Interpretation on Fire: How Our Workshop Sparked a Community's Ideas for Trail Signage

By Angela Mele

Holden Village: hard to get to, hard to forget

Most clients assure us that their site is hard to understand until you’ve spent significant time there. This is particularly true in the case of Holden Village. Since the 1960s, this former family-friendly mining town has been transformed into a “remote wilderness community, rooted in the Lutheran tradition, that welcomes all people into the North Cascade Mountains.” Despite my lack of religious affiliation I’ve journeyed there many times via the requisite road trip, ferry ride, and steep climb up a mountain in a retro school bus to trade my expertise in interpretive planning for meaningful experiences and delicious bread. In summer 2022, I returned again to help the Village with public engagement efforts around the challenging topic of wildfire.

Holden’s 1930s-era chalets against the backdrop of the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Image by Hannah Lauber.

A crowd greets you with smiles and kazoos as the bus slides into Main Street. Image by Carter Schafer.

Burning questions

In August 2015 the lightning-sparked Wolverine Fire burned over 60 acres west of Lake Chelan. As flames crept toward Holden, experts lit ridgetops on fire, then coaxed the burn toward the edge of the village until its intensity was decreased and it could be put out.

Riding the bus up switchbacks to the village you see acres of blackened dead trees. Fireweed blooms like crazy in patches; other areas remain disconcertingly spare. Visitors have many questions, and Holden’s board is exploring ways to increase communications about fire in the valley.

Smoke and flames from the Wolverine fire in 2015. Image courtesy of USFS.         

Wolverine crept closer to Holden over the course of three weeks.

I was invited to teach a class in summer 2022. After speaking with leadership about challenges and opportunities around fire interpretation, I decided that my class would consist of an interpretive planning session, resulting in ideas that could inform a fire-themed interpretive trail. I invited my friend Laura Frick, Exhibits Coordinator for the Delaware State Park system, to join in.

The theme for all summer sessions was jubilee, or the concept of restored relationships leading to abundant life for all. What does jubilee have to do with wildfire? Read to the end to find out!

The US Forest Service planted thousands of trees in burned areas of the valley around Holden in 2018. Image by Hannah Lauber.

Sometimes interpretive planning is really just like having a conversation. Image by Annika Berntsen.

Community creation of interpretive plans and concept sketches: a case study

Below is an outline of each daily 2-hour workshop.

• Site visit & nature-journaling: 25 minutes

• The what, why, and how of interpretive planning: 15 minutes

• The fastest subject matter research in the West: 20 minutes

• Basic interpretive planning: 30 minutes

• Creating concept sketches: 30 minutes

Image by Annika Berntsen.

Site visit & nature-journaling: 25 minutes

We met at the trailhead of 10-Mile-Falls, a path built into a forested slope burned by Wolverine in 2015. Charred wood, opened canopy, and fireweed are everywhere. This is a likely location for future fire interpretation.

Following prompts in a nature journal, participants used their five senses, sketched their observations, and described what they’d want to learn more about.

The what, why, and how of interpretive planning

Back at the classroom, Laura and I introduced Freeman Tilden’s principals of interpretation. We discussed common purposes of interpretation, options for media besides signage, and Watershed’s process of developing designs after a plan is in place.

We also shared a simple, unofficial interpretive plan for all of Holden Village. This clarified the organization’s mission, goals, and a central theme, under which interpretation about fire would fit.

The fastest subject matter research in the West

We found fire ecologist Paul Hessburg’s documentary The Era of Megafires to be a perfect resource for interpreting the topics we had in mind: 1) fire and the ecosystem, 2) the history of people and fire in the valley, and 3) fire management practices. We showed clips from the film that introduced these topics.

Each participant received a “resources sheet” featuring screenshots from Era plus a sidebar with facts specific to Holden Village. These basic topics and bullet-point information guided each participant’s thematic development.

Each participant received one of three “resources” sheets to help them develop interpretation.

Basic interpretive planning

Everyone was given an interpretive planning worksheet, again featuring a specific topic (i.e. “human relationships with fire in this valley”) that corresponded to their “resources” sheet. Prompts helped participants develop a theme, visitor goals, and supporting stories. Laura and I shared examples of each, then gave everyone time to work.

Creating concept sketches

Everyone’s interpretive plans culminated in rough sketches for signage. Participants proudly shared vivid ideas for communicating concepts like ecological succession and the importance of “wisdom traditions” coming together for successful land management.

Grace shares her sketch for a sign about fire management. Image by Annika Berntsen.

Sparks of future plans

Before leaving Holden, Laura and I combed through our participants’ creations. Our findings—distilled below—should become valuable input for any actual future designs.

• Commonalities among participants’ existing knowledge or feelings about fire:

  • “Destruction and renewal” were frequently listed. Ash, smoke, cycles, transformation, and words related to fear were also common.

• Common things participants wanted to learn more about through an interpretive trail about fire:

  • Fire’s impact on the Village (how close did Wolverine get; future defense plans); species adaptations, Indigenous management, climate change.

• Particularly unique, interesting, or common ideas for interpretive designs or content:

  • Highlight the concept of post-fire transition in the forest for the audience of “people going through life transitions”

  • Idea for an interactive device (like a video game or pinball machine) that teaches the benefits prescribed burning to kids

Several workshop participants suggested that fireweed provides a perfect metaphor for recovery after a disturbance. Image by Annika Berntsen.

Bringing jubilee back home

So, what do wildfires and fire interpretation have to do with jubilee? I reflect on this at home in central Washington, beneath skies hazy with smoke from the fires that sprout up around the state in mid-September.

• Jubilee, or “abundant life for all,” can occur in western forests with thoughtful use of prescribed burning and other forest management activities. Forests need regular bursts of disturbances to maintain their mosaic of different kinds of structures.

• As noted by a pastor who has devoted his career to bringing people of different faiths together, good forest management happens as relationships between communities are restored.

• Some relationships—between people, and with landscapes—can perhaps be restored by communicating in the best way we know how: with empathy, clarity, and humor. Imagine an interpretive trail that stirs feelings of jubilee when we see a prescribed burn lighting up the landscape!

These interpretive planners are full of jubilee. Image by Annika Berntsen.

Featured in:

National Association of Interpretation (NAI) Legacy magazine (January/February 2023): Interpretation on Fire: How Our Workshop Sparked a Community’s Ideas for Trail Signage
by Angela Mele and Laura Frick

The Legacy of the Kalakala

By Angela Mele

Some of our favorite projects integrate science and design to create public places that are not only sustainable, but that also tell stories about relationships between people, land, water, and technology in the Pacific Northwest.

