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Summer eNews 2015
IN THIS ISSUE:
Calendar Items
Board of Directors
Tree Ordinance Update
McKinnon Creek Ravine
Comp Plan Rewrite
Lyon Creek Project
LFPSF and WCC
Salmon in the Schools
Board Activities
Bark Beetles are Here
IvyOUT Tips
Environmental Education
Environmental Education
Thank you
For More Info
Upcoming Events: 

Saturday, June 20th
Secret Garden Tour & Plant Sale, at the Town Center
Hope to see you there!

 
Monday, June 29th
Tree Board Panel Discussion, 7-9 pm, at City Hall.   
 
Sunday, September 6th
We'll be the Day Sponsor at the
LFP Farmer's Market, Come visit us!




 
Stewardship Foundation 
Board of Directors
Jean Reid, President
Julian Andersen,
      Co-Vice President
Mamie Bolender,
      Co-Vice President
Kim Josund,        Secretary / Treasurer

Jim Halliday
Doug Hennick
David Kleweno
Max Kleweno
Jeff Jensen
Ed Kowalski
Dale Sanderson
We are a proud partner for the annual 
Secret Garden Tour








Heartfelt
THANK YOU
to the VOLUNTEERS
who have helped
with IvyOut!
and other projects
so far this year.

 
Special thanks 
to 
Lake Forest Park 
Presbyterian 
Church
for partnering with us
 on their
Day of Service 
tree planting project 
at 
Animal Acres Park.



















NATURAL 
YARD CARE
 is for the FISHES!
 
Remember, any chemicals you use in your yard may end up in our streams and lakes, so take care with your yard care!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

















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New Ordinance Needs to Reflect the True Value of Trees 

& Promote Good Stewardship

"Forest" is our middle name. It's perhaps an overused phrase, but it gets to the heart of what makes our community special.  Lake Forest Park is known for its urban forest and our citizens have consistently ranked the natural beauty and environment as top priorities. Satellite images show clearly the boundary between LFP's green oasis and surrounding less-treed areas, but our canopy coverage is shrinking. We need to act now before we lose the unique forested character of our town.  

  
The City Tree Board is a subgroup of the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC). After removal of several dozen very large trees in one neighborhood sparked outrage by citizens, the Tree Board stepped up its planned revision of the City Tree Ordinance. Two lively community meetings and public comments to the City and Council have produced many ideas which the Tree Board is now consolidating into recommendations. 

 

The Stewardship Foundation is urging a new way of looking at our tree canopy. We need to find ways to educate and support people who have trees to care for and keep those trees, and to encourage people who don't have trees to plant more. We need to guide people to choose the "right tree for the right place" to promote survival and reduce conflicts caused by trees growing into utility lines or too near to structures. 

 

Part of this basic shift in awareness is to adopt tree removal and replacement rules that reflect the true value of trees. 

 

We'd rather see
       more of this:
And less of 
 this:

Wouldn't You?

For too long, the emphasis has been on "dollar value" of trees, but how do you put a price on health and well-being, and quality of life? To the community as a whole, the value is substantial. 
 

Urban forests are dynamic ecosystems that provide critical benefits to people and wildlife. They help to filter air and water, control stormwater, conserve energy, and provide animal habitat and shade. Trees add form, structure, and beauty to our surroundings, providing privacy, framing views and reducing noise.  


Direct economic benefits are usually associated with energy costs. Air-conditioning costs are lower in a tree-shaded home and heating costs are reduced when a home has a windbreak during colder weather. Additionally, studies have shown a direct correlation between treed neighborhoods and higher home values. 
Trees provide numerous environmental, aesthetic, and economic benefits, but also require investment. Maintaining our tree canopy will pay lasting dividends. The costs associated with large tree removal and replacement can be significant, and the economic and environmental benefits produced by a young replace­ment tree are minimal when compared to those of a mature specimen. Extending the functional lifespan of large, mature trees with routine maintenance can delay these expenses and maximize value. 


