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A light in the
forest
This summer, former congressman
Don Bonker returned to the ancient
cedar grove he helped protect
By DAVID CAMPICHE
I
It’s common nowadays to
proclaim that all politicians are
corrupt. That they all are driven by
a deep abiding lust for power.
I’m here to tell you that it isn’t
necessarily so. Don Bonker was
a congressman who represented
Washington state for eight terms.
He served us with dignity and due
diligence. In short, he cared.
Over thee decades ago, Bonker
was sitting at the breakfast table
at the Shelburne Inn, which I own
with my wife, Laurie. It was fall,
and the porcinis were plump and
luscious. Perhaps he ordered a
wild mushroom omelet; he loves
our Northwest delicacies. Already,
just after fi rst light, he was busy
at work. He did not have a cell
phone in those days, but he was
fully engaged. Such is the life of a
congressman: Duty calls.
Miles away, in the middle of
Willapa Bay, a national treasure
was — literally — on the chop-
ping block. At the center of that
undeveloped island was an ancient
grove of Western red cedar, some
trees dating back to the diaspora of
Mesoamerican peoples. Much as it
had for 5,000 years, the 274-acre
stand lay pristine.
“Don,” I said, disturbing his
routine of early morning engage-
ment. “I need a big favor.” I could
see the furrows on his handsome
face tighten. Everyone needs a
favor of a congressman. But he was
kind and patient and responsive. I
explained that Weyerhaeuser was
going to fall an ancient forest. To
my youthful mind, that would be a
tragedy for the living and for future
generations. So few of the trees re-
mained, and this was over 30 years
ago. Now, a sliver of all old growth
remains. The great virgin forest
PHOTOS BY LAURIE ANDERSON
Above: Former U.S. Rep. Don Bonker and his granddaughter walk the Cedar
Grove Trail on Long Island, named in his honor.
Left: Former Congressman Don Bonker, fourth from left, with his wife, Car-
olyn, third from left, recently brought their family to experience the Don
Bonker Cedar Grove Trail on Long Island, which is part of the Willapa Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge.
that had once covered most of the
Pacifi c Northwest had seemed
inexhaustible only generations be-
fore. Weyerhaeuser company owns
a large chunk of the land mass of
Pacifi c County, and a good portion
of Clatsop, to boot.
That morning I presented the sit-
uation. I implored the congressman
to take a boat ride with me to the
island, where we could take a walk
through the ancient cedar grove. I
did very little else, but I learned a
life lesson, a lesson about planting
a tiny seed. It is vital to commit. It
is vital to participate. It is vital to
hope.
Congressmen and congresswom-
en are the busiest of people with
schedules that would choke a bull
elk. Bonker had startled me when
he agreed to the trip, and thus began
his fervent dedication to fi rst save
that grove, and, over time, to pur-
chase the entire island, lock, stock
and barrel, to establish a permanent
refuge for the wildlife, the island
and the people.
This year, in late July, the former
congressman returned to the Shel-
burne Inn with his entire family.
Theirs was the fi rst reunion in 18
years for this lovely and excep-
tional family. A major objective of
the reunion was to return to Long
Island and for Bonker to walk with
his young granddaughters, his two
children and their spouses, and with
Carolyn, his exceptional and lovely
wife — to stroll through this un-
blemished cathedral of giant trees.
Jackie Ferrier, director of the
Willapa National Wildlife Refuge,
dropped everything on her busy
schedule and organized the trip. As
I’ve stated in earlier columns, the
woman is a whirlwind of dedica-
tion and effi ciency. Ferrier plants
seeds. And all of us with a lust for
wilderness owe her big time. At this
moment she is pursuing a move that
would place the refuge headquarters
on the south end of the Long Beach
Peninsula. And that would be a tre-
mendous asset for our community.
The fi rst time I escorted Bonker
Former Congressman Don Bonker, his wife, Carolyn, and Willapa National
Wildlife Refuge Director Jackie Ferrier enjoy a front row seat aboard their
jet boat as it courses through Lewis Slough on Long Island in Willapa Bay.
to the island, I brought along a sub-
stantial picnic lunch. He remem-
bered that in detail.
Today, Laurie, my partner for
nearly 40 years, baked loaves of
her sourdough artisan bread and
assembled a parcel of mouth-wa-
tering sandwiches. We cobbled
together both a pasta and a potato
salad, lacing them with herbs
and spices. We gathered fruit and
brewed a large pot of black coffee.
Thus armed, we descended on the
island. It offered us its lush primal
best, like an old friend at a wilder-
ness rendezvous.
Yes, much of Long Island was
logged, once or twice, in the last
Continued on Pg. 21