Walkabout: The wetlands at UW's Bothell campus

By Cathy McDonald
Special to The Seattle Times

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Location: Bothell.

Length: Boardwalk connects to several miles of regional trails (Sammamish River Trail).

Level of difficulty: Flat-to-gentle boardwalk and paved trails.

Setting: Literally half the new campus at the University of Washington, Bothell/Cascadia Community College (58 acres) is included in impressive efforts since 1998 to gradually restore the wetlands surrounding North Creek. The campus site was part of the historical floodplain of North Creek, which was once covered by marshes and forested wetlands. In 1910, large portions of the creek's channel were straightened and flanked by levees to create a log flume to transport logs down from the North Creek watershed to the Sammamish River, and on to sawmills on Lake Washington.

Since the 1930s, extensive drainage systems were also constructed in an attempt to drain the land for grazing and farming. Restoration efforts have created new channels, marked by lush thickets of willows and alders, to allow the creek to reconnect with its floodplain. Aerial photos at a boardwalk sign show the dramatic change in the land before and after the start of restoration.

Highlights: As one of the largest floodplain restorations in the Northwest, classes use the wetlands as an outdoor lab to teach a variety of topics. New interpretive signs were installed along the boardwalk just last week as part of a class project that combined art and biology. Aggressive efforts to pull noxious weeds and add native plants are evident, and many species of birds, including two eagles, frequent the wetlands.

Facilities: Restrooms inside the library and other campus buildings.

Restrictions: Pets on leash and scoop. Please stay on the boardwalk and trails.

Directions: From Interstate 405 heading north, take Exit 24 and turn left on Beardslee Boulevard. Turn left into the campus on 110th Avenue Northeast, turn left on Campus Way Northeast, and park in the north parking lot on your left (campus parking costs $1). Head several buildings south to access the boardwalk heading east into the wetlands. From southbound I-405, take Exit 24, turn right on Beardslee Boulevard, and proceed as above. For a map, see www.uwb.edu/community/transportation/map.html.

For more information: www.uwb.edu/fpdc/wetlands or 425-352-3557

Cathy McDonald is coauthor with Stephen Whitney of "Nature Walks In and Around Seattle" (The Mountaineers, 1997).

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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