David Carlos on June 25 began taking weekly photographs via drone to capture the progress of the fish and wildlife restoration project at Ballinger Park.
And here’s the latest video:
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.
Our thanks to City of Mountlake Terrace Stormwater Program Manager Laura Reed for captioning the photos.
I have heard through the grapevine that reopening of the park for public use is June 15th. Is there any way to confirm if that is going to be the case?
Response from the city staff member overseeing the project:
Unfortunately, that’s a rumor only. There is still a significant amount of work to do to finish the project, so I would anticipate that the park will open this summer, but no more detail on the schedule is currently available.
Thanks for confirming, Teresa. That is a bummer. I felt like it was supposed to be this spring initially. That has come and gone. June 15th is somewhat into summer at least in my mind, and that doesn’t sound attainable either now. I keep harping on this because I walk this route around most of the park twice a day, each day, with my dog, and I rarely if ever see anyone working. It is just all a bit of a head scratcher. Clearly they are working at some point, it just seems so painfully slow is all I am saying. We are all looking forward to having access again to this amazing park. I know these projects are difficult and I am wondering how much of this slow pace has to do with the fact it is managed in partnership with a federal program.