Beloved Beaver At Union Bay Meets Sad Fate

Many neighbors have reported that a beaver they had regularly seen over the past 2 months building a dam, was found deceased on Sunday. It was reported that a coyote captured the beaver for food.

Another beaver has been spotted in the last few days, quite close to where the deceased beaver was building its dam.

Beavers have been spotted in the Union Bay Natural area for many years as well as otters, herons, eagles, osprey, a large variety of birds and other wildlife.

In 2016 a boardwalk was completed along the shoreline to protect wildlife by directing human foot traffic away from the sensitive areas, such as where beavers are at work. The trail offers views of the wetlands, the beaver lodge and the lagoon. 

Friends of Yesler Swamp along with the University of Washington Botanic Gardens helped coordinate the boardwalk. The UW  purchased the property in 1927, that at one time had  that had been Henry Yesler’s sawmill by the lake.

Friends of Yesler Swamp, said at the time:

Yesler Swamp, located at the corner of NE 41^st Street and NE Surber Drive,  is one of the last true swamps in Seattle. It is a beautiful, serene oasis in the midst of a busy neighborhood. Great blue heron nest on the shore, beaver families live in the beaver lodge, and hundreds of birds perch on its trees and shrubs.   Please visit Yesler Swamp and be mindful of the fragile wetland environment.

Friends of Yesler Swamp has published a variety of posts regarding the history of Yesler Swamp,  including history of the area from settlement, sawmill, town of Yesler, historic photos, videos, source notes and more, on their website.

A Laurelhurst Blog reader shared that beaver enthusiasts should consider joining Beavers Northwest and also reading Eager: the Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter" by Ben Goldfarb.

Beavers have been spotted in the Union Bay Natural area for many years as well as otters, herons, eagles, osprey, several species of birds, it’s just magical :)wildlife and so many different birds. In 2016 a boardwalk was completed along the shoreline to rotecting wildlife by directing human foot traffic away from these sensitive areas as well as The trail would offer views of the wetlands, the beaver lodge and the lagoon/

The UW owns the land, the Botanic Gardens has helped coordinate the work. The UW in 1927 purchased the property that had been Henry Yesler’s sawmill by the lake,

Friends of Yesler Swamp said at the time:

Yesler Swamp,located at the corner of NE 41^st and Surber Drive,  – one of the last true swamps in Seattle – is a beautiful, serene oasis in the midst of a busy neighborhood. Great blue heron nest on the shore, beaver families live in the beaver lodge, and hundreds of birds perch on its trees and shrubs.   Please visit Yesler Swamp! Dogs on leash are welcome, but please refrain from biking and jogging in this fragile wetland environment

Friends of Yesler Swamp has published a variety of posts regarding the history of Yesler Swamp,  including history of the area from settlement, sawmill, town of Yesler, historic photos, videos, source notes and more, on their website.

Local NE Seattle Historian Blogs About The History Of Laurelhurst's Yesler neighborhood and Mill

Local NE Seattle historian, Eleanor Boba, writes and blogs about historic places.  Several nearby places she has written about are the centennial of the building of the Ship Canal including environmentalists who looked at the effects of the canal and lake lowering on Union Bay.

Boba also documented information about the Yesler part of Laurelhurst. She gathered her information from Christine Barrett’s, History of Laurelhurst, as well as from the Friends of Yesler Swamp group, and other sources. The information also includes the history of Yesler Mill. 

She posted the historical information on the e Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society blog. 

She has posted a longer essay, including a lot of information about the town of Yesler, the railroad, and environs, on her personal blog.

 

Here is Boba's post about Yesler Mill:

Making the Cut: The Yesler Mill on Union Bay

On New Year’s Day, 1890, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer published an article touting the benefits of purchasing property at Ravenna Park, north of the city limits. To bolster the argument, the article pointed to the settlement of Yesler as a neighboring thriving community:

“Yesler Mill, a settlement of some sixty houses, with ice factory, church and stores -- just a little east from the Park -- is doing a flourishing business and affords us lumber at $1 per thousand [board feet] cheaper than other mills.”

Since the town of Yesler had only been platted two years earlier, it seems doubtful that all “sixty houses,” church, and stores were in evidence.

The community which would be variously known as the Town of Yesler, Yesler Mill, Yesler Junction, or simply Yesler -- was laid out in 1888 as something like a company town to support Henry Yesler’s second mill on the north shore of Union Bay. The town father himself passed away in 1892 and had little to do with the mill operations.

[For an expanded version of this essay, including details on the town and its institutions, see the blogpost Mill Village.]

The Yesler Mill was built on the north shore of Union Bay on Lake Washington on the property that is now the University of Washington’s Urban Horticulture Center and the adjacent Yesler Swamp, west of Laurelhurst. Equipment was probably transferred to the location from the original Yesler Mill in Seattle which had burned down in 1887.

