Field Trip Report 3: Restored wetland sites

This trip will start at the Brightwater sewage treatment facility near Woodinville. Part of the construction is a 40 acre habitat area that has hills, stream beds and stormwater ponds; the functional focus is on salmon habitat recovery. From the Brightwater site we will go south to the UW Bothell campus wetland. This wetland was a farm with pastures; through it North Creek flowed in an elevated, straight channel with no overflow. The restoration involved removing and burying soil to eliminate the reed canarygrass, creating a meandering main and overflow channel for North Creek, and planting 50 acres of plant material. The third site will be Thornton Creek as it exits the Northgate Mall parking lot. After that we will go to the Arboretum to look at a shoreline project done by Anchor Environmental, and finally we will look at the effects of willow shading on reed canarygrass at the east basin of the Union Bay Natural Area.

Invasive plants

What are they? How badly have they impacted the sites?

Native plants

What species did the designers choose for their restorations? Which ones are most common? Which are doing well?

Sites

1. How much shade is at each site?

2. How wet is each site?

3. What is the disturbance history?

4. How are the natives vs. invasives doing?

What is being done to suppress invasives?

What is being done to encourage the planted natives?

What is the most threatening weedy species?

What native has the best likelihood of success?

5. What is the neighborhood like…is it a lot like what the restoration is intended to develop into, or is it quite different (urban, agricultural)?

6. The neighborhood usually determines how much effort must go into keeping the restoration on track. How much effort do you think each site has required or will require?

7. ...What unique features have been installed at each site?