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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark 2012-10-17 Item 3 - Presentation - Codiga Park Restorationillat`CN 7 414 s e r -f CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@pugetsound.org CODIGA PARK A two year review of accomplishments and suggestions for moving forward Ecological Significance The lower Green/Duwamish River basin is highly urbanized along most of the river corridor, especially in the lower 12 miles. Most of the flood plain has been cut off from the river by extensive levees that protect residential, commercial, and industrial properties adjacent to the river. The WRIA 9 Salmon Recovery Plan identifies the lack of salmon rearing habitat in the Duwamish River Estuary sub - watershed as a critical factor. The plan identified the creation of shallow water and marsh habitat with associated riparian area as a restoration action that would support salmon recovery. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Tukwila created 2.8 acres of natural area by developing a shallow water side - channel and associated riparian buffer at Codiga Park (river mile 8.5) in agreement with the WRIA 9 Salmon Recovery Plan (Figure 1). However, the bank directly on the river was never planted with native riparian vegetation. Designated critical habitat for threatened Puget Sound Chinook salmon include freshwater rearing sites, freshwater migration corridor, and estuarine and nearshore marine areas with appropriate environmental conditions. The 1,000 linear feet of riparian corridor that is being restored by People For Puget Sound enhances the entire site by providing a rare, more natural, freshwater tidal reach for salmon and other fish. In the Lower Duwamish River, one of the main limitations for species recovery is the lack of estuarine and off - channel habitat as well as the lack of habitat within the transition zone, where juveniles osmoregulate from freshwater to salt water. This lack of habitat in critical areas has resulted in reduced growth rates for juvenile Chinook. In addition to providing fish habitat, Codiga Park has the potential to function as a tidal freshwater surge plain, a very rare habitat type once prolific throughout the Puget Sound lowlands. This important area supports key processes such as flood mitigation, sediment transportation, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestering. While not extensively studied at the park, the opportunity for bird habitat should not be overlooked, and there is a mated osprey pair that returns to the site every year to nest (Figure 2). Accomplishments People For Puget Sound has been actively engaged in the restoration of Codiga Park since March 2008. When we began our restoration activities at the park, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) had finished the construction and planting of an intertidal and riparian bowl in the middle of the park. They completed their work in 2004. However, the edge of the property along the Duwamish River had not been restored. Approximately 1.7 acres of the park along the riverbank were covered in thick Himalayan blackberry brambles and patches of Japanese knotweed. People For Puget Sound agreed to utilize volunteers to remove the invasive weeds 5 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@ougetsound.org and replace them with native plants. The City of Tukwila strongly supported this endeavor and provided People For Puget Sound with landowner support letters for outside funding sources. Major work at Codiga by People For Puget Sound began in April 2008. We held our Earth Day Duwamish Alive restoration event there which attracted 188 volunteers (Figure 3). Those volunteers cleared nearly an acre of blackberry and planted the first 485 native plants along the riverbank. We brought recognition to the park by attracting the media and the King County Executive, as well as other government officials and representatives from national environmental organizations (Figure 4). We continued to attract dozens of local groups, organizations and agencies to Codiga Park over the next two years as we highlighted the park as a Duwamish Alive site in the Fall 2008 and 2009, and April 2009 (Table 1, Figures 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9). We also partnered with EarthCorps to complete extensive slope stabilization on the southeastern slope; a project worth $18,269 not including People For Puget Sound staff time (Figure 10 and 11). Since 2008, People For Puget Sound has hosted 22 restoration events at Codiga, bringing a total of 984 volunteers to the park. Those volunteers contributed 3,985 hours which is equivalent to $65,912 of volunteer time. In that time, volunteers and staff planted 4,169 native trees, shrubs, live stake and herbaceous plants. While restoration is a process and maintenance is still ongoing. thus far, with the help of volunteers, People For Puget Sound has restored approximately 1.6 acres of Codiga Park as well as provided any necessary maintenance within the other restoration areas of the park. In addition to volunteer labor, People For Puget Sound has been pleased to bring over $53,000 in funding support to the restoration of Codiga Park. The City of Tukwila has contributed an enormous amount of time and resources to the improvement of the park. In addition to being involved in the original restoration of the inlet in the center of the park, the city created a space for visitors to enjoy picnicking, recreating and relaxing in the open space that surrounds a small parking lot. Park amenities include a picnic shelter and several picnic tables with BBQ grills and access to a hand boat launch available at high tide. The city will also install interpretive signage that will detail the ecological and community benefits of Codiga Park. The city has also contributed staff time to help generate a planting list for the restoration area, assistance in removing plant debris and garbage, occasional watering of native plants and herbicide control of Japanese knotweed. Finally, the city also paid to have a goat herd prepare the planting area for the first volunteers in 2008. Future Outlook The continued maintenance and future monitoring of Codiga Park's restoration area will be the key to its long -term success. Native plant survival will depend on periodic removal of surrounding invasive plants, the application of mulch to suppress weeds and promote moisture retention, and regular watering during the hot summer months for two to three years after new 6 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@pugetsound.org plants have been installed. Our April 2008 planting did well the following year due to a very wet spring and summer; however, we lost a number of plants during the drought of summer 2009. The river bend faces southwest to southeast and therefore receives lots of direct sunlight throughout the year. Mortality could have been due to a number of factors, including the extreme flooding in the winter (Figures 12 and 13), the hot, dry summer, and the plant stock and timing of planting. However, in order to reduce the number of factors that could contribute to plant mortality we suggest the following actions: 1) Plantings should occur October through February whenever possible. 