Men, women, and a child atop logs at the Yesler Mill on Union Bay. Photo dated 1892?, Courtesy of Seattle Public Library. 

Soon after the mill was established a spur railroad line was put in to connect the mill to the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway line, now the Burke Gilman Trail. Maps of the day are not always reliable; however, we see the railway spur on maps from 1890 (O.P. Anderson and Co., Seattle and Environs) and 1895 (Seattle and Lake Washington Waterway Company, Guide Map to Seattle), but the Baist Maps, beginning in 1905, show no spur. The apparent loss of direct rail transportation for lumber up to the main line is one indication that things did not always run smoothly at Yesler Mill.

Baist Map, 1908, UW Special Collections. This map demonstrates how, prior to the cutting of the ship canal, the waters of Union Bay lapped up to and across a portion of E. 41^st at high tide.

FIRE AND ICE

This photo from the collection of the Seattle Public Library is undated, but was probably taken prior to the 1895 fire. The railroad is apparent in the background. What appears to be a small church appears at the far right hand. This may have been the Yesler Junction Church.

Fire was the enemy of all sawmills. A catastrophic fire of unknown cause devastated the mill in 1895, only seven years after it was established. A lengthy article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on September 17 of that year described the chaos:

“YESLER MILL BURNED. Devouring Flames consume the Plant and Lumber Yard. The Town Narrowly Escapes. Employes (sic] Can Do Nothing but Watch Mill and Lumber Burn.

The entire plant of the Yesler mill at the town of Yesler, on a spur of the Lake Shore road, was destroyed by fire last night, together with nearly the whole stock of lumber, the wharf and eight cars of the lake Shore road. The fire burned so fiercely that the flames were visible throughout the city and for miles around and it was thought that the whole town of Yesler had been destroyed….Fire was discovered at 11 o’clock by the night watchman in the dry kiln. The watchman blew the whistle and in a few minutes a large crowd had gathered, but the fire spread with wonderful rapidity, and in a few minutes the entire mill was in flames."

The reporters on the scene were able to give a rip-roaring first person account of the conflagration:

“About this time a wind from the south sprang up, driving the men away from the lumber back among the houses on the hill. The timbers began to fall and broke the water pipe, leaving the men helpless. The flames at this point were leaping into the air full seventy-five feet and the heat was terrific. Standing on the tracks were six logging cars and two box cars belonging to the Lake Shore road, two of which were loaded ready to ship East: one had logs aboard and the others were empty. As the flooring timbers were burned away these eight cars crashed down into the lake. About the same time the boilers and engine were heard to fall.

In about thirty minutes there was nothing left of the mill but a few smoking timbers. The fire confined itself then to the immense piles of lumber, and gradually ate it way toward the office.

So rapid was the progress of the fire that one of the men, H. Butler, at work on the wharf was cut off from escape and had to jump into the water. He seized a boom chain and hung on until he was rescued.” (p. 2)

The report goes on to relate how the fire eventually burned itself out “chiefly for lack of further food,” and how water from the neighboring ice plant saved some lumber piles and the mill post office building.

Reporting in the days following the fire focused on the untangling of insurance claims and the burning question: would the mill be rebuilt?

It is clear from the newspaper accounts that there was more than one going concern on the mill property at the time of the fire. This was not a company town in the traditional sense. Portions of the mill property were leased to the Great Western Lumber and Supply Company while the ice company also appeared to be an independent entity. Other claims were less clear: “There appears to be some doubt as to the proprietorship of the wharf and dock burned, and it will probably be some days before a full adjustment of the losses can be reached.” (Seattle P-I, September 18, 1895, p.8) 

A bulletin in the same paper three weeks later reports that “A.H Ruelle, of Ruelle Bros, lessees of the Yesler mill, at Yesler, recently destroyed by fire, is now in the East closing accounts of the firm. He expects to make arrangements before his return to erect a new mill, probably on the site of the old.” (Seattle P-I, October 6, 1895, p. 8.)

The receivers of the Lake Shore and Eastern Railway also suffered losses, as described in the P-I article of September 18, 1895. In addition to the train cars lost it is likely that a good portion of the spur line was damaged or destroyed. Since the spur line disappears from maps soon after this date, one might conclude that the line was never rebuilt.

THE ICE PLANT

Various sources refer to the Seattle Ice Company, Union Ice Company, or Lake Union Ice Company sharing quarters with the Yesler Mill. In the days before home refrigeration, companies that delivered blocks of ice to your door were an indispensable part of the community.

A section of the Sanborn Fire Insurance map for 1893, two years before the fire, shows several structures of the Union Ice Company, including freezing tanks, ice storage, and oil storage.