In August, we celebrated the grand opening of one of these places: the newly expanded Feriton Spur Park on a rail trail called the Cross Kirkland Corridor. Hosted by the City, this event brought several of our project partners and community members together for an unveiling of the park’s new offerings including a caboose café, pickleball court, fruit and flower gardens, splash area, restrooms, and amphitheater.

Credit: Kyle Braun

Credit: Kyle Braun

Credit: Amber Mikluscak

Credit: Kyle Braun

Credit: Kyle Braun

One focal point of the park’s expansion is a public artwork designed by Watershed’s Amber Mikluscak, a senior landscape architect and artist. “Kalakala in Flight” incorporates pieces of a historic ferry, known as the Kalakala, which was partially built near the park’s site in the 1930s.

Moments before the unveiling of “Kalakala in Flight” (Photo Credit: Grace Brennan)

A VESSEL OF BYGONE ERAS

Here is a glimpse of the Kalakala’s many incarnations, from art deco icon to party boat to abandoned fish cannery.

Credit: Postcard published by C. P. Johnston Co, Seattle, 1930 – 1945. The Tichnor Brothers Collection, Boston Public Library.

1935-1967: A futuristic ferry with velvet seats and an 8-piece band carried commuters and party people across the Puget Sound. This ferry was reincarnated from an older one that had crashed, then burned, in California. That unlucky ship’s hull was towed to Kirkland’s Lake Washington Shipyard, where workers transformed it into the glamorous “Kalakala”—named after Chinook jargon for “flying bird.”

In 1935, the Kalakala was the largest, fastest ferry on the Sound, sporting a 3000-horsepower diesel engine and the latest in aerodynamics. Up to 2,000 passengers enjoyed the five decks, horseshoe-shaped lunch counter, and separate lounges for men and women. Shipyard workers could shower on their way home, and flappers danced past midnight to the tunes of the Flying Bird Orchestra. (Photo Credit: Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; All Rights Reserved)

Credit: Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; All Rights Reserved

1967-2004: By the late 60s, cars were too big to fit on deck and safety issues arose. The Kalakala was auctioned to a fish packer in Alaska, where she was eventually abandoned for several decades. In the 90s, Seattle artists initiated the effort to return and restore her.

Kalakala abandoned on Kodiak Island, 1971.

Crowds cheered as the Kalakala was towed to Seattle’s waterfront in 1998. But financial support ran dry, and the damaged ferry was moved to Lake Union where she was seen as an eyesore. The Kalakala was auctioned off again, moved to Neah Bay, then in 2004 moved to Tacoma. Time passed, and so did a state law regarding removal of abandoned vessels. The Coast Guard declared the ship a hazard to navigation.

Credit: Joegoodfriend

2015: Despite further determination to restore her—the rusty, peeling Kalakala was towed to a Tacoma dry dock and dismantled for scrap metal. Within hours after demolition, souvenir-hunters and historians bought nearly every remaining piece.

The City of Kirkland acquired a wheelhouse, doors, a rudder trim, and pieces of stair railings. They also bought a section of windows from the bow of the ship for future public art.

In 2019, while The Watershed Company and partners were designing the Feriton Spur Park expansion, the City arranged for our team to visit the salvaged remnants and consider how they might find new life in the park. We were honored by the opportunity to create an artwork that both brings people together and instills the park expansion with a unique sense of place.

A few of the former scraps began to come alive on our design pages. If we could find a willing fabricator, we were ready to make this ferry fly once more.

REIMAGINING THE KALAKALA

Watershed artist and senior landscape architect Amber Mikluscak, share how she conceptualized the final sculptures:

Q: How do you hope people will perceive or experience “Kalakala in Flight?”

A: During the Kalakala’s service as a ferry, people would see it all the time: crossing the water, parked in harbors. It was both commonplace and iconic. I hope that through its reimagining, in its new form and location, it’ll regain that day-to-day familiarity. I hope people form a new kind of relationship with it.

Q: Over the years, many works of art have been made about the Kalakala, or at least have been imagined and considered. How did you come up with the idea for this series of sculptures?

A: We tested a lot of ideas, but the most informative thing was to create paper maquettes—tiny models—that could be manipulated and cut up. Today, we’re used to seeing images of the wreckage of the boat. But in its heyday, you would have noticed its impact on the water; the reflections and movement. There’s a beautiful photo of passengers looking out of its round portholes as the sun set. It made me think of how light and water would interact with the boat. The documentation about the boat's history says that “Kalakala” means “flying birds” in Chinook, so I was also thinking about how shorebirds glimmer, drag their feet on the water, create a wake. And the Kalakala’s art deco form is shorebird-like, to me.

The newly installed sculpture now creates a lively gathering spot within the larger public space—itself a revitalization of land shaped by an ebb and flow of industry, transport, and recreation.

Credit: Kelly Champoux

The sculpture forms an arc over the amphitheater stage and casts colors that shift with the sun’s elevation. (Photo Credit: Kyle Braun)

Shedding Some Light on the West Point Treatment Plant

By Mark Daniel

While The Watershed Company might often be thought of as in the business of daylighting streams, in a recent project we helped daylight sedimentation tanks!

The West Point Treatment Plant, located in Seattle’s Discovery Park, is a crucial piece of the region’s infrastructure—the plant serves upwards of 700,000 people.

The plant was originally constructed in the mid-60s, including the primary treatment facility.

West Point Treatment Plant under construction, 1965 (Photo credit: King County Wastewater Treatment Division)

The primary treatment facility was built with a massive concrete roof—the completed roof had nearly 600 beams, with each beam weighing about 10,000 pounds!

West Point Treatment Plant, 2006 (Photo credit: Washington State Department of Ecology)

A seismic evaluation determined that the primary treatment facility did not meet minimum seismic safety standards. In response, King County, in collaboration with a consultant team led by Reid Middleton engineers, considered several options for improving the seismic resiliency of the facility. The County ultimately decided that the best approach was essentially to remove the roof. The Watershed Company supported the project with environmental and permitting assistance.

Demolition and construction work is currently under way and much of the roof has already been removed. Project completion is anticipated in 2023.

Primary treatment facility during roof removal, 2021 (Photo credit: Stellar J)

Looking Back at the 2021 Fish Removal Season

by Pete Heltzel

With the 2022 in-water work window nearly upon us, it is a good time to look back at the efforts during the 2021 fish removal season. The Watershed Company worked with numerous contractors and local municipalities, including the Seattle Department of Transportation, to safely capture and relocate fish from work zones where stream habitat restoration and removing fish passage barriers was to occur. Typically, three people would comprise each fish removal team and we had 10 different Watershed employees take part in fish removal activities this past summer.  

The Watershed Company supplied the fish removal team for fourteen in-water projects in 2021. Our team traveled to several different areas of the state with project locales including Silverdale, Chehalis, Everett, Seattle, and Issaquah. Typical projects, such as a culvert replacement, require only one day of fish removal. However, Watershed was involved with several multiday projects that required three to five days of fish removal, due to the complexity of the project and length of stream where fish were to be captured and relocated.  

