Lake
Forest Park
Stewardship
Foundation
April,
1999
Threatened
Salmon Species Seen
in LFP's McAleer Creek
Three
threatened species of salmon spawn in Lake Forest Park.
The fact that chinook, sockeye and coho use McAleer Creek has been
documented by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, aided by
the LFP Stewardship Foundation.
Last month's listing of several Puget Sound salmon species as threatened has
brought all spawning grounds into the spotlight. We are learning that the protection of these areas must be a
responsibility felt by everyone, whether we live near a stream or not.
The Foundation has chosen environmental education as one of its mission
strategies. Each of us must set a good example and help our neighbors
understand how their actions impact our fragile environment.
A few ways we impact salmon streams are:
By
the plants we choose to place in our gardens.
Are they well suited to the area, or will their health depend upon the
use of fertilizers and pesticides?
How
we enhance our soil.
Do we use naturally composted enhancements or artificial fertilizers,
which are often washed off the surface and into wetlands and streams, causing
high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus?
How
we deal with insect pests, if and when they occur.
Do we search for natural or mechanical solutions, or use poisons, which
seep into the soil and leach out into the waterways?
How
we wash our vehicles.
Do we use biodegradable soaps, or, best of all, take them to a car-wash
which recycles the water?
How
we dispose of automobile waste, paints and toxins.
They should be taken to a toxic waste collection site. The toxic-waste
facility comes to the LFP mall periodically.
How we commute.
Are we stubborn about using our cars, or do we use public
transportation, carpools, or alternative transportation when we can?
Do we keep our lawns and roadsides
clear of pet waste by cleaning up after our animals? Failure to do so allows germs, parasites, and unwanted
nutrients to be washed off the grass into the waterways. A vegetated buffer
should protect any waterway flowing near a fenced enclosure where animals are
kept.
Waterways and wetlands must be
protected by vegetated buffers which provide shade to keep the water cool and
shelter the fish and invertebrates which live there year-round. We should not even think of using fertilizers or
chemicals within these streamside buffers.
Though Lake Forest Park is blessed with a fairly high percentage of native
area, and with streams which have not yet been destroyed to the extent of
those in more highly populated areas, there is much work to be done to bring
our wetlands and waterways back to a truly healthy state, which will make them
an inviting place for the living things which preceded all of us in this land.
Mamie Bolender
Director and Treasurer
We're
Attacking Knotweed
The LFP
Stewardship Foundation will work with the King Conservation District in a
grant-funded project to eradicate Japanese knotweed at LFP's Blue Heron Park. The Foundation will recruit volunteers to cut and bag the
weeds along McAleer Creek, which flows through the park at Hamlin Road and
Brookside Boulevard. Foundation
volunteers may also eradicate knotweed at other sites using mechanical means.
Japanese
knotweed is a noxious weed that crowds out desirable streamside vegetation.
It has root rhizomes which travel 15 feet or more underground.
Foundation
Recognized
Under
Federal Tax Code
The Stewardship
Foundation has been officially recognized as a public charity by the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service. This
status under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code means that donations to the
Foundation are tax deductible for the donor, explained Mamie Bolender,
treasurer. Declaring donations of
up to $250 on a tax return does not necessitate a receipt from the Foundation.
Donors of more than $250 do need a receipt.
Donations which result in the receipt of goods (such as in the silent
auction) may require a receipt. Annual
membership dues are not deductible.
Pesticide
Fouls
Lyon Creek
Lyon Creek in
Lake Forest Park has won the dubious distinction as the stream in King County
with the highest level of diazenon. Diazenon
is a residential pesticide used to control crane-fly larvae.
It has been banned from commercial use.
The announcement came last month from the King County Department of
Hazardous Waste. Information on
salmon-safe gardening and lawn care is available free of charge from the LFP
Stewardship Foundation.
Fund-Raiser
Draws 80 Partiers;
Foundation
Nets $3,166 for Signs
The LFP
Stewardship Foundation held its first fund-raising event on Valentine's Eve at
the Lake Forest Park Civic Club. Eighty
persons attended. The Foundation
cleared $3,166, which will be used for 30 informational signs for the watershed
and streams of Lake Forest Park. (Look
for them soon.)
Attendees
enjoyed appetizers, desserts and samples of regional and European wines in
souvenir glasses engraved with the Foundation logo.
Tom Kellock and Doug Mitchell provided live music.
Thirty-seven items were donated for auction or sale, including wine,
floral arrangements, Sees Candies, a gift basket from Great Harvest Bakery,
lunch for two hosted by Sen. Darlene Fairley, an electric toothbrush, a weekend
on Camano Island, and other items from LFP merchants.
The
Foundation extends thanks to these who contributed food or items for the silent
auction:
Style
Masters Salon, Sally Beauty Supply, Mary Katona, Carol Dahl, Liane Newman, Chuck
& Mamie Bolender, Thorton Creek, Diamond in the Mall, Jim & Patricia
Fox, Dr. Tom Roberts, Michelle Newman, Eric Alef, Great Harvest Bread Co.,
Florist in the Park, Joseph Spring Photography, Papa Murphy, Ballinger Florist,
Tree Top Toys, Forest Park Cleaners, Terraro's Restaurant, Lillian Anderson, Dr.
Jean Reid, Dana Bungay, June Aploks, C'est Magnifique, Pat Kight, General
Nutrition Center, The Water Store, Jan Newman,
Sen. Darlene Fairley, White Dove Gallery.
Thanks
to these individual donors:
Howard
& Frances Nostrand, Shoko Zama & Harrison Moretz, Henry K. Sander,
Timothy Davis, Ruth Childs, Bob & Dee Simmons, Suzanne & Dori Monson,
Vern Buttenob, Roger & Connie Olstad, Evette & Dennis Glauber, Paul
& Cheri Leavitt, Tom and Ruth Williamson-Kirkland, George & Alyssa
Petrie, David & Jean Farkas, Judy & Jeff Altman, John & Jill
Gwazdauskas, Tom & Kay Welborn, Aviva Leonard & David Stone, Debra &
Peter Ehrlichman, David & Cindy Hadden, Julian Andersen, Bob Edwardsen.
LFP
Stewardship Foundation NEWSLETTER
Published
by the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation, a nonprofit corporation in the
State of Washington. Send inquiries
and address data to: 17171 Bothell
Way N.E., Box 175, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155.
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