An optimal scenario is where, at a community level, residents understand and cooperate in urban forest management. That means a collective appreciation for our urban forest, shared goals, and looking beyond the boundaries of one's own yard when making decisions about tree selection, placement, maintenance, and removal. To increase public awareness, we would like to see better notification prior to permitted removals, improved follow up on mitigation (replacement trees), and incentives for good stewardship. 

 

Please join the conversation and help improve our Tree Ordinance. The public is invited to attend a Panel Discussion on June 29th, 7-9 pm, at City Hall.  

http://www.cityoflfp.com/calendar.aspx?eid=1019

 

Here are some useful resources for you to manage your trees:

 

"Right Tree, Right Place" Choosing Trees for Your Yard and Trees for Wildlife, available here.

 

i-Tree Design allows anyone to make a simple estimation of the benefits provided by individual trees. With inputs of location, species, tree size, and condition, users will develop an understanding of tree benefits related to greenhouse gas mitigation, air quality improvements, and stormwater interception. With the additional step of drawing a building footprint - and virtually "planting" or placing a tree - tree effects on building energy use can be evaluated. Try it out here.    

 

The TreesAreGood website offers many informational brochures on Mature Tree Care, Insect & Disease Problems, and links to more resources for tree owners. Find it all at: http://www.treesaregood.com/home.aspx

Of Water and Trails:

McKinnon Creek Ravine 
 
 Clean water is essential.
Access to natural areas contributes to quality of life.


You may have heard that the City and the Lake Forest Park Water District (LFPWD) are embroiled in controversy over the continuation of McKinnon Creek Trail (which begins at NE 184th off Ballinger Way, and currently ends at the edge of LFPWD property). 

 

Perhaps you are one of the many citizens who have attended City Council and other public meetings on this topic in the last few months. We are encouraged to see this level of citizen involvement, especially around environmental issues.


The City has said they simply want to  create community connections by building this trail; and of course completion of the current one-way, dead-end trail to somewhere seems reasonable. The Water District does not want increased public access if it might endanger the drinking water source.   

  
Understanding is complicated by continuing litigation between the City and the LFPWD over ownership of a right-of-way. Also, LFPWD's franchise agreement with the City expires in 2018, and the City has admitted to exploring the idea of assumption of the Water District. LFPWD is one of several utilities providing water to residents. Residents and businesses receiving LFPWD water (including the Town Center) highly value the naturally filtered fresh spring water. 

  

The Stewardship Foundation has expressed from the beginning that we are concerned foremost with water quality, whether in the creek, wetlands, or water supply shallow wells.  We have for many years promoted a few different "up and around" trail routes which would avoid the sanitary zones around the Water District's wellheads. In December, we issued the following Resolution:

  

"The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation supports the completion of McKinnon Creek trail to provide more pedestrian connections within our city. Protecting and improving water quality is a core goal of the Stewardship Foundation; therefore, we favor locating the upper portion of the trail to avoid impacts on McKinnon Creek and provide maximum protection to the wells of the Lake Forest Park Water District".
 

We are hopeful that the City and the LFPWD can work together cooperatively to site the trail in a way which protects surface water and wells in McKinnon Creek. The Stewardship Foundation has pledged to help to make this happen. Concerned citizens should seek more information and stay involved, by visiting the City page here and LFPWD website here . There is also a citizen website at LFPWatershed.org 

 

Water quality is in our hands.

As for now, please remember when enjoying the lower McKinnon Creek trail to stay on the path and out of sensitive areas, leave no litter, and pick up after your dog.  
 What Will Our City Look Like
in 20 years?
 
 

The Lake Forest Park Comprehensive Plan provides the 20 year framework for the economic, physical, and environmental management of our town. This important document strongly influences future direction, and a revised document is currently nearing completion. The draft Vision statement for the 2035 plan is:

 

DRAFT Vision Statement: Lake Forest Park 2035 

In 2035, our balanced approach to environmental preservation, economic vitality and attractive residential character has allowed Lake Forest Park to flourish.
 We have preserved and enhanced our natural environment and unique residential neighborhoods as defining features of our city. A vibrant Town Center is the cultural heart of our community and, together with other neighborhood centers, fosters a resilient economy and provides a diversity of shopping and entertainment opportunities that appeals to all ages. Our neighborhoods are safe and connected to each other and to community gathering places by well-designed paths, sidewalks and bike lanes. Our legacy of collaboration with neighboring jurisdictions has inspired solutions to our regional needs and issues.

