From a bogey to birdies From Fairway to Flyway Golf course gets a mulligan, converts to habitat

What does it take to convert a former golf course … into fish and wildlife habitat?

That was the question plaguing Mountlake Terrace, Washington, a city just 14 miles north of downtown Seattle, after taking ownership of a 16-acre golf course on Lake Ballinger’s shores and allowing it to return to its natural condition starting in 2012.

Today, the area is unrestored open space and parklands with a degraded Hall Creek flowing through it. Invasive plant species and degraded channels jeopardize what could be valuable fish and wildlife habitat in the urban sprawl.

City officials developed a master plan restoring the wetlands, riparian corridors, and fish and wildlife habitat, creating and preserving critical habitat for amphibians, and providing significant habitat for migrating birds and many waterfowl species using the Pacific Flyway.

Bringing the master plan to life required engineering expertise in water resource stewardship and ecosystem restoration. City officials knew the nation’s engineers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has this expertise and experience in delivering world-class solutions to environmental challenges. They called upon USACE’s Seattle District for assistance exploring an aquatic ecosystem restoration project under Section 206 of its Continuing Authorities Program (CAP).

“Ecosystem restoration projects like this allows the Corps the opportunity to partner with local communities, to create and preserve critical habitats in rapidly developing urban areas,” said district Civil Works Programs Section Chief Jeff Dillon. “The local community is actively engaged and motivated to move forward with this restoration opportunity.”

The city received USACE’s technical assistance under Section 206 to restore and protect aquatic ecosystems and wetland habitats, to improve the quality of the environment. Section 206 projects include channel modifications and wetland restoration.

Having a master plan - that outlined the city’s vision for the park that concurrently aligned with the Corps’ Section 206 requirements - helped the project get off the ground with minimal hitches. Both entities worked through the full planning suite to ensure the project features were cost-effective and efficient, with results that stayed true to the original concept.

“Collaboration with the Army Corps of Engineers makes habitat restoration possible for over 16 acres of a previous golf course,” said the city’s Stormwater Manager Laura Reed. “When this project is completed, park visitors can enjoy an environment full of bird song, plants that originally thrived in this area, and little wild spaces close to home.”

The Army Corps awarded the contract in January 2023. The $5.5 million construction contract, of which $3.4 million came from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding President Joseph R. Biden signed into law in November 2021, was also funded through a grant from Washington State taxpayers.

At the project groundbreaking ceremony in May 2023, Corps leadership said it welcomed the opportunity to invest federal resources and capabilities toward an endeavor that will have an outsized impact on the Mountlake Terrace community, with a park to walk through and cleaner water running through the newly formed riparian area.

Dillon and Reed agree this project’s importance to the Mountlake Terrace community, the region, and more importantly wildlife, is no exaggeration.

“The urbanized area of Puget Sound, especially in heavy residential areas, has eliminated much of the native habitat for fish and wildlife,” said Dillon. “What remains is often heavily degraded and overcome by invasive plant species. This project is important because the location is wetlands, it’s close to a large lake and it can reestablish a notable corridor of native plant habitat.”

Construction began in early summer 2023 and will run through spring 2024.

Additional project components include creating a wetted creek channel, installing diverse plants, replacing a vehicle crossing and adding a pedestrian boardwalk to limit plant and wetland soil damage. Minor enhancements to pond habitat are also in the plan.

“The number of places animals can call home is shrinking,” Reed warns. “This project switches up that dynamic and provides more homes for these creatures. Five years from now, this park will be full of birdsong, the creek will have otters and maybe even salmon. It will be a place to experience nature right here in the neighborhood, a place where the sounds of the city will fade away.”