On Monday, April 20, King County Executive Dow Constantine presented the Lower Mapes Creek project with a Green Globe Award for being a leader in habitat restoration. The project was a joint effort between Seattle Parks and Recreation and Seattle Public Utilities.
The Lower Mapes Creek restoration project, completed in early 2015, re-established 440 feet of natural stream channel through Beer Sheva Park and reconnected the creek to Lake Washington to provide critical rearing habitat for juvenile chinook salmon in southeast Seattle. The project also enhanced a park in an underserved area of Seattle and was done in tandem with a Seattle Public Utilities project to reduce combined sewer overflows to Lake Washington.
The Mapes Creek restoration project was partially funded by Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8-directed grants through the King Conservation District, Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration program. Seattle is a key partner with King County and others in WRIA 8 salmon recovery efforts.
Fourteen Green Globe Awards were given on April 20. The Green Globe Awards are King County’s highest honor for local environmental efforts. More information is available here.