 

Citizen input is welcome, including at Planning Commission meetings and on-line. 

It's not too late to review the current draft and share your opinions and ideas at: 
  Good Things Come
 to Those Who Wait:
Lyon Creek Flood Control Project 
Many years in the planning, this important flood mitigation  project will get underway soon. The project includes stream restoration and culvert replacements in the lower reaches of Lyon Creek, at the Civic Club, the lower mall parking lot, and will include a full closure of Lake City Way/Bothell Way (SR522) in front of the Town Center. The closure is currently scheduled for mid- to late-July. Traffic will be re-routed for a few days during the full closure. 
 

Please be patient during this challenging time and remember how vital this will be to stream health and flood control in the future. 


More information is available at:
Neighborhood IvyOuts

The Hillside neighborhood has been holding monthly IvyOut events. One Saturday morning each month volunteers have been meeting to remove ivy from trees on private property. An initial notice delivered door-to-door to each household asked residents if they had ivy on their property that they would like help removing. Several neighbors responded and the first work party was attended by eleven neighbors plus the homeowner. They accomplished a lot on two properties that day and the effort has been continued on several steep backyards in the same block.

Always the first priority is removing ivy that has grown on trees. The severed vines are then stacked on racks built of fallen branches to dry out. It is not necessary to haul the cuttings away, as when they are dry and completely dead, they may be distributed over the forest floor to enrich the soil without worry of resprouting. 

THANK YOU to these neighbors helping neighbors,
we are gaining on the ivy infestation! 
We would be pleased to help other neighborhoods
 organize similar efforts. 
 

WA Conservation Corps Here 
Again This Summer

In partnership with the City, we're happy to welcome back a crew of Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) workers this summer!  With oversight and assistance from the Stewardship Foundation, these these amazing hard workers will remove invasives like Himalayan blackberries, English Ivy, English Holly and Laurel from public parks, roadsides and open spaces. Crews are trained in Japanese knotweed inoculation as well.
 Our WCC crew has already completed one week here and will be back working weekdays, June 15-18, June 22-25, and June 29-July 1st from 8am to 4pm each day. 
Volunteers are welcome to join in and learn from these trained habitat restoration crews.


Contact Mamie Bolender if you'd like to help, by phone at 206-364-4410 or email.
 
The Foundation will help with re-vegetation where necessary in areas we have cleared of invasives. Donations from the Secret Gardens of Lake Forest Park Tour make it possible for us to do this. 
 
We are always looking for more help.
 Does your workplace or group organize volunteer efforts?  We'd love to help you find projects! 
Do you want to plan a neighborhood IvyOut? Or just have a few hours to get outdoors and make a difference? 
Please email us at  info@lfpsf.org


...New Fish!

Salmon in the Schools

With a whispered wish, and a gentle tip of the cup, hundreds of Kindergarten through 6th grade students from four local elementary schools released a new generation of baby Coho salmon out into the world this spring. 

 

Lake Forest Park, Briarcrest, Brookside and Ridgecrest elementary schools all received salmon eggs for their school tanks in January. This program helps the children learn about environmental stewardship and water quality as they test and clean the tank, monitor water temperature, watch the eggs hatch and carefully feed the tiny salmon. 

 

The releases are a joyous occasion, with many students giving their fish names as they let them go into the streams of our watershed.  These tiny Coho face big odds, and a long journey ahead, but hopefully some will make it back here to McAleer, Lyon and Brookside creeks to spawn. Congratulations to Briarcrest for their first successful salmon rearing and release this spring!

