Saturday, January 30, 2010

Our Local Public Wildlife Habitats

In late 2009, both the City of Sammamish Parks & Recreation Department and the Sammamish Plateau Water & Sewer District completed the certification of numerous sites as Certified Wildlife Habitats with the National Wildlife Federation, leading the way for other property owners (such as businesses, golf courses and places of workship) to follow their example.

Eight of our nine City Parks are now Certified Wildlife Habitats, adding a total of 393 acres, including:

- Pine Lake Park
- Beaver Lake Park
- Beaver Lake Preserve
- Bill Reams East Sammamish Park
- Ebright Creek Park
- Sammamish Commons
- Illahee trail
- Evans Creek Preserve


The Sammamish Plateau Water & Sewer District's headquarters office site and four of their well sites are also now Certified Wildlife Habitats, adding close to 20 acres. Wildlife observed at the District office include black-tailed deer, coyotes, a variety of birds (including mallards, California quail, red-breasted sapsuckers, pileated woodpeckers, rufuous-sided towhees, juncos and chickadees), as well as reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and other insects.

Photo credit: Janet Sailer