The Sanborn map provides intimate details of the workings of the ice company. It had the capacity to produce 20 tons of ice per day, pumping water directly from Lake Washington into 7500 gallon tanks, 16 feet tall. The plant was in operation day and night in summer; closed in the winter. Being a fire map, Sanborn goes on to tell us, somewhat prophetically, “The station pump [will] supply sawmill with pressure in case of fire.” The Sanborn notes conclude that the building is “substantial, premises tidy.” (Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Seattle, 1893, Vol. 2, Sheet 55a)

This small snippet of map may be the best depiction we have of the mill property in the few years it was active before the 1895 conflagration. The diagram also shows the route of the railroad spur, a “Yessler [sic] W. C. & L. Co. boarding hotel,” lumber runs, planked roadbeds, and a combination office and post office.

The lengthy article describing the fire in the P-I also gives a snapshot look at operations at the mill:

“[The mill] had a capacity of 75,000 feet in 12 hours and employs 36 men. It was a two-story structure with the sawmill on the upper floor and planing mill and engine room on the lower floor. It contained two double circular saws, an Allis edger, two large wood planers, a sticker, a shingle machine and a lath machine, a Corliss engine and a Noyle engine, two large boilers, an Allis steam setwork with twin engine…Of the 1,000,000 feet of lumber in the yard, only 15,000 to 20,000 was saved.

DECADES OF CHANGE

The years between 1895 and 1912 are somewhat hazy. All sources agree that at some point a shingle mill was constructed on the property that was the Yesler Mill. In her history of Laurelhurst, Christine Barrett reports that folks used to set their watches by the mill's noon and four o'clock whistles. 

One encounters the term “Yesler Mill” in newspaper articles and on maps as late as 1918. Whether the mill was operated by the Yesler Logging Company or an affiliate during this period is not clear. It is possible that the term “Yesler Mill” was just a comfortable moniker.

Beginning in 1912 the researcher finds references to a Two Lakes Mill which manufactured shingles at Yesler Station and maintained an office in the downtown Henry Building. Articles of Incorporation for the Two Lakes Mill were filed August 24, 1912. Newspaper ads include the following:

“Wanted: shingle bolts and stumpage near Lake Washington at once. Two Lakes Mill Co.” (1912)

“Wanted: to let contract for hauling several hundred cords shingle bolts, Two Lakes Mill Co.” (1913)

“Shingle your house all over with shingles made in Seattle. Inquire about our four grades and prices. Two Lakes Mill Co.” (1916)

The 1918 Polk City Directory contains a bolded listing for Two Lakes Mill: “Mnfrs of High Grade Premium Red Cedar Shingles.” However, the very next year the listing had been reduced to two words -- “wholesale shingles” -- perhaps indicating a downturn in the business.

Any doubt that we are talking about the same property where the Yesler Mill stood is laid to rest by an annotated diagram in the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for 1919 showing the workings of “Union Bay Shingle Co./Two Lakes Mill Co’s Shingle Mill.” Notes on the diagram indicate that the mill had a capacity of 105,000 shingles in eight hours, that there was a night watchman, and that water was taken from Union Bay.

The question of corporate names does not die easily. In 1917, The University District Herald, under the headline “Yesler Mill Running,” reported “This mill has been idle for some time and it is indeed good to see the wheels turning again. It furnishes work for a bunch of men who are causing their earning to benefit Yesler in general.” (July 27, 1917) On April 25, 1918, The Seattle Daily Times reported that a shed had been destroyed by fire at the Yesler Mill Company plant, but that the mill itself was saved by the fire department.

The mill may have dodged this bullet in 1918, but most sources agree that the mill buildings succumbed to fire sometime in the 1920s. (Thompson, Barrett) There would be no rebuilding this time. It is likely that the cutting of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in 1916, and the subsequent lowering of Lake Washington, made it just that much harder to run a lumber mill of any kind.

As the lake waters receded, they left the mill wharf high and somewhat dry and the mill pond only slightly damp. At some point an attempt was made to dredge a channel into the bay in order to make the mill run viable again. This last ditch effort must have had only limited success because by the mid-1920s the mill was gone. Long-time resident Jim Thompson recalls watching the mill burn in 1928 or 1929.

While some lake mills may have benefited from access to the big steamers that the cut afforded, the Yesler Mill, on a shallow bay, was already too low in the water to make that leap. The mill's loss was the U Dub's gain. All the mill acreage, as well as most of the newly exposed wetlands at Union Bay, was acquired by the university with new uses in mind.

MEMORIES OF YOUTH

In 1971 not-yet-famous author Ivan Doig wrote a piece for The Seattle Daily Times based on the recollections of his neighbor in the area known as Exposition Heights overlooking University Village shopping center. Bill Lozott, Doig’s informant, recalls going down to the dredged mill channel to swim after a hard day’s work in the mid-1920s. 

