I am thrilled to share the final 2024 Our Green Duwamish Annual Report. This report is an inspiring compilation of work from Partners to improve stormwater quality and control stormwater quality across the Green/Duwamish watershed.
A sincere thank you to each of you and your agencies/organizations for your commitment to restoring the health of the Green/Duwamish watershed. Working alone we will not achieve our vision, but if we continue to work together, anything is possible.
Hello! My name is Marta Olson and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to step into this role as the Program Manager for Our Green Duwamish.
My first job with King County was as a summer seasonal with Noxious Weeds controlling knotweed, primarily in the Green/Duwamish watershed. I floated the Green River by kayak starting at Flaming Geyser State Park and working downstream, killing invasive knotweed along the way. I was struck by the difference in perspective compared to experiencing those same areas on land or by roads. It was such a cool experience to move through the wide variety of land uses: forest, parks, agriculture, industrial, urban that were all connected by this one river. I also explored the lower Green/Duwamish by power boat hunting for purple loosestrife, so I feel a keen appreciation for this environment.
I am a Professional Landscape Architect in the State of Washington and for my master’s thesis at UW I explored the history of the Duwamish River, worked with the South Park community, and developed a design for activating a park space adjacent to the South Park Bridge. I also had the opportunity to support community co-design projects in slum communities in Lima, Peru and Phnom Penh, Cambodia – collaborating directly with community members on meaningful green space projects in their neighborhoods. These experiences convinced me of the power of partnering with communities to promote human and environmental health.
After grad school I worked in private multi-disciplinary design firms on active transportation projects. But I realized that serving the public directly and having the opportunity to connect communities to nature and green spaces in their neighborhoods was a lot more rewarding than drafting design drawings. I returned to King County as an Education Specialist with Noxious Weeds where I had the opportunity to interact face to face (until the pandemic) with residents across the whole county.
For the past 4 years I have been working with the King County Stormwater Capital Unit on the planning, design, and construction of stormwater retrofits as a Capital Project Manager. My primary focus has been as the Project Manager for the White Center Ponds retrofit project, which is a multi-benefit project that will result in a stormwater park connecting the overburdened White Center community to nature, habitat restoration, recreation, and water quality improvements.
I look forward to learning from and building relationships with existing OGD partners so that we can collaborate on projects to improve stormwater management throughout the Green/Duwamish Watershed. I’ll be reaching out to partners soon to learn more about successes, opportunities, and challenges you’re facing, but please feel free to reach out to me any time: molson@kingcounty.gov.
Happy almost Earth Day! The work our OGD Partners do across the Green/Duwamish watershed supports Mother Earth 365 days a year. If you’re looking for some volunteer opportunities within the Green/Duwamish watershed this Earth Day season, check out this event:
Saturday, April 19 from 10:00 am to 2:00pm—Duwamish Alive! is an annual in-person and on-water kayak community event. Duwamish Alive! is a multi-organization event celebrating and stewarding the Duwamish River. Join Puget Soundkeeper & River Access Paddle Program (RAPP) on April 19th for a guided tour and kayak cleanup on the Duwamish River. This event will be starting at the Herring House Park/He’apus Village Park.
There is still availability in the second cleanup shift, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. There will also be a separate walking clean up at Salmon Cove Park (3rd Turning Basin), from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. Limited spots are available. Participants must be at least 12 years old and minors must be accompanied by an adult. For more information and to register, visit the Salmon and Legacy Debris website.
At our February meeting, Partners approved the new work plan for 2025 and 2026!
You can read it here. It’s both ambitious and exciting.
We have included tasks related to four discrete areas of interest:
If we successfully implement our 2025-2026 work plan, we will be closer to a future where our watershed is thriving. A future where:
By working together, we can create a more resilient and sustainable watershed for generations to come.
Happy New Year!
I am really looking forward to 2025. We have set some ambitious targets and are optimistic about achieving them.
This year we will be rolling out our updated mapping tool to support regional retrofit decision making. This tool will support stormwater permit compliance, amplify watershed-wide collaboration, and establish more confidence in decisions to locate stormwater retrofits. Ultimately, we are aiming to develop a list of projects in priority catchments that can be packaged into discrete portfolios to compete for large infrastructure funding dollars.
I am also looking forward to the possibility of grant funding to support the development of a performance-based cooperative contract request for proposal (RFP). This RFP is intended to supplement stormwater infrastructure improvements, cut through green tape, and expedite stormwater retrofit projects in areas of the most need across the watershed. This type of contract would be outcome-based and yield quantitative results while being responsive to the interests of our partners. We are expecting to hear about that funding in March.
