Resolution 1509.1RESOLUTION NO. 1509.1
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, TO RECOGNIZE COMMUNITY
VOLUNTEERS THAT RESTORED THE EDMONDS MARSH-
ESTUARY AND SHELLABARGER CREEK.
WHEREAS, restoration of the Edmonds Marsh-Estuary, a unique urban tidal wetland
owned by the City of Edmonds, has been a City priority for many years; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, WRIA 8 (Watershed Resource Inventory Area 8) recognized the
importance of the restoration of this nearshore estuary and identified it as one of their
priority projects for the recovery of Puget Sound Chinook salmon that are listed under the
Endangered Species Act; and
WHEREAS, an overgrowth of an invasive plant, bittersweet nightshade, had gone
'unchecked' for many years, thus allowing the invasive nightshade to overwhelm native
wetland plants, encroach into creeks, and kill trees along the edges of the wetland; and
WHEREAS, field data collected over five years by the Edmonds Stream Team and
students from Edmonds-Woodway and Meadowdale High Schools demonstrated the
nightshade was advancing along the fence line and forming impenetrable thickets on the
chain-link fencing thus deteriorating water quality; blocking and altering critical water
flow from Shellabarger Creek on both sides of Highway 104; and causing flooding at
Dayton Street during rainstorms; and
WHEREAS, the Edmonds Stream Team contacted the Washington Secretary of
Transportation in 2021 about the urgency of this serious and expanding problem, and
requested the State allow community members permission to manually remove the
chain-link fencing and embedded invasive nightshade in the State's right-of-way along
Highway 104; and
WHEREAS, the Washington Department of Transportation agreed on July 7, 2021 to
grant this requested permission under their "Adopt a Highway" landscape program,
resulting in a dedicated crew of community volunteers who focused their efforts on the
east side of Highway 104, and were recognized by City Council Resolution 1483 in
November 2021; and
WHEREAS, over 50 private citizens responded to the June 2022 announcements in
My Edmonds News calling for a second season of community volunteers to continue
the habitat restoration efforts. During 18 work-party days this summer, this 2022 team
of volunteers toiled in especially deep, wet mud to manually remove thickets of
nightshade and the remainder of chain-link fencing in the wetland; and
WHEREAS, this continued work successfully "day-lighted" (or reopened) the
Shellabarger Creek channel on the west side of Highway 104, significantly re-
establishing waterflow into the Edmonds Marsh-Estuary ; and
WHEREAS, these community volunteers proved that private citizens can work
cooperatively and effectively to successfully restore the ecological functions of natural
areas to benefit wildlife,'ecosystem services' (e.g., carbon sequestration, pollutant
reduction), and citizens throughout the region that appreciate the preservation of
functional, natural areas in the Puget Sound basin; and by extension saving the City
thousands of dollars in labor, consultants and design fees.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, HEREBY RESOLVES:
The City Council of Edmonds hereby recognizes the significance of the community
volunteer effort to restore and preserve the Edmonds Marsh-Estuary and Shellabarger
Creek and would like to formally thank the following volunteers for their time and effort
this year in achieving this important outcome for the City: Aiden Curran, Alessandra
Serafini, Amelie Mederios, Andy Chin, Anna Berge, Annabelle Yenter, Barbara Ford,
Benten Taing, Bernie Zavala, Bob Mooney, Bob Seidensticker, Chris Walton,
Christopher Konkel, Dave Millette, Diane Buckshnis, Elizabeth Fleming, Evan Grey,
Greg Ferguson, Isis Liaw, Jane O'Dell, Joe Scordino (Project Leader), John Brock,
Joshua Ly, Kai Rosman, Karen Andres, Kathy Jones, Kenneth Schultz, Lars Andres,
Laszlo Rosman, Lorraine Monroe, Lucia Brady, Makana Apio, Maria Metler, Marjie
Fields, Matthew Jack, Nancy Scordino, Nathan Zeon, Noah Croskey, Piper Hanson,
Russel Jack, Scot Simpson, Selena Bolotin, Tauri Senn, Teresa Schultz, Valerie
Rosman, Vance Ekrem, Vivian Olson, Waylisha Grey, and Yvette Osai
RESOLVED this 1st day of November, 2022 .
CITY OF EDMONDS J +~
MAYOR, MIKE NELSON
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: October 28, 2022
November 1, 2022
1509.1
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
RESOLUTION NO.
2