Installation of 65 foot long fish exclusion fence at the outlet of Lake Stevens (Lake Stevens, WA).

Working closely and effectively with the contractor is a strength of the Watershed team. At each site, our team would consult with the contractor to determine the optimal location to install fish exclusion fencing upstream and downstream of the work zone. Our team expertly constructed various types of fish exclusion fencing, including installing a challenging 65-foot-long upstream fence in Lake Stevens at the inlet to Mill Creek. Block netting was occasionally used in lieu of fencing, but typically exclusion fencing was used, which included hauling and pounding fence posts and securing metal mesh fencing with metal wire. 

We had several unique fish removal efforts during the 2021 season, including:

Retrieving seine through bubble curtain (left) on Newaukum River (southeast of Chehalis, WA).

Seven-foot-tall fish exclusion fence on Lower Wapato Creek (Tacoma, WA).

• Fish removal for a road stabilization project on the Newaukum River – A bubble curtain, installed by the contractor on the riverbed, was placed in a semi-circle parallel to the shoreline and acted as a “fish barrier” around the work zone. We used beach seining techniques from a boat, herding and capturing fish from behind the bubble curtain.

• A large habitat restoration project for the Port of Tacoma on Lower Wapato Creek – This project required seven separate fish removal efforts over a span of four months. Six fish exclusion fences were installed at various times coinciding with contractor project logistics with the challenge that Lower Wapato Creek is tidally influenced. Several installed fences measured up to seven feet high to compensate for incoming tides.

Occasionally, we are called back for re-fishing efforts, such as re-visiting Blueberry Creek in December for the City of Kenmore due to a clogged culvert.

Safe Capture and Handling of Fish

Juvenile coho salmon captured and relocated on Blueberry Creek (Kenmore, WA).

Every creek contains their own fish assemblage according to size, habitat complexity, flow, barriers, and connectivity to other fish bearing streams. We worked on an array of streams, all with different characteristics and therefore captured and relocated many different types of fish species in 2021. Typical fish species encountered included cutthroat trout, riffle sculpin, Western brook lamprey, Pacific lamprey, juvenile coho salmon, three-spined stickleback.

Our team takes pride in how we capture, handle, and release fish and other fauna. The team can deploy several techniques to capture fish which have been perfected over the years. Seining, dip netting, and electrofishing are the three standard techniques we use. Our trained team knows how to spot when fish are being injured from electrofishing and can quickly determine the most appropriate settings to safely capture and minimize injury. Buckets filled with fresh ambient creek water are fitted with aerators to ensure fish receive an influx of oxygen to aid in quick recovery. Care is taken to ensure fish are properly recovered prior to release, not held too long, and put in shaded areas during hot summer days.

A total of 18,398 fish were captured across all projects and sites in 2021. Our team’s dedication to safe capture and careful handling of fish resulted in an astoundingly low mortality rate of 0.6%.

Electrofishing with volunteers on Chico Creek during dewatering of individual pools (near Silverdale, WA).

Sorting fish from seining on Chico Creek (near Silverdale, WA).

As we go through the yearly practice of joining contractor teams, preparing equipment, and training up staff, we envision the beautiful creeks we will get to visit and unique people we will interact with. The satisfying feeling returns as we imagine the thousands of fish we will safely capture and relocate that will get to hide or rest in a pool or LWD in a newly created habitat or swim past a replaced fish barrier to spawn or feed in habitats previously inaccessible.

Wetlands and Industries Grow Side by Side at Narbeck

by Angela Mele

Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary a few years after construction, in 2002.

As an interpretive planner and scientific illustrator, the relationship between humans and their environment is the focal point of my profession. As a new member of The Watershed Company (Watershed), the company tagline, balancing the interests of people and nature, sounded wonderful—but a bit intangible—until I visited one of our project sites. I was delighted to join landscape designer, ecologist, and certified arborist Roen Hohlfeld at the Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary, a restored wetland complex just northeast of Paine Field in Everett, WA.

Designed in 1998, the 48-acre Narbeck site is a special example of how we plan for the interests of both people and nature. The restoration effort was a cooperation between the Snohomish County Airport, local citizens and governments, regulatory agencies, and businesses (an unusual and innovative arrangement at the time). It was also the first mitigation bank in Washington state. (The EPA describes a mitigation bank as “a wetland, stream, or other aquatic resource area that has been restored, established, enhanced, or preserved for the purpose of providing compensation for unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources.”)

To compensate for unavoidable losses resulting from runway safety improvements, Watershed created eight new acres of wetlands and preserved and enhanced another 14 acres of wetland buffers. The effort also enabled the airport to expand further sustainably, while creating acres of passive recreation area.

Mitigation: the process of becoming milder, gentler, or less severe.

The wetlands under construction in 1998.

A few years later, airplane passengers looked down at ponds and forests filled with life.

Narbeck is not a quiet, distant wilderness. The smell of an industrial coffee roasting session permeated our journey, the interstate hummed alongside birdsong, and two weeks after Thanksgiving we came upon a spookily intact cake that read “Happy Halloween!”. If anything, this park highlights the contrast—and the potential for co-existence—between inevitable development and the watery, self-sustaining ecosystems that long supported Indigenous communities and wildlife throughout the region.

“At Narbeck we do a very human-centric kind of monitoring. We’re looking not just at ecological elements like plant cover, but also at the built infrastructure: is there graffiti, are there maintenance issues, are people cutting trails? This combination of a passive recreation facility and wildlife sanctuary was really visionary for its time.”

— Roen Hohlfield, Ecological Designer

So, which of Narbeck’s many watery features did our company preserve, enhance, and build nearly from scratch in 1998? Passing by a sculpted berm or through the sudden darkness of a cedar grove, one can imagine scientists and designers merging minds and sketches to bring their vision of a thriving urban wetland to fruition. There are also a number of fabulously retro interpretive signs that point out which areas were carefully cultivated. If you head to Narbeck, look for these six landscape features that were spawned from a convergence of art and science.

1. The land was sculpted by heavy machinery to create ponds and depressions which collect flow and rainwater.

Narbeck under construction in 1999.

2. Trees were saved for habitat and a shady overstory.

Some salvaged trees appear so significant that people have built a path to visit them. The log “bridge” at bottom left may need to be replaced with thorny salmonberries to make this Douglas-fir appear more off-limits.

3. Leaky berms—raised layers of sand and gravel that let pondwater slowly leak out and inundate surrounding land—were designed and installed. The landscape architects used beaver dams as inspiration.

This classic 90s interpretive sign lays out the “anatomy of a leaky berm”.

