South King County Group Restores Habitat and Fights Coal

By Elliot Heifetz, South King County Group

The South King County Group has a long-term commitment to restoring habitat along Soos Creek.

In 2014, members of the South King County Group completed two service events at Soos Creek Park to address rebounding invasive flora at their past planting sites. They also helped with a large King County volunteer event in early September in support of our Soos Creek Park work.

The Group received a $5,000 grant from the Rose Foundation to support purchase of plants and hog fuel. Two service outings in October and November included plantings and restoration using these new materials.

Working with County Staff

A collaborative process with King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks has been ongoing for a number of years. At an annual October meeting, Group members, representatives of other nonprofit organization and county staff discussed park issues including continued work to acquire lands from willing sellers to expand and provide buffers, the Bonneville Power Administration right of way, and habitat restoration work. The goal was to share information between all active entities and to plan work going forward.

For more information about the South King County Group: www.sierraclub.org/washington/south-king-county.

Photo credit: Dan Streiffert (caption: Barred owl that monitored our planting activites at Soos Creek)