highway.

Secret’s out – construction along I-5 over Secret Creek near Stanwood is coming soon.

Over the next two years, we’ll remove the smaller, aging culverts (fish passage barriers) under both directions of I-5 and Old Highway 99 and install three new fish-approved bridge structures to enable safe fish and wildlife passage under the freeway and highway.

During construction, northbound and southbound I-5 will both shift over to a two-lane, temporary bypass along the mainline until the end of December 2025. This will bring I-5 in each direction from three lanes, down to two and decrease the speed limit in the area from 70 mph to 60 mph. In 2026, construction will switch over to Old Highway 99, which will be closed for part of the year and a detour will be in place.

Learn more about the project benefits and what to expect during construction, and submit your questions at the online open house here: https://engage.wsdot.wa.gov/i-5-secret-creek-fish-passage/

04/03/2026

Our osprey are celebrating. There both back and happy to see each other.