The Montlake Park and Habitat Restoration Area, located along South Portage Bay just west of the Montlake Community Center, is a critically important habitat as the last and only substantial natural area on the Ship Canal between the Ballard Locks and the Montlake Cut.
The Park dates back to 2004, when Seattle Parks cleared several acres west of the parking lot. Seizing on the opportunity to make this portion accessible to the neighborhood, volunteers spent many weeks clearing blackberries, broken concrete and invasive weeds. In 2010, several volunteers from Montlake and Portage Bay applied for and received a $100,000 Dept. of Neighborhoods grant to hire a landscape architect to create a park environment on the cleared land for habitat restoration, a sizable increase in accessible Montlake Park land.
A kayak launch and picnic area were donated during park construction and provide access to the protected waters of South Portage Bay. Sculptural rocks commemorate the original occupants of Portage Bay and Duwamish Chief Cheshiahud. A weekly birder’s group has identified over 80 species of resident and migratory birds, regularly seeing over 20 species each week. Recently, park volunteers participated in a year-long project with Beavers Northwest to monitor beaver activity in the park, to observe both the benefits they provide to habitat expansion as well as the need to protect vulnerable trees from beaver damage. The SR 520 contractor has committed to saving the large beaver lodge.
Current volunteers are seeking a new generation to help maintain and encourage use of the habitat restoration portion of Montlake Park. This includes an opportunity to participate in the Green Seattle Partnership’s (GSP) Forest Steward Program, to assure this portion of our neighborhood park remains a welcoming respite, especially throughout the SR 520 viaduct replacement project. The Steward works with friends, neighbors and local groups on various maintenance activities, including selecting and planting new native trees, to give back to the community by protecting a valuable asset for native plant and animal habitat. We hope a new Forest Steward will find it rewarding to protect and promote the habitat portion of Montlake Park.
To learn more about the habitat restoration area of Montlake Park and the position of Forest Steward please contact Anne Preston at annevpreston@gmail.com or Annie Stixrood at astixrood@comcast.net. For more about the Forest Steward program, training and application process at GSP, contact director Eric Sterner at eric.sterner2@seattle.gov
