Duwamish Gardens will provide nearly an acre of shallow-water habitat for salmon, as well as a pleasant park for urban residents to enjoy.
Young salmon need off-channel, shallow-water habitat, where they can feed on insects and invertebrates that live among the vegetation and in the mud beneath stones. Duwamish Gardens is particularly important because it is located in the transition zone— where the tidewater comes in and out from Puget Sound—an area that is very important for the young salmon to make the physiological changes necessary to adapt to salt water.
In addition, Duwamish Gardens gives people a place to access and appreciate the hidden beauty and potential of the Duwamish River. People will be able to launch a kayak or walk the shoreline trail that offers outstanding views of the river and surrounding hills. Interpretive signage and artwork illustrate the history of this place and the importance of undertaking projects like this one.
Economically, Duwamish Gardens will benefit Seattle and the region through dollars spent by visitors, and—at a larger scale—by helping to improve the salmon population. The project will also have a positive impact on orca survival and tribal treaty fishing rights.
Funding Sources:
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund
- King County Cooperative Watershed Management Program
- Additional sources for property acquisition, design, and construction
Congressional District: 9
Partners:
- City of Tukwila
- King Conservation District
- King County Conservation Futures Program
- King County Flood Control District
- Puget Sound Partnership
- Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office
- Salmon Recovery Funding Board
- Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed
- Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
- The Nearshore Partnership