4. Native vegetation was planted, and aggressive non-natives like purple loosestrife were removed.

Roen knows all the plants’ names and their roles in the ecosystem. Here, he shows me some tall bracken fern that provides refuge for small critters.

Purple loosestrife is a noxious weed that we kept an eye out for. (Photo by Ivar Leidus)

5. Snags—dead, standing trees that are home to many animals—were protected and installed.

A raptor peers out from a snag a few years after it was installed. A typical monitoring session includes snapping such photos of animals interacting with the environment.

6. One area was designed to provide breeding habitat for frogs and other amphibians. The interpretive sign reads, “Sections of the shoreline were constructed at just the right water depth and planted with vegetation that amphibians attach their egg-masses to. Larger cover plants give protection from sun and winds during incubation.”

A Watershed staff member holds a frog he found a few years after Narbeck opened.

So, how’s the site holding up 23 years after it was designed? Between my numerous inquiries (“What’s this plant?” “What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever found on a site visit?”) and my abrupt stops at every interpretive sign, Roen was able to address this real question—the point of his monitoring session. He had me document a few things: a bit of lingering purple loosestrife, graffiti on a bench, and a new bridge that is successfully preventing erosion on part of the trail. But overall, Roen thought that things were growing as planned without too much negative human intervention. Here’s his assessment:

“Everything continues to develop according to plan. There are a few invasives that need to be dealt with, but overall the site is in good shape and continues to function as intended.”

Roen strolls past alders, which he explained are a pioneer species that fix nitrogen to help the forest grow.

Stormwater outfall from the adjacent neighborhood was eroding this part of the trail, so Watershed recommended that this bridge be installed to help keep things intact. It’s doing its job.

As Roen and I trotted along the boardwalk, chatting about Narbeck’s original design intentions and how they’re holding up today, I saw how my company has immersed people in the beauty of convergent natural and human systems since 1982. We truly re-imagine landscapes as places where long-term ecological health, urban development, and strong human connections with nature can co-exist. The “visitor experience” is shaped in a genuine way by what’s happening in the landscape that day, and the landscape is shaped by our team of architects, scientists, artists, planners, and designers.

I see my role as the environmentally-friendly glue that merges interpretive artworks, narratives, and other media with the bigger picture of a landscape, its history, and my teammates’ plans to sculpt it for future growth.

The slough sledge can survive in standing water and helps prevent soil erosion.

These licorice ferns get their name from the flavor of their root-like rhizomes and can be used for sore throat medicine.

Sword ferns wave at passersby with spore-filled fronds.

Nobody planned for this orange “witch’s butter” to sprout up in these water-loving woods.

Climbing Washington's Volcanoes, featuring a GIS Story Map - Part 2

By Nathan Burroughs

Check out this Story Map Web App for a complete trip report of Nathan’s journey, featuring photos and specific site locations of all his ascents.

THE FOURTH VOLCANO: MOUNT BAKER, KOMA KOLSHAN, “THE GREAT WHITE SENTINEL OF THE NORTH”

With the arrival of spring and our eyes set on the last two volcanoes, my buddies and I finally completed a one-day crevasse rescue course at Paradise on Mount Rainier in April. On a Friday evening, we set up camp at the Coleman-Deming route trailhead for Mount Baker, joined by approximately 300 other individuals, equally as excited to summit Mount Baker.

The next morning, we woke up at 3:30am. I was running a (non-Covid) fever with complete sinus congestion. But bailing wasn’t an option if I wanted to complete my volcano mission. We got our gear in check. I led our rope team up 7,300 vertical feet of Mount Baker, following the boot pack and avoiding crevasses. After cresting the Roman Wall, we ditched our packs and boards and crossed the flat summit plateau to Mount Baker’s true summit around 1:00pm. I was feeling pretty miserable. Nonetheless, the views were incredible – we could see Glacier Peak and Rainier to the south, and Canada’s lone cascade volcano (up for debate), Garibaldi, to the north.

The snowboard descent was awesome. Remember earlier, I mentioned how the Mount Adams descent was the best run of our lives? Well, Mount Baker trumped it. After some icy skiing and snowboarding down the Roman Wall, we got perfect snow corn all the way back to tree line. We traversed to skiers left of the bootpack and got thousands of vertical feet of untouched turns. When we unstrapped at tree line, we kept asking, “Did that really happen?”.

We got back to the car around 4:00pm, about three hours after starting our descent. Besides being super fun and way quicker, snowboarding and skiing down has the added benefit of more surface area, making it harder to punch through weak snow bridges concealing crevasses. As we drove back to Seattle, we couldn’t stop chatting about our final volcano: Mount Rainier.

THE FIFTH VOLCANO: MOUNT RAINIER, TACOMA/TAHOMA, “AMERICA’S MOUNTAIN”

The red tape around Mount Rainier is a logistical nightmare. Months in advance, the permits open for the season and madness ensues as everyone scoops up permits. Luckily, we scored permits for 5 weekends. However, nearly a month went by until we were met with good weather conditions on one of our permitted weekends. Finally, on Independence Day weekend, we showed up at the Paradise Ranger Station with all our gear.

Our Mount Rainier climb was a two-day trip. On Sunday, we started around 8:00am and got to Camp Muir around noon. After hanging out and eating lunch, we roped up and arrived at Ingraham Flats at 11,100 ft around 3:00pm. Ingraham Flats is a ridiculous campsite, located on a flat part of the Ingraham Glacier and surrounded by enormous crevasses, seracs, and ice falls. We dug out our campsite, said a few nice words to our neighbors, then tried to sleep at 6:00pm. As we listened to ice fall of the serac above us, admittedly it was tough.

We woke up at 11:30pm, got our gear together, and began our summit ascent with nothing but our headlamps and the bootpack to guide us.

In our group, I was the only one who had previously been over 14,000 ft, on Mount Whitney and Mount Elbert. I tried leading us at a slow pace as much as possible. Nonetheless, we all were feeling different symptoms of altitude sickness as we finally crested Mount Rainier’s crater rim. A little later, after crossing the crater, we stood on the summit of my fifth volcano. Of course, I wasn’t feeling the greatest, so I had a hard time taking it all in. After snapping a few photos, we decided to start trudging down the mountain to alleviate our altitude sickness.

As we retraced our steps, it was amazing seeing the enormous crevasses we had crossed and skirted by earlier in the dark. The upper Ingraham Glacier is the most foreign world I’ve ever seen. At the top of Disappointment Cleaver, we got our first glimpses of Ingraham Flats surrounded by gaping crevasses from above. It blew our minds. 90% of accidents happen on the descent, so we were extremely cautious.

When we made it back to Camp Muir and unroped, we finally started celebrating our accomplishment. A group of four with no guide (for this or any previous mountain), with zero previous Rainier summit experience, let alone a single Rainier summit attempt, where only one of us had ever been above 14k ft, all living at sea level, and yet all successfully summitting Mount Rainier...

