In March of 2009, The Reporter met with Sammamish resident Elaine McEnery. From her home in the Tree Farm neighborhood, McEnery was trying to inspire homeowners and businesses on the Plateau to better understand their relationship with the wildlife that surrounds them.
She is one of the driving forces behind the Sammamish Community Wildlife Habitat Project, a community push to have the city recognized as one of the first certified Community Wildlife Habitats in the nation.
The basic idea behind backyard wildlife habitats is making a yard and home “wildlife friendly” – a place that birds, insects and mammals can find water and shelter. It also involves not using harmful chemicals and pesticides that may threaten the survival of native species.
Residents like McEnery eventually hope to extend and connect the wildlife corridors that currently splash randomly across the city map.
Since McEnery got on board early in 2009, the Sammamish Community Wildlife Habitat Project has grown to include 82 homes, 1 farm, and 5 schools.
Also doing their part for to protect wildlife habitats is the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District (SPWSD), which recently had five sites in its domain certified as wildlife habitats by the National Wildlife Federation.
The District headquarters office site on 228th Ave SE, wells 1, 2 and 4, and the 3 million gallon tank site have all been approved for certification.
Certificates were presented to the SPWSD Board of Commissioners at their Dec. 21 meeting.
In order to receive this certification, sites must provide the four basic necessary elements for wildlife – food, water, cover and places to raise young.
In addition, site managers of certified habitats employ sustainable resource practices by conserving water and minimizing the use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
“We are very fortunate here in Sammamish to have habitats that support a great variety of wildlife,” said SPSWD Conservation and Public Information Officer Janet Sailer. “The district is pleased to have sites that meet the certification criteria.”
The five certified sites together make up almost 20 acres of wildlife habit for the certification program.
Sailer said the district also designed its landscapes to promote water conservation.
There are no irrigation systems installed at the district office site, wells 1 and 2, or the 3 million gallon tank site. A temporary system is being utilized at well 4 which will only be used until the recent plantings from the well renovation project are established, at which time the temporary system will be removed.
All of the certified sites are planted with native and drought tolerant species.
The district office site uses two rain barrels to collect and store water for indoor and outdoor plants.
The district also utilizes Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, practices – using an ecological approach to pest management.
In order to maintain water quality, no herbicides or pesticides are used at well sites on the Plateau.
And the results of the SPWSD’s ecological diligence are being seen.
Visitors to the area include black-tailed deer, coyotes and a variety of bird visitors such as mallards, California quail, red-breasted sapsuckers, pileated woodpeckers, rufous-sided towhees, juncos and chickadees, as well as reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and other insects.
Want to get involved? Only 68 more homes are need to be certified as Backyard Wildlife Habitats in order for Sammamish to be officially recognized as a Community Wildlife Habitat, one of only a handful in the nation.
If you live within the 98074 and 98075 zip code zones and are interested in participating in this program, visit www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife, or get in touch with Elaine McEnery at sammamishwildlifehabitatproject.blogspot.com.
