Kudos and Appreciation for SUBA Achievements

The  Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) newsletter published this information in a recent newsletter

Kudos and Appreciation for SUBA Achievements

LCC commends Save Union Bay Association (SUBA) for their 47 years stewardship of the waters in Union Bay. With its active programs, SUBA has effectively restored the quality of water in the bay over these past six years through various applications of environmentally safe, in-water and targeted herbicide treatments.  

Since the new treatment plans were implemented, Union Bay waters have been clear, safe, and milfoil free, even as warmer climates have created toxic conditions elsewhere in the area. There were no reported toxic blooms in Union Bay in 2017, and recreational water users – swimmers, kayakers and boaters have seen a vast improvement in their ability to navigate through clearer water throughout the summer. Fish habitat continues to be enhanced, and their ability to thrive is central to the health of the entire ecosystem in Puget Sound.  

SUBA’s on-going methods to reduce the non-native water lilies is also critical as it provides more natural light and open waters that native fish need for navigation. LCC supports the work of SUBA in its next new multi-year grant cycle for these treatment programs from the Washington State Department of Ecology, the State Department of Natural Resources, and its partnering with the University of Washington Athletics and student activities programs for the in-water maintenance.  

LCC also commends the more than $20,000 in donations by SUBA’s members, primarily Laurelhurst shoreline homeowners, that are used to co-pay for these treatments, benefiting all public users of Union Bay.  

LCC also supports SUBA’s work in protecting Union Bay from other harmful impacts, such as those from the new SR520 bridge replacement. SUBA’s efforts to prevent harmful open barging of toxic waste debris, halt the non-permitted dredging and the attempt to increase night time noise variance have worked to protect the most vulnerable wildlife species, and the humans whose habitat is Union Bay.  

SUBA’s resource of the Aqua Technex in-water maps that identify locations of the invasive weeds for both current, and future records of Union Bay is a public asset. They are especially important for documenting potential adverse impacts from the construction of the new SR520 bridge.  

LCC supports the request from SUBA to WSDOT that additional mitigation may be needed for the removal of any new invasive in-water plants brought in by the SR520 construction processes of the West Approach Bridge North (WABN), and its remaining phases, and will partner on those efforts.  

Many thanks to SUBA president Susan Holliday, board members Steve Sultzbacher, John Impert, John Jacobs, and Colleen McAleer, and members for all you do for the restoration and continued vitality of Union Bay, and its efforts to protect its delicate ecosystem. SUBA is a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization.  

Please support matching funds for this important work. Send tax-deductible donations to: SUBA Treasurer Steve Sulzbacher, 4115 Surber Drive NE, Seattle, WA 98105

The Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA) is an undeveloped, 74-acre nature reserve and outdoor research laboratory on the north end of Lake Washington’s Union Bay, which provides publicly accessible wildlife habitat (more than 200 bird species have been sighted).

For many years, the land served as Seattle’s largest garbage dump, the Montlake Fill. After the landfill was closed in 1966, work began to restore the site to a more natural environment. The land, just east of the University of Washington (UW) campus, is now owned by the University and managed by the College of the Environment.  

Go here for more information and to join SUBA email saveunionbayassn@gmail.com.