One of my favorite parts of our summit was the stretch from the lower Muir Snowfields back to the car at Paradise Ranger Station. Every couple steps we would look back at Mount Rainier, thinking “Dang, we were just up there!” With Mount Rainier National Park being full of tourists, it was fun being asked by folks where we were coming down from. Back at the car, we hung out for quite a while. The Paradise parking lot is one of my favorite places in the world. Nowhere else (aside from maybe Yosemite) do you find such hardcore mountaineers and outdoorsmen intermingling with people from all over the world.

And just like that, my volcano quest was complete, a year and a half after concocting the idea with my buddies in Whistler. Not sure what’s next. Perhaps the Oregon ones. Or maybe it’s finally time for Mother Nature to add a new volcano to the chain.

Climbing Washington's Volcanoes, featuring a GIS Story Map - Part 1

By Nathan Burroughs

Check out this Story Map Web App for a complete trip report of Nathan’s journey, featuring photos and specific site locations of all his ascents.

Ever since moving to Washington, the snow-covered peaks of the Cascade Volcanoes fascinated me. During a Whistler trip in December 2019, a few buddies and I began entertaining the idea of climbing all five of them. With a general background in the outdoors including surfing, backpacking, and snowboarding, the idea of summiting these magnificent, snow-capped mountains seemed preposterous. After taking the thought seriously and laughing it off, we put the idea on the backburner.

THE FIRST VOLCANO: MOUNT SAINT HELENS, LOOWIT, “THE EXPLOSIVE VOLCANO”

In March of 2020, after months of long, dark winter, the weather forecasts finally called for a sunny and beautiful weekend. With the ski resorts shuttered due to the threat of Covid-19, my friends and I got together on a Thursday, brainstormed ideas, recalled our Whistler discussion, and decided to attempt a summit of Saint Helens Saturday morning. Having never hiked in the snow before, my roommate and I rushed to Ascent Outdoors on Friday before closing to pick up crampons and ice axes, and the next morning we arrived at the Saint Helens trailhead just before sunrise.

The trailhead was packed and there was excitement in the air. To my pleasant surprise, I learned about a sweet phenomenon called a bootpack – as people hike through the snow, their footprints create a solidified trail through the snow so that following climbers don’t have posthole all the way up the mountain. This bootpack would continue all the way to the summit.

Our group crested the summit ridge of Mount Saint Helens six hours and 5,600 vertical feet after beginning our climb. The energy at the crater rim was amazing, as approximately 700 other climbers enjoyed their final taste of the mountains before the Covid-19 lockdown began.

After savoring our time at the summit, we glissaded down nearly the entirety of Mount Saint Helens, 5,000 vertical feet!

THE SECOND VOLCANO: MOUNT ADAMS, PAHTO, “THE FORGOTTEN VOLCANO”

My volcano buddies and I all ski or snowboard, but none of us had ever done any non-resort backcountry skiing. Nonetheless, we began thinking, “How sick would it be if we skied off the summit of Mount Adams, second tallest mountain in Washington?” Like previous outrageous ideas, thoughts turned to laughs, which turned to serious consideration, which finally turned to extreme dedication.

After camping out at the Mount Adams South Climb trailhead, we began the trek up at 4:00am the next morning, with snowboards and skis strapped to our packs. Around noon, after six miles and 6,600 vertical feet, we were standing on the summit of Mount Adams, with epic views of Mount Rainier, Mount Saint Helens, Mount Hood, and Mount Jefferson.

In the spring, once the snowpack consolidates, it goes through a steady melt-freeze cycle. During the day, the sun’s rays slowly melt the top layer of snow, creating something called corn snow, which is a backcountry skiers’ dream. Eventually, the sun’s rays turn the corn snow into slush, which can be tougher to ski in. Come nightfall, the snow refreezes, and the cycle repeats.  Since no one had descended yet, we were uncertain about whether the snow was still icy (as it was on the ascent) or soft corn. Nonetheless, the frigid wind forced our hand. We strapped in and around 1:00 pm we were the first group of skiers to descend the south face of Mount Adams. To our delight, we had perfect corn snow.

Turns were so soft and effortless it felt like cutting through warm butter. As a surfer, it was the closest I’d ever come to feel like surfing while snowboarding. The light snow from the previous day and perfect timing gave all three of us the best runs of our lives.

We still think it’s crazy that our first ever attempt at backcountry skiing was off the summit of Mount Adams. But that brings us back to an important lesson from this volcano saga: that each of us is capable of amazing feats, and we can’t let perceived difficulty or elitism scare us off (given that we recognize all dangers and consider all safety measures, obviously)!

THE THIRD VOLCANO: GLACIER PEAK, DAHKOBED, “THE REMOTE AND UNKNOWN VOLCANO”

After our successful summit of Mount Adams, only three Washington volcanoes remained: Rainier, Baker, and Glacier Peak. Although the lesser-known and least climbed of all the volcanoes, Glacier Peak turned into one of my all-time favorite expeditions. 36 miles, 10,000 vertical feet, endless snowfields and glaciated terrain, and two nights camping in the remote, pristine wilderness of Glacier Basin with sweet views of the peak.  While most folks on the mountain were incredibly friendly, we did get scoffed at by a guide (who was leading a couple folks down the mountain after an unsuccessful summit) for, in his mind, not being prepared. His attitude reinforced our decision to do all these volcanoes unguided.

Since Covid-19 had shut down all the mountaineering courses in 2020, including crevasse rescue, this was the end of the road for us for the year. We would have to wait for the 2021 “volcano season” to finish the quest with Mount Baker and Mount Rainier.

Seeing the Forest and the Trees

By Kim Frappier

The Watershed Company’s team of arborists and urban foresters, ecologists, landscape architects, and environmental planners take a multidisciplinary approach to tree care and forest stewardship across the landscape. Whether you are a private homeowner caring for a Japanese maple tree in your backyard garden, a municipality tasked with managing street trees in city rights-of-way, or a rural landowner stewarding 50 acres of second-growth forest – we have the expertise and experience to support our clients’ diverse needs. 

Trees play an essential role in the health of our communities. In addition to their aesthetic beauty, trees and forests clean our air and water, capture and filter polluted stormwater, abate flooding, shade and cool our built environment, provide critical habitat for wildlife, and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change. In keeping with our mission of seeking to balance the needs of people and nature, The Watershed Company approaches tree care with a commitment to sustainability and protection of these vital natural resources.

The Watershed Company’s Arboriculture and Urban Forestry team includes professionals with multidisciplinary expertise in wetland and riparian ecology, landscape architecture, and environmental planning.

