July 8, 2022
Welcome to the first edition of The Evergreen, our redesigned newsletter that provides a summary of actions we’re taking with partners to protect and restore the natural environment that defines our region.
Each day, the 1,800 professionals at the Department of Natural Resources and Parks deliver on our commitment to environmental stewardship. They operate treatment plants that protect water quality 24/7 under challenging conditions, they restore habitats and reduce flood risks along river corridors, they provide outstanding customer services at recycle and transfer stations, and they maintain and activate our 200 parks and 175 miles of regional trails.
It’s been a productive spring and summer here at the Department of Natural Resources and Parks with accomplishments on multiple fronts.
We made progress on climate preparedness, habitat restoration, renewable energy, and equitable access to the outdoors. In each of these accomplishments, our staff experts and scientists have partnered with communities to produce measurable results that benefit the people, fish, and wildlife of King County.
I hope you enjoy this highlight reel of what we accomplished together.
Christie True
Director, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks
We’re partnering with Public Health – Seattle & King County and the King County Office of Emergency Management to develop the region’s first-ever Extreme Heat Mitigation Strategy to prepare for climate impacts and hotter summers.
We hosted a media briefing on the one-year anniversary of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in King County, the deadliest climate-related disaster in our region’s history.
Executive Constantine announced a proposal for the November ballot – recently approved by the County Council – that would rapidly accelerate the county’s capacity to protect open spaces, including forests, trails, river corridors, farmland, and urban greenspace.
The proposal – which would cost the owner of a median-value home about $2 more per month – would fully restore the local Conservation Futures Program to its original rate in 2023. It would accelerate the Land Conservation Initiative, a regional partnership of communities, cities, farmers, businesses, and environmental leaders to protect 65,000 acres of the highest conservation-value open space.
Our Solid Waste Division became the first organization in the state to roll out a new model of battery-electric heavy-duty trucks manufactured at Kenworth’s assembly plant in Renton, opening a new market for zero-emission fleets.
The state-of-the-art EV truck will cost less to maintain and operate than a diesel model while safely hauling the same amount of material. In addition to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, it will reduce the amount of toxic particulates that are emitted in South King County where communities are disproportionately impacted by air pollution. The quieter model will also reduce noise pollution.
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We invited KING 5 News to see how our Wastewater Treatment Division is making the 56-year-old West Point Treatment Plant more resilient to earthquakes and climate impacts, kicking off a decade of major improvements.
Watch a video of seismic upgrades we’re making at the plant.
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Crews are now creating the space needed to install on-site batteries that will provide our operators with an uninterruptable power supply during storms, which will occur more frequently as the result of climate change. It will build on the upgrades that our staff has made in recent years to make the treatment plant more resilient, more efficient, and more reliable.
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Our staff biologists at the Water and Land Resources Division observed a sharp increase in the number of adult kokanee salmon returning to spawn four years after we began enacting recommendations from the Lake Sammamish Kokanee Work Group as directed by Executive Constantine.
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Last fall, biologists recorded more than 2,000 adult kokanee returning from the lake to spawn in tributary creeks, more than the total number of spawners they recorded over the previous five years combined.
Our Solid Waste Division installed a large solar array at its Vashon Recyling and Transfer Station, providing energy-neutral recycling and garbage service on Vashon-Maury Island.
The 348 solar panels – located on previously unused land next to the station – will generate about 172,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, advancing our goal of being carbon neutral for all of our operations by 2025.
Executive Constantine congratulated our staff and partners for completing a major restoration project along the Green River that has improved fish and wildlife habitat while protecting nearby farmland, homes, and roads from flooding and erosion.
The successful project in a portion of the Green River upstream of Auburn that’s critical to chinook salmon recovery replaced the degraded Lones Levee, which was built in the 1960s, with a modern, integrated design that restores a critical section of the river to a more natural state. The site will now be known by its traditional Lushootseed name, čakwab, pronounced “chock-wob," as identified by the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. The name was applied to this place by Tribal ancestors to mean “bring something to the water.”
Executive Constantine announced the results of a three-year study conducted by our staff scientists and engineers who identified the best stream locations to remove barriers that prevent salmon from swimming to high-quality habitat, putting the county in a strong position for new federal infrastructure investments.
Our team of experts inspected more than 3,000 potential barriers to salmon habitat, ranked 700 of the identified barriers and found that fixing just 50 of them will restore access to at least half the habitat that’s currently blocked.
Read more about how we identified the best locations.
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We invited KING 5 News aboard SoundGuardian, King County’s state-of-the-art research vessel, to see firsthand how our staff scientists and experts rigorously monitor the water quality of Puget Sound.
It includes an interview with DNRP Director Christie True who explains how the staff at our Environmental Lab produces valuable data that informs the work we do each day to protect the marine life of the Sound.
Watch KING 5’s coverage.
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King County Parks and King County Metro launched the new season of Trailhead Direct, our popular transit-to-trails service that offers convenient, eco-friendly hiking opportunities. It once again provides weekend and holiday service to some of our region’s most popular trails, including Mount Si. Check out the route schedule and trail information. |
Here are a few ideas of what outdoor fun King County Parks has to offer this summer.
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Refuge Outdoor Festival returns to King County’s Tolt-MacDonald Park and Campground on Aug. 12-14! It offers an inclusive camping experience focused on expanding participation and equitable access to the great outdoors by and for Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and allies. Register here. |
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CHOMP!, King County’s free outdoor celebration of local food, live music and green-living workshops returns Aug. 20! Visit www.chomplocal.org for more event info. |
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