State’s restoration project will help clear Sammamish parks of invasive plants

By Reporter staff

April 5, 2016 10:37 am
Megan Campbell/staff photoVolunteers work to remove invasive plants from Sammamish’s Ebright Creek Park in February 2015.
Megan Campbell/staff photoVolunteers work to remove invasive plants from Sammamish’s Ebright Creek Park in February 2015.

By Reporter staff

A state restoration team is in Sammamish this month to clean up local parks.

Puget SoundCorps, through the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ Urban Forestry Restoration Project, work with local governments to “assist with urban forestry tasks that enhance the health and function of urban trees and forests” in the Puget Sound basin, according to the state’s website.

Starting April 4, Puget SoundCorps will work with city staff to remove English ivy, Himalayan blackberry and other invasive plants from Sammamish parks.

“These invasive non-native plants prevent forested areas from providing our community with the full benefits and services of healthy forests by competing for water and nutrients, and in some cases even killing trees,” according to a city of Sammamish press release. “Many undesirable plants that grow in dense thickets also harbor rats and other vermin, creating a public safety hazard as well. Once the unwelcome plants are gone, native vegetation will be planted in its place.”

For more information about the Urban Forestry Restoration Project, contact Micki McNaughton at 360-902-1637 or micki.mcnaughton@dnr.wa.gov, or visit www.dnr.wa.gov/ufrp.

To volunteer with other Sammamish projects that help keep the parks healthy, visit www.sammamish.us/volunteer.