ARBORICULTURE - TREE CARE AND PRESERVATION

Arboriculture is the science of understanding tree biology as well as the environmental and cultural requirements needed to grow healthy trees. The Watershed Company’s team of arborists are all International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified, most of whom are also Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ). We consult regularly with clients on tree health and hazard safety assessments, appraisals, protection, and tree retention plans during both residential and large-scale construction projects. We also have experience providing pruning and specimen tree transplanting recommendations. Our multi-disciplinary arborists and landscape designers are skilled at creating planting plans that highlight both the beauty and aesthetics of trees and provide for optimum tree health and vitality.

City of Shoreline Sidewalks Inventory.
Arborists from The Watershed Company inventoried street trees using geospatial mapping, collecting data on tree health and infrastructure conditions. After providing the city with a detailed impacts assessment and recommendations, our design team developed creative solutions for sidewalk conflicts that focused on retaining urban tree canopy, while ensuring sidewalks remained accessible. Our urban foresters were on-site during construction to ensure that trees were protected during construction, roots were properly pruned, trees were protected, and the overall health of the trees were maintained.

URBAN FORESTRY PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

Urban forests consist of trees across the entire landscape, including street trees, parks, forested natural areas, and trees on private property. The Watershed Company understands the complexity of caring for community trees in our towns and cities and the diverse needs of public and private landowners. In addition to our arboriculture services, The Watershed Company is experienced in supporting municipalities and other landowners with spatially mapped tree inventories and landscape-scale canopy assessments that provide land managers with the data they need to make informed management decisions for both near- and long-range planning. Our team of environmental planners also work with regional cities to assess and revise tree protection and retention regulations and develop urban forest management plans that provide communities with a guiding, long-term framework for maintaining and improving urban forest health.

Hazelwood Park Urban Forest Management Plan, City of Newcastle.
The Watershed Company’s urban foresters and ecologists developed an urban forest management plan for Hazelwood Park, a 7.3 acre forested open space in the City of Newcastle. Our staff conducted a forest health evaluation, tree inventory, and wetland assessment to develop a comprehensive management plan including cost estimates to inform a feasible phasing strategy for urban forest improvements. The goals of the project were to address hazard tree mitigation, improve plant species diversity, restore natural systems, and engage the community. In addition to developing the management plan, our staff also supported community engagement efforts to educate neighbors and stakeholders about proposed urban forest improvements.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP

We also work with natural resource managers and forest landowners to develop forest stewardship and management plans to help landowners better understand current forest conditions and ensure the ecological health of the habitats on their properties. Forest assessments consist of qualitative and quantitative assessments that describe forest conditions, wetlands and riparian areas, forest health threats, and wildlife enhancement opportunities. Management planning may also include cost estimates, management phasing strategies, and GIS mapping services. Our forest stewardship plans meet the Washington State Integrated Forest Management Plan Guidelines. We are also experienced in using the Forest Landscape Assessment Tool (FLAT), a rapid assessment methodology first developed by the Green Cities Research Alliance, to provide baseline forest health conditions for the management of forested natural areas and open space.

Seabrook Forest Stewardship Plan.
The Watershed Company’s ecologists and arborists developed a forest stewardship plan (FSP) to provide the residential coastal community of Seabrook, in Grays Harbor, WA, guidance on sustainable ecological forest management. The assessment study area covered approximately 120 acres, many within protected stream and wetland buffers. The Watershed team managed all aspects of field data collection and analysis for forest stands, including developing management recommendations, geospatial analysis and mapping, as well as close consultation and coordination with County staff.

Whether you are interested in the assessment of a single tree or an entire forested landscape, The Watershed Company is equipped to provide you with the information and support to meet your tree care and management needs. For more information, contact kfrappier@watershedco.com.

TAX BREAKS FOR YOUR FORESTS AND WETLANDS IN KING COUNTY

By Sam Payne and April Mulcahy

Do you have forests or wetlands on your property? If so, you could be eligible for a significant tax reduction on your land. We can help you in this process, here’s how. 

KING COUNTY PUBLIC BENEFIT RATING SYSTEM (PBRS)

You can enroll your property, or a portion of your property, in the King County PBRS program to get a tax reduction if your land meets certain criteria for use as “open space.”

If you have four or more acres of forest, you may qualify for a tax reduction with an approved Forest Stewardship Plan. These plans allow landowners to manage forests to meet their short- and long-term goals and objectives, optimize resource use, promote wildlife habitat, and ensure long term sustainability. If you are a self-starter, you can draft your own plan, although many elect to go with an experienced consultant.

Your forest could get you a tax break.

If you have a wetland or stream on your property, you could also voluntarily increase the surface water quality buffer by 50% to gain an additional tax reduction. This could be a good fit for you if your wetland or stream is far from developed areas. Only one wetland or stream buffer needs to be increased to qualify. In addition to these options, King County has 17 other types of open space resources that qualify for a tax reduction. The more you have on your property, the greater the tax reduction.

Enrollment in the PBRS program is reversible if you change your mind about being in the program or if the property sells. One thing to keep in mind is that pulling out of the PBRS program before a certain time frame may result in a partial loss of the tax credits you receive.

We recommend contacting the King County PBRS Program to talk about the options which work for your property. Prior to hiring a consultant, King County should be able to provide a staff report which confirms enrollment eligibility.

KING COUNTY TAX ASSESSMENT

If you have wetlands on your property that are not in King County’s inventory, you may be paying more taxes than necessary. Development restrictions related to onsite wetlands can lower the assessed value of your land, which lowers your property tax. If this is your situation, you can commission a wetland delineation and send the results to the King County Tax Assessor (assessor.info@kingcounty.gov), ensuring you pay the fair amount.

Wetlands on your property can provide numerous environmental benefits and lower your taxes.

Are you interested in commissioning a Forest Stewardship Plan or wetland delineation for your property? If so, give us a call or email and we would be happy to provide you a quote.

Over 250 Native Trees Planted with Green Seattle Partnership

Congratulations to the Green Seattle Partnership for planting over 250 native trees and shrubs in the Kingfisher segment of Seattle’s Thornton Creek Natural Area in North Seattle. All plants were installed by volunteers over four weekends in December. Volunteers included high school students, retirees, and members from The Watershed Company.

Since much of the planted area is dominated by aging deciduous trees, a focus was made on planting conifers beneath the existing canopy. Beyond the planting effort, volunteers pulled invasive English ivy and removed trash and debris. Great to see the community come together for a legacy project that is sure to last generations into the future.

One really cool technique is planting western hemlocks atop legacy cedar stumps from the logging era. Hemlocks specialize in establishing on rotten stumps and it is something rarely seen in planted areas.

