Nothing Stops Eleanor Stopps

At 84, Eleanor Stopps’ tenaciousness on behalf of wildlife hasn’t dwindled a bit since setting out 30 years ago to safeguard her feathered friends on Protection Island. Thanks to Stopps, the island in northwestern Washington—home to 85 bird species—was designated a national wildlife refuge in 1982.

“Even today, if anything goes on, everybody lets me know,” says Stopps, who earned the nickname the “Bird Lady” of Mats Mats Bay, Port Ludlow, Wash. (pop. 1,968). “There were problems a few years ago, so I yelled, screamed and stomped my feet, and it all got corrected,” she adds with a laugh.

Her interest in wildlife began in the 1960s when she served as a volunteer assistant Girl Scout leader in Seattle. The girls in her troop wanted to earn their bird merit badges, so Stopps joined the Seattle Audubon Society as a way to help them. Through Audubon, she met artist-ornithologist Zella Schultz and began going with her on bird-banding expeditions to Protection Island, at the mouth of Discovery Bay.

Lacking predators, the island had one of the world’s largest colonies of rhinoceros auklets (a type of puffin) and the largest glaucous-winged gull colony in the state. It was the only place within Washington’s inland waters to find tufted puffins and was a major breeding area for cormorants, bald eagles and other waterfowl.

When Schultz died in 1974 and island development plans posed a threat to bird populations, Stopps adopted Schultz’s goal of protecting the island. The efforts had already led the Nature Conservancy to buy 48 of the island’s 400 acres. Stopps then began an intense campaign to save the entire island.

“Seventy-five percent of all Washington birds that nest in inland waters breed on Protection Island,” Stopps says. “I felt the only proper use of that land was as a wildlife refuge.”

Stopps moved to Mats Mats Bay in the mid-1970s and founded the Jefferson County Admiralty Audubon. Through that, she started the Adopt-a-Seabird program and raised $50,000 to purchase 23 Protection Island lots.

“I heard her speak at a Soroptimist (women’s service club) meeting and knew she was involved in the island because it was the right thing to do,” says Alexandra Bradley, former conservation chair of Admiralty Audubon. “She was instrumental in my environmental activism.”

Stopps didn’t stop there. By lobbying and letter writing, she gained the support of Jefferson County commissioners, the National Audubon Society and the federal government. In 1981 and 1982, she testified before congressional committees in Washington, D.C.

After nearly nine years of fighting for her cause, she finally won the day. On Oct. 15, 1982, President Ronald Reagan signed the National Wildlife Refuge Bill, which forbade development and human habitation on Protection Island. It was the only national wildlife refuge created during Reagan’s eight-year presidency.

“She’s one of our heroes,” says Peter Badame, formerly of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center. “Eleanor’s dedication to preserving irreplaceable habitat is legendary in Jefferson County, as well as within the greater ornithological (birding) community.”

Thanks to local organizations and businesses, tourists are able to view the island off shore, where eight mammal species also have been spotted. Once a year Stopps tries to take part in a tour. “Usually they take me along as a guest and introduce me as a ‘living legend,’” she says, laughing.

Stopps has received numerous awards for her achievements, including the Oak Leaf—the Nature Conservancy’s top national award—and Citizen Appreciation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 1989, she was nominated Jefferson County Citizen of the Century. She also was named a “Giraffe” by the National Giraffe Project, a nonprofit group that honors those who stick their necks out for the common good.

Stopps says she didn’t expect any of these awards. “I just wanted Protection Island to be safeguarded for the wildlife,” she says. “The birds are as much a part of me as the air I breathe. We’re all interconnected.”

Carole Marshall is a freelance writer in Port Townsend, Wash.

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