Duwamish restoration project to receive funds from Conservation Future and Park Levy

November 19, 2014

Summary

Acquired property to be used for habitat restoration

Story

Close to 6 acres of property that will become part of the effort to restore habitat on the Duwamish Waterway will be purchased through funds received from the adopted King County Parks Levy Levy and the Conservation Futures Fund. The Tukwila - Chinook Wind project was recommended to receive funding to acquire the property and approved in the budget the King County Council adopted on November 17.

“I celebrate Tukwila’s achievements along the Duwamish and am pleased to promote this expansion,” said Councilmember Joe McDermott, who represents portions of Tukwila on the County Council.

Much of the Duwamish was converted in the past century to commercial and industrial purposes, which had a highly negative impact on the historic natural resources of the intertidal basin of the Green/Duwamish system. The resulting damage to the area’s natural resources has created a highly significant limiting factor in the life cycle of salmon runs, including steelhead and federally-listed threatened chinook.

The project will receive $750,000 to acquire a 5.83 acre property on the Duwamish Waterway in Tukwila, which will serve as the setting for a future intertidal salmon and aquatic species habitat restoration project.

The site is located adjacent to Tukwila Interurban Boulevard, at river mile 6.6 on the Duwamish. An aging hotel currently on the property will be demolished as part of the project. The site is located on an area of the Duwamish that is listed as the highest priority for restoration in the Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 9 Salmon Habitat Plan. The primary purpose of the completed restoration will be to provide resting, feeding and cover for juvenile chinook that are transitioning from fresh to salt water, and to provide habitat for other related species in the estuarine ecosystem.

This site is adjacent to the CFT-funded project known as Duwamish Gardens, which was acquired for a smaller habit restoration project, and it will enhance the benefits of that project. The Chinook Wind project site is also close to the CFT-funded Duwamish Hill Preserve, which is just upriver from Duwamish Gardens.

The Conservation Futures Fund is supported by a countywide property tax, which by state law can only be used to purchase open space or resource lands. While county government and incorporated city governments are the primary applicants for these funds, citizen groups and individual citizens have received Conservation Futures Funding through partnerships with local jurisdictions committed to helping acquire the open space. Recommendations on parcels for purchase are made by a Citizen Oversight Committee in a competitive application process.

Renewed by voters in 2013, the King County Parks Levy raises revenue for the maintenance and operations of the County’s regional park system, as well as funding for local city parks and the Woodland Park Zoo.