 

As a capstone to the salmon experience, the Stewardship Foundation sponsors assemblies with First Peoples storyteller and artist Roger Fernandez. Through stories, music and art, Roger shares the Northwest Native American close relationship with the salmon and its historic natural value to our area.

 

 
Your Board in Action
LFPSF's all-volunteer Board is a fun
 and hard-working group!

Arbor Day School Visit
In April, City Arborist Mike Woodbury and LFPSF Board President Jean Reid visited the Shoreline Children's Center to teach the preschoolers about trees. The children will be caring for the delivered evergreen saplings and then helping to plant them along our streams in the fall. 













Native Plant Rescue 
Several Board members and volunteers drove down to Kent's Neely Soames Homestead Park in March. The native plant garden there was to be removed during construction of a new dike on the nearby Green River. Six volunteers spent a few hours digging out plants including salal, Oregon grape, some small trees and sword ferns. We brought two trucks and a trailer-load back to LFP to use for restoration projects in our parks and open spaces. Thanks to King County Master Gardeners for alerting us to the free available plants!
Board members and volunteers rescued native plants
for use in restoration projects. 

EarthSmart Green Fair
We were so pleased to meet many of you at the Earth Smart/Green Fair at the Town Center on March 14th.
As always, we are happy to share information, answer questions, hear your ideas, and make connections on local environmental issues. 
 
Board Retreat & Field Trips
Last fall, the Board spent a half day in a facilitated retreat at Lake Ballinger (headwaters of McAleer Creek).

One of the goals was to increase our communication with neighboring environmental groups, and to learn about environmental successes and challenges in nearby communities.

This spring, friends and members of the LFPSF Board visited the great blue heron rookery in Kenmore and the UW Bothell wetland restoration in Bothell.  The heron rookery (or "Heronrie") is conveniently located at the edge of an 80-acre wetland on Little Swamp Creek next to the Kenmore Park and Ride.  Blue Herons are normally pretty quiet save for the occasional squawk, but as we stepped out of the car we could immediately hear the constant chatter they engage in while nesting.                                                             
Great Blue Heron in its nest
The nests themselves are a sight to behold - big balls of sticks packed densely in the bare limbs of tall trees.  This is 
a great place to see and photograph herons, and the park-and-ride rookery has become an annual attraction. 
  
Our next stop, the UW Bothell wetlands, is a 60-acre wetland restoration on lower North Creek on the site of an old farm. 


 

The restoration has been underway since 1999, and what was once little

Board members tour UWBothell wetlands

 more than a ditch through a cattle field is now a     meandering stream with a nice canopy of vegetation and salmon spawning habitat.  We had a permit to visit the wetland off the public boardwalk and we took a quick tour of the two-year-old Sarah Simonds Green Conservatory and Greenhouse, a 2800 square foot teaching and research facility nestled in the wetland with construction funded by a generous donor.

  

 

 
Upcoming: Come visit us at our display table during the Plant Sale on Saturday, June 20th
at the Town Center

 
 
 
The Stewardship Foundation Board of Directors
 meet monthly.

Meetings are open.
Please call or email to confirm date, location & time of our next meeting, if you'd like to join us!
 
 
Bark Beetles: 
What You Need to Know

An outbreak of Douglas-fir bark beetle was discovered in LFP in August 2014.

In response to the beetle outbreak 19 trees were removed from private properties near 26th Ave NE, authorized by the City under 3 separate Arborist Review tree removal permits. The loss of this number of trees was alarming. 
 
The Douglas-fir beetle is a native insect that co-evolved with Douglas-fir trees and is part of the natural forest ecosystem here in the northwest. As a general rule, the beetles attack trees that are dying or in a state of decline due to a variety of stress factors, such as drought, mechanical injury, compaction of the soil in the root zone, root rots and the like. The first beetles to attack a host tree produce and emit powerful volatile chemicals called pheromones that attract other beetle to the host tree. Sometimes by sheer numbers alone the beetles are able to overwhelm and kill healthy trees, especially if the healthy tree is close by an unhealthy tree infested with beetles.
 
