Flying boats make for a rare sight as Washington clears an island of derelict vessels by helicopter

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — As the owner of a marina, Kate Gervais is used to seeing boats in the water. But for the last couple of days, she’s been seeing them in the air.

The Washington Department of Natural Resources this week used one of its firefighting helicopters to haul abandoned boats off an uninhabited island in the southernmost reaches of Puget Sound, where the vessels had come to rest after drifting with the currents, and fly them to the mainland to be deconstructed later.

With 14 vessels removed, it was the agency’s largest operation of its kind, officials said.

“It was a very, very weird sight,” said Gervais, who owns Boston Harbor Marina, just north of Olympia. “The sail boat with the mast was the weirdest one to see.”

A boat removal by helicopter is typically done by a private pilot, but for this operation, which was funded by a federal grant, the DNR opted to use one of its firefighting helicopters. It was cheaper and helped stretch the $1 million NOAA grant, said Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove.

The state agency opts to airlift boats when towing them would disrupt the marine bed or surrounding environment too much. The aquatic lands where the boats land often include kelp beds, which are critical for supporting the forage fish that salmon rely on.

Vessels for this operation where found in hard-to-reach coves, at the tree line or in mud that rendered an airlift a better option, agency staff said.

Since the boat removal program began in 2002, the department has hauled out more than 1,200 derelict vessels. There are at least 300 more out there, with more found all the time, Upthegrove said.

“It’s a real challenge impacting the Puget Sound when people essentially dump their old boats into the water because they don’t want to deal with disposing of them,” he said. “That burden then falls on all of us.”

The federal grant allowed the state to clean up boats on Squaxin Island, an uninhabited island that is of particular cultural importance to the Squaxin Island Tribe. The tribe’s people once shared vast lands in western Washington state, but following the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, the island — 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) long and half a mile (800 meters) wide — was the main area reserved for them, according to the tribe’s website.

Eventually, the tribe’s members moved off the island, but they continue to use it for fishing, hunting, shellfish gathering and camping.

“The Squaxin Island Tribe is very enthusiastic about this opportunity to work with DNR to clean-up derelict vessels on tribal lands,” said Daniel Kuntz, the tribe’s policy and program manager. “Maintaining clean beaches and water are essential to the Squaxin Island culture to ensure gathering access for future generations.”