CLOSETOHOME
Harvesting the oysters of Willapa Bay
BY DAVID CAMPICHE
Gorging on Willapa Bay oysters is one
of the fi nest mouth-watering and indulgent
culinary delights you can enjoy .
Willapa Bay has been a petri dish of oys-
ter reproduction for eons.
Most mammals can’t open the impenetra-
ble shells, as it practically takes a pick-axe
to fracture the resistant white-gray shells.
T wo friends, Dennis Battles and James
Tweedie, and I labored through ankle-
deep mud to pluck a limit out of the unc-
tuous muck. We arrived in Nahcotta at the
state-sponsored picking grounds, the only
public spot on the bay (Nahcotta Tidelands,
around 270th Street and Sandridge Road).
F ollowing signs and a well-trodden trail, we
gathered and shucked the bivalves from the
low water tide fl ats in the early morning.
Participants in this mud-laden folly
are allowed a limit of 18. Oysters must be
shucked in place and shells left to encour-
age reproduction. Spat swims through the
bay in the late summer, impregnating the
rough empty shells with invisible larvae.
Willapa Bay was once called Shoalwater
Bay by early pioneers. The Chinook Nation
parked here many years ago. As the weather
warmed, they portaged over a narrow pas-
sage in the Willapa Hills to the Columbia
River.
A major goal of the Chinook Nation
was the netting, collecting and spearing of
salmon. They accomplished this in unimag-
inable numbers. On Willapa Bay, their win-
tering headquarters, they built cedar lodges
and dipped into the plenty. Oysters and
clams were a consistent part of their diets
and the bounty seemed ever-present.
Today, Willapa Bay produces nearly a
quarter of the country’s oysters. The cairns
of oyster shells that rise 30 and 40 feet into
the pearl-gray skies of this shallow 30-mile
bay are eye-opening, to say the least. Long
Island hunkers down in the south end of the
estuary. The island and its famous grove of
w estern c edar are as lovely and less popu-
lated by visitors than in nearly any remote
spot in southwest Washington.
David Campiche
See Page 12
A cairn of oyster shells in Nahcotta.
Coastal Living
LOWER
COLUM
BI
BOWL A
NOW OPEN
Tuesday thru Saturday
Noon to 9 PM
503-325-3321
LOWER
COLUM
BI
BOWL A
Call us at 503-325-3211
to learn more
2 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Astoria, OR
Small and Large Unfurnished 2 Bedroom Units
SAFE, SANITIZED,
READY TO ROLL
Bowling is Back!
ADVERTISE YOUR
BUSINESS HERE!
EMERALD HEIGHTS
APARTMENTS
$1 OFF
WEDNESDAYS
•
•
•
•
Take $1 off:
Shoe rental
Every Game
Fountain Sodas
Adult Beverages
Now Available!
*prequalification required
SOME NEWLY REMODELED
NEW APPLIANCES, NEW LIGHTS
NEW CARPET/VINYL FLOOR
NEW BATHROOM VANITIES & MIRRORS
2-BEDROOM APARTMENTS
All Rents Include: Electricity · Garbage · Water
For more information call:
503-325-8221
Monday - Friday 9-5
NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY
AN AFFORDABLE PLACE TO CALL HOME
EQUAL HOUSING
OPPORTUNITY
Email: emeraldheights@charter.net
or visit our website: emeraldheightsapartments.com