The Douglas-fir bark beetle has a 1 year life cycle, with one generation per year. Immature stages as well as adults overwinter under the bark and emerge in spring to attack new host trees. The "flight period" for the beetle encomp-
Beetle larvae tracks under the bark
asses both the initial emergence and the reemergence of the adults. There are two periods when trees come under attack. An initial attack flight occurs
from April to early June, and a secondary flight takes place in July-August. The initial flight period may begin earlier depending on regional temperatures. Tree crowns typically turn color the second summer after an initial attack and the brood has long since developed and emerged to attack other trees. The beetles tend to concentrate their populations naturally and normally kill small groups of trees, and usually the the population is controlled naturally. At low levels, the beetles infest scattered trees.
 
Generally these outbreaks are self-limiting, but it is important to monitor your trees. Keep an eye on your Douglas fir trees, and get an arborists' consult if you see evidence of disease or damage. 

There is an available deterrent to protect your trees. Contact the City Arborist to find out how to obtain naturally occurring beetle repellent, methylc3''clohexenone (MCH), which can be applied to standing live trees to prevent beetle attacks.

(Excerpted from a report by the City Arborist)
Tips for Successful IvyOut!

English Ivy is an introduced species, popular as a spreading ornamental ground cover; it is just this spreading habit that make it dangerous to our trees. In its climbing, fruiting stage, the gregarious ivy vines grow up tree trunks, eventually smothering and killing the trees. After blooming, ivy produces a grape-like fruit, which birds enjoy. The fruit is digested, but not the seed, so birds are unwitting perpetrators of the spread of this destructive plant. 

Ivy on the ground usually does not fruit, but can grow so thickly as to deprive native plants of light and space, and take over large areas, creating "ivy deserts" where nothing else can grow. 
Removal of English Ivy takes much effort but is worthwhile to restore natural balance in our urban forest.


We urge all residents to strive to eliminate
this invasive, destructive plant from your property. 
 

Best strategies for successful removal are:
  • Use pruning shears or loppers, sever all the Ivy stems growing on the tree trunk at about shoulder height or below, taking care not to damage the tree.
  • Make a second cut to each Ivy stem closer to the ground and remove the stem between the cuts by pulling or prying away from the tree. This separates the vine from the root. 
  • Remove by pulling or digging as much root from the base of the tree as possible. It will begin to climb again if left near tree. 
  • Remove all Ivy cuttings and roots from the ground. We recommend you make a lean-to of branches and hang the cut vines to dry completely to prevent re-sprouting. 
  • Replant the area with native plants. For ideas what to plant in place of Ivy, go to: WA Native Plant Society
Foundation Grant
for Environmental Education

To further support education of our next generation of environmental stewards, the Foundation has granted $675 to Lake Forest Park Elementary PTA to hire educator Julie Luthy. This fall, Julie will be teaching an Ecosystem Science Unit to 5th grade students about wetlands, watersheds, and forests, including a field trip to sample water quality in our local creeks. 

The Foundation hopes to expand this environmental education outreach, if we are successful in being awarded a Five Star Grant through the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation -- we should hear back in July!
New "Water Watchers" Program
Water Quality Monitoring Training
 

The Sno-King Watershed Council recently was awarded two grants to start a community-based water monitoring (CBWM) program in the north King /south Snohomish county area. The training program is for people interested in monitoring local creeks or streams.


Citizens will monitor physical, chemical and biological indicators of watershed fitness. Monitors can use their data for protection and restoration of watersheds, streams and lakes, advocacy for the improvement of water quality and public health, and to implement environmental education programs.


 

Three water monitoring workshops are taking place this week, on June 17, 18, and 19. Each day will have a combination of classroom and field time.  


 

These workshops are now full, but if you are interested in participating in the future, contact Eric Adman at snokingwatershedcouncil@gmail.com, 

or call 425-780-9731. 

 

Check out their website here for information about successful stream and habitat restoration efforts, and more upcoming programs. 


 

 


 
Thank you for your interest and commitment to our local environment!




For more information, to volunteer or donate, please visit our website:

www.lfpsf.org

 

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