Lastly, I am most excited about how we plan to weave this work together with salmon recovery efforts, toxics reduction strategies, fish passage barrier removal efforts, and the preservation of open space. All of these community and environmental priorities are important and it’s imperative to do the work collaboratively, rather than siloed.
Since 2014 our vision as an OGD coalition has described a desire to sustainably manage stormwater and support and enhance the environment, human health, and the economy in the Green/Duwamish watershed. This is the year when we start seeing what’s truly possible, and I hope you’re as excited as I am.
Todd
The end of this year marks the conclusion of our two year workplan and the opportunity to create a new two year workplan – with your input.
We started by considering the feedback from partners that was captured in the 2023 annual report. That report marked the midway point of the biennial workplan. This scoring criteria was based on the perception of whether we were expected to make progress or complete the task by the end of the 2023-2024 biennium. Partners scored the Coalition as most on track to finish tasks related to Funding Support, Enhanced Engagement with Decision Makers, and for most tasks under the Regional Decision Guidance Support. They scored the Coalition least likely to make progress on tasks related to Expansion of Partnerships. Overall, most tasks received an average score greater than 3 (out of 5), indicating a general perception amongst Partners that the Coalition is making progress on most tasks in the Workplan (Figure 1).
After considering the 2023-2024 workplan, the 2023 annual report, and our current trajectory of regional retrofit planning, a draft 2025-2026 work plan was developed (Figure 2).
This draft was shared with Partners at our 11/19/2024 Partner meeting and attached to a meeting summary for comment by the end of the year. The new workplan puts a heavy emphasis on regional retrofit program development – including the finalizing of decision support tools, researching financing opportunities, connecting with other entities working towards common goals, and improving our process as a Coalition.
Open this link to review the draft work plan and submit comments to Todd by 12/31/24/. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
Happy Holidays,
Todd
The Our Green/Duwamish Coalition has produced another annual report about our work in the Watershed!
How the OGD Coalition governs is critical to achieving success, and one thing that sets this effort apart from others is our reflective practice. Partners provide feedback on how well the coalition is functioning which results in continuous improvement.
This document represents an incredible amount of work accomplished by a Coalition of Organizations committed to restoring the health of the Green/Duwamish Watershed. Working alone we will not achieve our vision, but if we continue to work together, anything is possible.
Remember to subscribe for updates on these efforts!
Join Our Green/Duwamish Partner organization, Puget Soundkeeper and Unleash the Brilliance for a youth-led, driving tour of the Springbrook Creek Watershed in Renton, WA.
Saturday, September 7th at 10 am.
The tour will visit three locations (and 6 sites) to learn about the challenges facing this lost urban creek.
For more details and to register, click here.
Sincerely,
Todd
Puget Soundkeeper (PSK) is tackling the removal of legacy debris in the upper section of the Duwamish River. For all of us who care for the river, this has been a goal for some time. PSK has received special funding to tackle this long-standing issue, but they need our help in removing this historic debris, which includes old tires that are impacting the health of salmon, the river, and Puget Sound. Volunteers are needed to help on land and water in these areas:
No experience is needed for kayaking; boats, safety gear, supplies and instruction is provided. Anyone under the age of 18 can participate in the land only activities. This is being conducted between two wonderful little known park gems in Tukwila, Codiga and Duwamish Gardens and just up river from two important salmon habitats – Chinook Wind and North Wind’s Weir.
Please join for either or both days
Saturday, August 17, 2024, 8am-12pm
Where: Codiga Park, 50th Pl S, Tukwila, WA 98178
Link: Registration & Information
Sunday, August 18, 2024, 9am-1pm
Where: Codiga Park, 50th Pl S, Tukwila, WA 98178
At our most recent gathering, the OGD Partners, Mid Sound Fisheries, and Puget Soundkeeper shared a wonderful story of local success – hopefully one of many more to come, and we wanted to share it more broadly with folks here.
In 2023, Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group joined the Lost Urban Creeks Project as a new partner in habitat restoration with Puget Soundkeeper and the youth mentoring group Unleash the Brilliance.
Together, they organized the first restoration of 2024 along Springbrook Creek in Renton, working to in-fill a section of the creek bank with over 100 shrubs and greatly improve the understory diversity of this riparian area.
Despite the rainy weather, over 25 youth and adults participated in this restoration event. They will be returning to work in this same area on March 9th and May 11th. You can learn more and sign up to help during the restorations on the Puget Soundkeeper’s Events page: https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/events/
Sincerely,
Todd
ourgreenduwamish.com 