Families and friends team up to help the Greenway

Just months ago, Tor Bell said, this whole area was covered in 6 to 10 feet of blackberry bushes. We are standing in the Lake Sammamish State Park, 100 yards from the Issaquah Creek which flows through it, water which has passed through the valley between Squak and Tiger Mountain on its way to emptying out in Lake Sammamish.

By Jake Lynch • November 25, 2009 3:53 pm
Levi Casto and Jason Mitchell looked like old hands at getting the trees firmly planted. They have been helping the Mountains to Sound Greenway in a campaign to plant more than 25
Levi Casto and Jason Mitchell looked like old hands at getting the trees firmly planted. They have been helping the Mountains to Sound Greenway in a campaign to plant more than 25

Just months ago, Tor Bell said, this whole area was covered in 6 to 10 feet of blackberry bushes.

We are standing in the Lake Sammamish State Park, 100 yards from the Issaquah Creek which flows through it, water which has passed through the valley between Squak and Tiger Mountain on its way to emptying out in Lake Sammamish.

While many would argue there isn’t anything wrong with lots of blackberries, this species, introduced from Europe, strangles the life out of existing ecosystems and forms a monoculture which robs native animals, fish and bird of the habitat they need to survive.

In the Issaquah Creek, that includes the salmon, which has suffered greatly from the spread of blackberries in the area.

Bell runs the Mountains to Sound Greenway Restoration Program, which identifies important sites like this and undertakes the labor intensive work of returning it to a more natural state.

“This is work that the City of Issaquah has been doing since 1994 or 95,” Bell said, full of praise for the city and for agencies like the King County Conservation District, both of which provide consistent funding for such work.

Apart from funding, the key ingredient in the successes of the Greenway is volunteer power, and since last month school, scout and company groups have been bending their collective backs for the local environment in replanting events at the state park, and other sites along the Issaquah Creek, and at Timberlake Park. At a rate of about 2,000 trees a weekend, they have been planting species like Salmonberry, Alder, Bigleaf Maple, and Cottonwood, which, among other things, provide much needed shade and cover along the river banks, ideal salmon habitat. The trees also reduce erosion and filter pollutants, which improves water quality.

There are two more opportunities for volunteers to get involved. The Greenway will hold planting events on Dec. 5 and Dec. 12, at Lake Sammamish State Park. Full day and half-day shifts are available. Visit www.mtsgreenway.org/volunteer or contact 206-812-0122 or volunteer@mtsgreenway.org.

As well as the work of volunteers, the Greenway also relies on contributions from groups including Carter Subaru and VW, REI, Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, Seattle Storm, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, King County Conservation District, cities of Issaquah, Mercer Island, North Bend; King County, Washington State Parks, and the U.S. Forest Service. In-kind support comes from KMTT 103.7 The Mountain and the Snoqualmie Casino.

The Greenway this week received a new $50,000 grant from the Boeing Company.

Over 800 volunteers have planted 9,629 trees in the Mountains to Sound Greenway so far this fall, with a goal of 25,000 trees between October and December.

“Volunteers are truly making a difference at parks and along streams in the Greenway,” said Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust Volunteer Program Coordinator Margaret Ullman.

Volunteer groups joining the tree planting effort over the past few weeks included school classes and clubs, a ski bus team looking to offset emissions from driving, local businesses, civic clubs and a troop of Daisy Scouts who earned two petal badges for their work.