David Carlos on Sunday began taking weekly photographs via drone to capture the progress of the fish and wildlife restoration project at Ballinger Park.
The $5.5 million project aims to transform Ballinger Park into a natural area with wetlands, riparian corridors, natural vegetation, habitat for birds, fish, turtles and amphibians – and hopefully someday to support salmon runs.
A partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Mountlake Terrace, the project includes planting of more than 2,000 native trees and shrubs, redirecting Hall Creek to a new, more-stable channel, and constructing boardwalks, trails and footpaths.
You can read more about the project here.
Thanks to MLTnews reader Dale Jeremiah for suggesting these regular photo updates to track construction progress.
There is a lot of curiosity as to what is happening at the north end of the playfield where the tennis courts were.
Here’s the latest from the city: In the north end of the park, the area where the old tennis court was is being converted into a floodplain reconnection area for Hall Creek. It will be replanted with native plants suitable to that area. Some large tree trunks have been added to the channel in order to create channel diversity for fish and other stream biota, and the creek bank will be cut down so that the area can flood in the winter. The invasive plants (blackberry, etc.) are being removed on both sides of the creek, and the creek bank on the park side will be replanted with native species.