Experience Our River’s Salmon Homecoming, September – November

Our river’s 5 species of salmon are fearlessly returning from their amazing life journey which started as eggs in gravel nests (only less than 1% will return to spawn) in the southern part of the watershed’s river, creeks and channels.  As the young salmon grew, they started their great journey traveling down the river towards the ocean, where their bodies changed from living in fresh water to adapting to the salt water of the ocean.  This change starts in the river where tidal flows start to occur in Tukwila and is know as the important transition zone, making the young salmon ready for their life in the ocean.  As the young salmon reach Elliot Bay, they move along the shoreline feeding and resting with the Pacific Ocean as their destination.  They have lived in the ocean from 2 – 7 years before they start their long journey home to their birth place, sometimes traveling thousands of miles to the creek of their birth.  These amazing salmon have survived predators, shrinking habitat and climate change to give life to their next generations.

Not only is their life journey amazing but the salmon web of life which has developed over thousands of years with over 130 wildlife species dependent on salmon, trees which have salmon DNA from salmon carcasses fertilizing the soil, and their cultural and economic regional importance.  You can see these astonishing salmon returning at these locations along the river :

t̓uʔəlaltxʷ Village Park,  4260 W Marginal Way SW, Seattle 98106

Herrings House and həʔapus Village Parks,  4750 W Marginal Way SW, Seattle, 98106

Duwamish River People’s Park and Shoreline Habitat, 8700 Dallas Ave S, Seattle,  98108

Cecil Moses Park and North Wind’s Weir,  2914 South 112th St. Tukwila,  98168

Codiga Park, 50th Place South, Tukwila, 98178

Fort Dent Park, 6800 Fort Dent Way, Tukwila,  98188

Duwamish Alive! Saving Our Salmon, Saves Our Orca

Saturday, October 15th  10;00 – 2:00

Join us for a day of restoring the health of our watershed and salmon habitat at sites from Seattle to Auburn.  The Green-Duwamish Watershed will be alive with hundreds of volunteers working throughout it to improve the health of its habitat and water for salmon, wildlife and communities on October 15th. This collaborative effort brings together many organizations and municipalities to highlight the complexity of our watershed and its importance to our region in restoring its health and the salmon that depends upon it. We will be working in the upland forests, along and in the river, its tributaries, and wetlands from Seattle to Auburn.

Because our watershed is important to the survival of our Southern Resident Orcas, we are also partnering with Conservation Districts’ Orca Recovery Day event throughout the region. We will be hosting not only volunteering opportunities, but at many of our sites we will have community engagement/educational activities for the broader community to enjoy.  This is a family friendly event, with all ages welcome.  Tools and instruction is provided.  For further information contact info@duwamishalive.org

Partner Event Sites Include:

Pigeon  Point Park, Seattle  with Delridge Neighborhood Development Association,

Gateway Park North, Seattle with Georgetown Open Spaces   Registration: email  Georgetownopenspace@gmail.com

Heron’s Nest,  Seattle with Shared Spaces Foundation

Cecil Moses Park, Tukwila with King County Parks

North  Wind’s Weir, Tukwila with King County Dept Natural Lands & Water  for volunteer schedule email info@duwamishalive.org

Riverview Park, Kent  with Green River Coalition and Kent Parks.  Restoration & Community Fair

Fenster Park, Auburn   with Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group and Auburn Parks     

Duwamish Hill Preserve, Tukwila with Tukwila Parks,

Duwamish River Kayak Cleanup with Puget Soundkeeper Alliance 

 həʔapus Village Park & Shoreline Habitat, Seattle  with the Dirt Corps & Port of Seattle

Roxhill Park, Seattle with Green Seattle Partnership

Herrings House Park, Seattle with Green Seattle Partnership

Longfellow Creek Diary Project

Our iconic Longfellow Creek runs the length of West Seattle, From its headwaters at Roxhill Park to Elliot Bay, the creek is an important part of this city’s story and that of our community.  We want your personal stories of the creek in this community Diary of Longfellow – past experiences, current activities or special memories, all help to tell the tapestry of Longfellow’s story throughout time.  If you have historic photos of the creek that you would like to share as a part of this project, please email:   museum@longhousemuseum.org

This is a collaborative project with Log House Museum, Duwamish Alive Coalition, Delridge Neighborhood Development Assn, and Tom Reese.

                             SHARE YOUR LONGFELLOW CREEK STORIES

Rescuing Roxhill Bog …. Why it matters, What has been accomplished so far.

As one of the last remaining ancient peat bogs (over 10,000 years old) in Seattle, Roxhill Bog has a unique ecosystem and is the headwaters of Longfellow Creek, which runs 3.5 miles through West Seattle before it reaches Elliot Bay.  Roxhill Bog plays an important part of the creek’s watershed, as the drainage basin for sixty surrounding acres, collecting sediments and pollutants from rain and storm water run off. Plants absorb some pollutants while the spongy peat soil helps filter sediments, essential for providing healthy water quality. Longfellow Creek is one of Seattle’s few salmon spawning creeks.

Climate change and urbanization has impacted the health of Roxhill Bog, reducing the amounts of water flowing into the wetland to maintain its healthy ecosystem.  Water that would normally flow into the bog has been diverted into storm drainage systems while climate change has increased summer temperatures and reduced rainfall causing the peat to dry and degrade.  Visit our Roxhill Bog page for additional information and to get updates on the restoration project.

Download your    2022 Green Duwamish Journey Guide Book 

 Free   Nature Vision Student Packets (K – 12)