2) Plants should receive regular watering, preferably through an irrigation system that ensures adequate, timely delivery of water. 3) Drought tolerant plants should be considered when choosing plants. 4) Regular invasive control is necessary around native plants to reduce the competition for sunlight, water and nutrients -- control methods beyond People For Puget Sound abilities, including herbicide spraying or injection of Japanese knotweed is essential at this site. 5) Mulch applications should occur whenever possible and 4 -5" of mulch around each plant is preferable. Summary Codiga Park will be a beautiful place to visit for generations to come. The ecological significance will continue to grow as the restoration area develops and natural processes and functions return. The Tukwila community is now able to enjoy a location where it can have all the necessary park amenities, while observing and interacting with a natural area that isn't common in that region. People For Puget Sound would like to be involved in the continued care of the restoration area at Codiga Park for years to come. We request that a Memorandum of Understanding be drafted between the City of Tukwila and People For Puget Sound so that each party is aware of and understands its roles and responsibilities so that our collaborative effort is effective in maximizing Codiga's chance of success. 7 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@pusetsound.org Figures and Tables , ti,i ' g • t. A Figure 1. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers- created side channel. Picture taken by People For Puget Sound in 2008. 8 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@pugetsound.org Figure 2. Osprey couple returning to their next at Codiga Park. 9 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown @pugetsound.orj Figure 3. Volunteers removing blackberry on the Duwamish River bank during the Duwamish Alive Earth Day Celebration of 2008. Volunteers braved the rain and hail to clear and plant nearly an acre. 10 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown @pugetsound.org Figure 4. Former King County Executive, Ron Sims, plants a tree with People For Puget Sound board member, Brad Severtson during the 2008 celebration of Earth Day at Codiga Park. Table 1. A list of various groups, organizations and companies that have volunteered at Codiga Park through People For Puget Sound. 36th District Democrats O'Dea High School Arnold Air Society Puget Sound Business Travelers Association Billings Middle School Rainier Scholars Boeing Employees Credit Union REI Boy Scouts of America Seattle University Boys & Girls Club Seattle Works City of Seattle Showalter Middle School EarthCorps Starbucks Coffee Company Entercom Communications Corp. Tectura Corporate EPA The Boeing Company Everett High School University Congregational United Church of Christ Good Steward Group University of Washington Oceanography Highline Community College UPS KPLU Veteran's Conservation Corps Microsoft Corporation Washington Department of Ecology Nova High School 11 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@pugetsound.org Figure 5. A People For Puget Sound Sound Steward shows students from Highline Community College how to remove some monster blackberry roots at the fall celebration of Duwamish Alive in 2008. 12 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@pugetsound.org Figure 6. Volunteers pitch mulch into a wheelbarrow to be transported to the riverbank at the Earth Day celebration of Duwamish Alive 2009. 13 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@pugetsound.org Figure 7. A picture of the river bank before the Duwamish Alive 2009 event in April began. Figure 8. The result of 282 volunteers working together for 4 hours to completely remove all of the blackberry and sheet mulch the site on Earth Day Duwamish Alive 2009. 14 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown @ougetsound.org Figure 9. 126 volunteers showed up in a torrential downpour to remove another round of blackberry and plant over 700 native trees and shrubs during the October Duwamish Alive 2009 event. 15 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@ augetsound.org Figure 10. This photo shows the extensive blackberry bramble on the steep southeastern slope. Figure 11. Once EarthCorps finished the slope stabilization and planting, Boy Scouts and Sound Stewards stepped in to clear and plant the upper portion of the hill in February 2010. 16 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown @pugetsound.org Figure 12. Codiga Park riverbank flooded during January 2009. 17 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrown@pugetsound.org Figure 13. The result of the 2009 flood was approximately a foot of sediment dropped on plants in the lower bench of the project. 18 CODIGA PARK RESTORATION REPORT Prepared by Dhira Brown People For Puget Sound dbrownPougetsound.org PECI[ PUG[ SOUND Codiga Park Site Map 2010 0 20 40 I i 80 Meters 1 1 1 Legend Park Amenities O Large Conaete Pad 0 Small Concrete Pad W Bench a Osprey Platform • Stump — Path — Sidewalk +f Fence —•• Park Boundary — Road Knotweed Infest. Area _ J Picnic Shelter -F Parking Lot El l ParkGreenspace Duwamish River Ertn RipRapArea Upland Intertidal ET • udflaUSandbank Pinang Areas Willow Stakes - Spring 2008 - Fa112008 Fall 2009 - Spring 2010 Earth Corps Spring 2010 I. °`� 19