Washington’s Wetlands: A Way of Life
By Yordanos Tesfazion
The Community Voices blog documents stories of our parks and public spaces and the people behind them. At Seattle Parks Foundation, we collaborate with hundreds of partners, volunteers, organizations, and city agencies who are working towards building a region that can withstand our current climate emergency. This piece is the third in our Partner Powered Futures series, dedicated to highlighting how they utilize parks and public spaces to foster inclusive communities and grow urban resilience.
37,000. That’s how many acres of wetlands there are in King County. Also known as swamps, bogs, and marshes, wetlands are land areas that are saturated by water. They filter pollutants from that water, absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and can reduce the intensity of floods and storms. May is American Wetlands Month; an annual reminder to celebrate one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems through education, advocacy, restoration, and exploration. Because of climate-induced threats facing wetlands, it’s become increasingly critical to understand our duty to the natural environment. Read on to learn about how our community partners are keeping King County wetlands healthy.
An Upstream Battle
“Because of their position where land and waters meet, wetlands are at risk of damage from climate change.”
Wetlands aren’t spared from the impacts of climatic disruption. Warm temperatures and volatile weather patterns disturb the soil in wetlands, affecting its structure and causing the soil to lose carbon. Irregular and extreme climate events such as high temperatures, heavy precipitation, and other irregular weather conditions can dry out and flood wetlands. Major transformations to wetland ecosystems are also linked to climate change, determining the habitat and migration patterns of plants and animals alike. In the Puget Sound, rising sea levels threaten coastal wetlands through erosion, saltwater intrusion, and submerging wetland plants.
All over the world, wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate. In the United States alone, over 50% of wetlands have been lost since the 1780s, and in Washington state, more than 30%. Here in King County, nearly all of the original wetlands of the Duwamish River and Lake Washington have disappeared. However, thanks to organized restoration efforts by volunteer-led community groups, nonprofit organizations, and public agencies, there’s been a 47.5% increase in wetlands across the county.
Preventative Partner Projects
Several of our partners are actively restoring wetlands in our region. Green Seattle Partnership (GSP) leads work parties at Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands twice a month. Duwamish Alive Coalition works with Delridge Neighborhood Development Association to steward Delridge Wetland Park, as well as American Rivers to restore the wetlands at Roxhill Park. These areas will only thrive with ongoing efforts, and the green jobs and restoration training that Dirt Corps provides is also crucial for the long-term health of our wetlands. Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association (DVSA) also offers educational, professional, and volunteer opportunities, focusing on restoring and rehabilitating wetlands in the Duwamish Valley with initiatives catered towards youth.
Green Seattle Partnership: Since their founding, GSP has led work parties across 230+ sites that include forests, freshwater and marine shorelines, meadows, tidal and freshwater wetlands, and creeks. GSP crewmembers assist Seattle Parks and Recreation in managing non-native invasive weeds that pose a threat to our water quality and wetlands habitats. They also install erosion control materials that stabilize soil and safeguard them from excess sediment runoff.
Duwamish Alive Coalition: Through intentional concentrated efforts to restore the Green-Duwamish River Watershed, Duwamish Alive Coalition collaborates with community groups, non-profits, local businesses and Federal, State, Tribal, and local government entities. The Lower Duwamish Waterway flows through South Seattle and is considered a Superfund site due to severe contamination. The watershed’s health is essential to the lifespans of its wetlands as well as the communities living along the river, and Duwamish Alive Coalition’s volunteer and outreach projects strive to promote stewardship that sustains the river and surrounding ecosystems.
Most recently, Duwamish Alive Coalition worked alongside American Rivers and Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association to lead a pilot project to rehydrate parts of the Roxhill Bog. The health of the bog has been an area of concern for decades. Portions of the bog running dry reduced its ability to clean stormwater, created unsafe conditions for residents, and led to habitat loss.
Dirt Corps: Education and hands-on, site-based training are at the core of Dirt Corps’ programming. Their projects include ecological restoration, green stormwater infrastructure, and urban forestry; efforts that are fundamental for healthy wetlands and thriving ecosystems. In the greater Seattle area, Dirt Corps trainees install green stormwater infrastructure like green walls and roofs, rain gardens, and cisterns because like wetlands, they too can absorb and treat water. All trainees who participate in Dirt Corps’ programs and projects gain the required experience and knowledge needed to pursue green jobs and continue similar restoration work.
Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association: Climate resilience in our region is made possible through community leaders who invest in young environmentalists and their futures. DVSA is a youth-centered advocacy organization that provides Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth with science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) training. They empower these youth to create community programs and projects that promote sustainability and better health outcomes while also jumpstarting their careers. For instance, Cuidadores de Agua is one of many initiatives from DVSA. Youth are trained to test the water quality in the Lower Duwamish Waterway and collect data on a weekly basis. That data is then analyzed and reported to the community, and youth are encouraged to propose a project to address their findings with the goal of monitoring the watershed to protect it.
While we may not frequent wetlands or depend on them during the early stages of our lives as salmon do, their endangerment reflects the conditions of the core pillars of our region’s identity.
Natural Solutions to Unnatural Problems
In Washington and throughout the Pacific Northwest, wetlands act as nurseries for young Chinook salmon. Federally recognized as a threatened species, they rely on habitable wetlands for food and protection against predators as they mature and prepare for migration to the ocean. Salmon are also a keystone species, meaning they play a substantive and disproportionate role in the health and overall function of ecosystems.
The destruction of wetlands leads to a decline in Chinook salmon, consequently disrupting an ecosystem that was once robust and resilient. These environmental losses also create a chain effect that harms the economy, recreation, and region’s way of life. Furthermore, the decline of salmon particularly puts the culture and heritage of local Tribes at risk, as well as their treaty fishing rights to half of each season’s harvestable salmon and co-manage fisheries with the State.
Wetlands play an integral role in the life cycle of many species, especially ours. While we may not frequent wetlands or depend on them during the early stages of our lives as salmon do, their endangerment reflects the conditions of the core pillars of our region’s identity. Our partners’ efforts to restore and rehabilitate wetlands aren’t immediate remedies, but small steps working towards a long-term resolution.
Sources
Chinook Salmon (Protected) – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries
Ecosystem Interactions and Pacific Salmon – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries
King County wetlands are worlds of wonder – King County Department of Resources and Parks, Water and Land Resources Division
Wetlands in King County, Washington – King County
Why Recover Salmon? – State of Salmon in Watersheds, Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office