Check out the new plants and the wonderful trails showcasing a fairly in-tact forest in the city.  Trailheads can be found in several locations:

• 15th AVE NE at NE 104th Street

• 17th AVE NE at NE 104th Street

• 20th AVE NE at NE 100th Street

The Watershed Company’s own President and Senior Ecologist, Hugh Mortensen, getting his hands dirty at a recent volunteer restoration event with Seattle Green Partnership.

New friends and neighbors: Watershed celebrates The BLOCK Project

Volunteers work to complete landscaping on latest BLOCK project.

The BLOCK Project “invites community into the task of ending homelessness by building small homes in residential backyards for those living unsheltered”. By building fully-equipped, sustainable, healthy homes for people experiencing homelessness, BLOCK homes transform the way we think about space, ownership, and living within community.

Led by Facing Homelessness, the project consists of siting and installing a prefabricated dwelling in a host homeowners’ backyard. Each urban infill unit provides a new home to an individual who was previously unsheltered. New neighbors are welcomed into much needed housing, while the character of existing neighborhoods is maintained.

The Watershed Company has been privileged to assist in the landscape design of two BLOCK homes, but also to participate in the planting at both of these locations.

On Saturday, November 7th in the Central District of Seattle, members of The Watershed Company, volunteers from the BLOCK Project and the BLOCK hosts worked together to landscape one of the newest residences. The hosts invited Watershed staffers into their backyard to assist with pruning, weeding, digging, and planting. The weather may not have been all sunshine and clear skies, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

Lexi Ochoa from The Watershed Company says it best “I had a blast volunteering on the BLOCK 10 projects this month!  With the tenor of the year, it was meaningful to give back to the community and create something that will impact someone’s life in such a positive way.  I look forward to the next volunteer opportunity!” 

The BLOCK Project

For more information about The BLOCK Project, such as volunteering and donating, or how to become a host, visit: www.the-block-project.org.

Grayson Morris Reflects on UW PAC

The future of landscape architecture, fueled by the energy of emerging leaders, looks quite bright.

Virtual Landscape Architecture Professional Advisory Council (PAC) meeting.

At the University of Washington College of Built Environments, the Landscape Architecture Department collaborates with a network of local professionals to develop actionable goals that support incoming students and emerging professionals. The group, known as the Landscape Architecture Professional Advisory Council (PAC), includes roughly 24 professionals, faculty, and student leaders. Professionals represent offices across the Puget Sound region, expanding the network, perspectives, and opportunities beyond the campus and city limits of Seattle.

One of the PAC professional members is The Watershed Company’s own, Grayson Morris, an alumnus to the UW Master of Landscape Architecture program. Grayson joined the PAC this time last year and is serving a 3-year term on the council. As a professional who emerged not too long ago by putting to use the resources generated by this collaboration, Grayson says he sees the value that the PAC brings to the student experience.

PAC professionals sponsor events where local professionals can engage with students. “The [PAC] is continuously evaluating how we can support the department to better engage students, and enrich the landscape architecture program,” Grayson said. “Students find the events coordinated by the PAC helpful because it connects them directly with leaders in the profession.”

Portfolio reviews and sharing internship resources, considered essential for finding a job after college, are efforts led by the PAC to promote students as emerging professionals. Another event called a ‘digital sketch crawl’ was led by Susanna Ryan, artist and author of the Seattle Walk Report. Ryan encouraged landscape architecture students and professionals to walk neighborhoods and observe and communicate a story of their experience in their environment through sketching. The exercise challenged participants to both organize their observations and pay attention to design features around them that often go unnoticed. Students and professionals alike were able to reflect upon and discuss their approach to the prompt.

Beyond events, the PAC provides support to students in the form of financial assistance when it can. This year, in response to the pandemic, the PAC assisted the Landscape Architecture Department in expanding the Student Emergency Fund. That effort rerouted PAC funds from cancelled events to eligible students, for use toward college-related expenses.

The PAC has several sub-committees, all with specific functions to help support the Department’s needs, such as Advocacy and Outreach, Student Support, Research and Education, and more recently, Justice Equity Diversity & Inclusion. Grayson leads the Research and Education committee, which is focused on identifying the students’ professional aspirations and connecting them with resources to realize those interests.  This includes gathering and synthesizing information on available internship programs, as well as illuminating clear pathways toward rewarding design-research collaborations between students and firms. All sub-committees bring perspective to the ongoing discussion on creating a more inclusive and accessible PAC.

As Grayson finishes his first year with the PAC, amidst major social change, he reflects: “It’s an exciting time for the profession, with the opportunity [for students] to emerge more socially responsive and with the ability to affect greater positive change in our built environments. I’m grateful to be part of that conversation and action.”

Looking forward: Watershed’s Lucas Vannice serves on the WSU PAB

Lucas Vannice, PLA

The Landscape Architecture program within the School of Design and Construction at Washington State University (WSU) promotes opportunities for undergraduate students to network with Landscape Architects in order to connect students to professional practice. The goal is to provide students with a deeper understanding of the opportunities landscape architecture provides. For the Watershed Company’s Lucas Vannice, the commitment to promote the future of landscape architecture is an important contribution.

For the past year, Lucas has represented Watershed on the Landscape Architecture Professional Advisory Board (PAB) at WSU. The Professional Advisory Board helps the University develop programs essential to students while providing professionals with information from academia essential to an ever-evolving profession. “The relationship is symbiotic,” Lucas said, “because it is beneficial for WSU students, faculty, and professionals to have a strong, established community.”

According to Lucas, landscape architecture professionals benefit students and faculty by sharing their learned experience. This presents the WSU community with varying real-world perspectives, such as trends in the workplace, trending technology, and more. In a normal year, the Professional Advisory Board helps faculty with a variety of events that will prepare students for careers after college, including studio critiques, portfolio reviews, office visits, and alumni networking.

Despite social distancing limitations, the PAB has adapted and found unique ways to connect. For example, instead of an in-person portfolio review, this year Lucas participated in a "talking portfolio," where WSU LA students were paired with professionals to present their portfolio of work via Zoom.

During these reviews, Lucas always asks what outcome the students are looking for in order to identify their goals. Landscape architecture is a vast profession; students and professionals can take it in many exciting directions. Students often showcase skills in a variety of methods, like renderings, life-like simulations, mixed media, and hand-drawn work. “The media they choose to narrate their design is always fun to see,” Lucas says, “It’s very interesting.”

In late-Spring, Lucas participated in a virtual studio critique for LA 380, an undergraduate studio focused on parallel ecologies. In place of an in-studio event, the students, faculty, and review panel joined each other on Zoom. When it was each student’s turn to present their work, they took control of the screen. The technology allowed the students, many of which had left the WSU campus and were joining from home, to come together to share their work.

Beyond the benefit for students, there is a return for professionals as well. Lucas says he is rejuvenated and inspired in his own work after meeting with students. “Every time I work with a student, it reinvigorates my own passion and commitment to landscape architecture. It’s so exciting to see through the lens of the next generation of landscape architects and the solutions they’re proposing.”

Invasive Aquatic Plants: Integrated Aquatic Vegetation Management Plans (IAVMP)

By Katy Crandall, April Mulcahy, and Alex Pittman

Enter: Milfoil Kid Monster

Summer has finally arrived in Washington. You pack up the dog or your kids on a warm, sunny day, and head to a local lakeside park to soak in some Vitamin D and wear the little ones out (furry or otherwise). Your day at the beach is perfect…until your dog swims back with the fetching stick, cloaked with a wad of scratchy and smelly Eurasian watermilfoil…or your kid goes for a swim and emerges as a sea monster, covered in dangling green strands of aquatic weeds.

Aquatic noxious weeds, such as Eurasian watermilfoil, are a nuisance and not only impact recreational opportunities and the human-valued aesthetics of the environment, but also present significant challenges to our native ecosystems. Non-native aquatic weeds can displace native plants, impair habitat for fish, and negatively impact water quality.

Submerged hybrid watermilfoil is visible in the shallow nearshore waters of Cranberry Lake.

Case Study: Cranberry Lake

Cranberry Lake is a real-world example of the impacts and challenges posed by an infestation of an aquatic noxious weed. The 133-acre lake is located in Deception Pass State Park on the north end of Whidbey Island in Washington State. The park is a popular local and tourist attraction, and many visitors enjoy swimming, fishing, and using non-motorized boats.

Cranberry Lake contains a rich assortment of native aquatic plant species and unique ecological communities, but the lake also contains an extensive population of hybrid watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum x M. sibiricum), which is a cross between the invasive Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) and the native northern watermilfoil (Myriophyllum sibiricum). Hybrid watermilfoil is designated a Class C noxious weed by the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board.

A Washington State Parks’ canoe floats near the public swim beach at the west end of lake, opposite the boat launch.

Invasive Aquatic Plant Transport and Regulation

Many aquatic noxious weeds spread rapidly, outcompeting and displacing native aquatic plants and associated animals. Eurasian and hybrid watermilfoil spread effortlessly through fragmentation: the plants break apart and take root in calm, shallow lake waters. This methods allows non-native watermilfoil to quickly colonize a water body and be easily and viably transported between lakes. Boats and boat trailers are common vectors for aquatic weeds like Eurasian and hybrid watermilfoil.

For example, during our field survey of Cranberry Lake, we found no Eurasian watermilfoil, which we also confirmed with genetic testing. Since hybrid watermilfoil develops where Eurasian and northern watermilfoil populations co-exist, we suspect the hybrid watermilfoil was transported to Cranberry Lake via fragments from a nearby lake containing both Eurasian and native watermilfoil. That lake likely became infested with Eurasian watermilfoil from fragments transported in boating or fishing equipment.

The Watershed Company surveyed aquatic vegetation in Cranberry Lake in July 2019. Plants were assessed and identified using a custom weed rake. Potential hybrid watermilfoil samples were collected for genetic analysis.

In the state of Washington, the intentional or unintentional release of non-native species between waterbodies is prohibited.  Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife shares tips on how to prevent the spread of invasive species and recreate responsibly.

Registered boaters in Washington pay an annual $3 service fee that funds about $350,000 in grants each year to manage invasive aquatic plants (see more information on grant opportunities below).

Milfoil Kid Monster = Aquatic Noxious Weed…Now what?!

Many resources are available if you suspect or confirm the presence of an aquatic noxious weed in a waterbody which you would like to responsibly report and/or manage:    

Hybrid watermilfoil is the dominant aquatic plant just below the surface of Cranberry Lake. Native plants in the photograph include Potamogeton praelongus and Elodea canadensis.

• Report a Sighting on the Washington Invasive Species Council website. Your report is particularly valuable if the infestation is early or unknown and not yet widespread.  

• Some local jurisdictions, such as King County, offer technical assistance in aquatic plant identification, regulations, and weed control options; more information is available at their website here. King County also offers a free Lake Weed Watcher Training that trains volunteers to identify invasive and native aquatic plants.

• For local and state governments, tribes, and special purpose districts, funding may be available for qualified projects through the Washington Department of Ecology’s Aquatic Invasive Plants Management Grants Program. Ecology administers three types of grants through this program, generally classified as planning, control, and early infestation project grants:

1. Planning: Involves development of an Integrated Aquatic Vegetation Management Plan (IAVMP) that identifies the invasive plant problem and evaluates management options. The Watershed Company, in coordination with Washington State Parks, developed an IAVMP for Cranberry Lake in 2019, which was subsequently approved by Ecology (read more about this work below). Application period: October 15th through November 15th.

2. Invasive Plant Control: With an Ecology-approved IAVMP in place, funds from this grant can be used to implement invasive plant control in accordance with the plan. Application period: October 15th through November 15th.  

3. Early Infestation Project: Grant applicants may seek an early infestation project grant when a freshwater aquatic invasive plant is identified in the pioneer stages of growth in a lake, river, or stream. Applications may be submitted any time.

Cranberry Lake IAVMP

The Cranberry Lake IAVMP was led by a team of three Watershed professionals, incorporating expertise from their respective departments – Natural Resources, Environmental Planning, and Landscape Architecture – into the plan development. The goal of the IAVMP was to outline a method for control and eradication of hybrid watermilfoil that balanced the protection of important ecosystems associated with the lake.

A thorough aquatic vegetation survey of the lake formed the basis of the IAVMP and helped determine the existing conditions and extent of the invasion. We coordinated closely with state agencies and other experts to ensure the recommended management approach was unlikely to result in impacts to sensitive native vegetation assemblages that contribute to the habitat value of Cranberry Lake. Once the invasive plant management approach was drafted, Washington State Parks and The Watershed Company held a public meeting to solicit community feedback and comments on the management proposal.

Watershed’s IAVMP for Cranberry Lake included GIS-based maps of inventoried aquatic species, the prevalence of
invasive hybrid watermilfoil, and management recommendations.

Native Aquatic Vegetation

We found 22 native aquatic plant species during our inventory of Cranberry Lake, despite the growing infestation of invasive hybrid watermilfoil. Native aquatic plants are part of a dynamic and healthy ecosystem, especially by providing food and habitat. A diversity of native plants supports a diverse array of invertebrates, which in turn feed fish, birds, frogs, and other animals.

Native aquatic plants in Cranberry Lake include yellow pond lily – whose leaves float on the surface –coontail, buck-bean, duckweed, pondweed, and bladderwort!

Concerned about aquatic invasive plants in a lake or other waterbody near you? Interested in an aquatic plant survey, vegetation management plan, or obtaining grant funding for these efforts? Give us a call at (425) 822.5242. We would be happy to talk to you about your next project.