In 2010, Jim Thompson, shared memories with the Friends of the Yesler Swamp and in 2016 spoke with this author. Both Lozott and Thompson recalled sawdust piles on the old mill site that would smoke and occasionally combust on hot days. Thompson remembers that the mill run “was dug deep enough to accommodate a tug;” he and his pals kept a very small sailboat, “the tar baby,” in the mill run.

My friend John found this old boat in the swamp. At that time they were building 43rd NE. Part of what they were doing to build it -- they had tar. So John and I went up and secured the tar, brought it down, melted it, and used it to caulk the boat somewhat. It was just a little throwaway. About a 10 or 14 foot little sailboat. So we went sailing. I was in my very best clothes -- and we tipped over! So I’m swimming in a brand new suit of woolen clothes.I had to throw them away, of course.

The dredged mill run can be clearly seen about center in this aerial from 1937. Even after the mill closed, neighbors attempted to keep the run open for boat launches. The channel eventually was abandoned to the encroaching wetland now known as Yesler Swamp. Image Courtesy University of Washington Special Collections.

***

Sources include:

Guy Reed Ramsey, Postmarked Washington: King County, 1966.

Christine Barrett, A History Of Laurelhurst, 1981.

Lucile McDonald, The Lake Washington Story, 1979.

The website of the Friends of Yesler Swamp.
Valerie Bunn's blogspot: https://wedgwoodinseattlehistory.com/author/valariebunn/.

Various articles from The Seattle Times, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and The University District Herald, including: Ivan Doig, “The home-town boy,” Seattle [Daily]Times, April 18, 1971.

Special Collections, University of Washington, including historic maps collection

Puget Sound Regional Branch, Washington State Archives, property and corporate records. 
Memories of Jim Thompson, courtesy of Friends of the Yesler Swamp, 2010, and as told to Eleanor Boba, 2016

Friday Union Bay Natural Area Work Party

On Friday, the UW Botanic Gardens, is inviting the neighborhood to a Union Bay Natural Area Work Party.   The information says: On Fridays this month from 2-4pm, we will be hosting work parties where you can participate in a variety of tasks. Join us for some good ol' fun in the dirt and learn about ecological restoration.

Come help us restore habitat in the Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA). 

Before being designated a natural area, UBNA served as a public landfill for over 40 years. Mounds of trash were dumped on top of what was a thriving marsh ecosystem on the shore of Lake Washington. But hope lies in the fate of UBNA as ecological restoration works to bring back wildlife habitat through the removal of invasive weeds and planting native plants. 

Please meet in the gravel parking lot in front of the Douglas Research Conservatory Building at the Center for Urban Horticulture. 

Everyone is welcome and no experience is needed. Gloves, tools, and snacks are provided for all volunteers! Dress ready for the weather, wear sturdy shoes, be prepared to get dirty, and don’t forget your water bottle. 

If you are volunteering to earn course credit, please be reminded that only those who have pre-registered prior to the event will be able to participate and receive credit.

The Union Bay Natural Area, also known as Yesler Swamp is located near the Center for Urban Horticulture and bordered by NE 41st Street and Surber Drive.

The Friends of Yesler Swamp has published a variety of posts regarding the history of Yesler Swamp,  including history of the area from settlement, sawmill, town of Yesler, historic photos, videos, source notes and more, on their website.

Friends of Yesler Swamp and the UW Botanic Gardens have been working together for over a decade to restore the native plants of Yesler Swamp, located near the Center for Urban Horticulture and bordered by NE 41st Street and Surber Drive, as well as construct a handicapped-accessible natural wetland trail, which also serves to protect and conserve swamp wildlife and minimize human impact on the wetlands.  The  boardwalk was completed on October 16th of last year with a celebration.

The Seattle City Council approved a Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund award of $88,887 to restore Yesler Swamp and help with the cost of construction of the boardwalk.  And the King Conservation District provided a $31,940 grant for construction of a Viewing Platform and more. 

Friends of Yesler Swamp said on their website that the trail "offers views of the wetlands, the beaver lodge and the lagoon, while protecting wildlife by directing human foot traffic away from these sensitive areas.  

Saturday Union Bay Natural Area Bird Walk

The Seattle Audubon Society is having a Saturday morning bird walk at the Union Bay Natural Area, with Julia Hansbrough & John Leszczynski from 9-11am. 

 

The information says:

Neighborhood Bird Walks - A Wonderful Way to Meet Seattle's Birds! 

Neighborhood bird walk for beginning birders or new Seattleites will especially enjoy this exposure to the rich variety of regional bird life. Families and non-members are welcome to attend.  Meet at the Center for Urban Horticulture in the East parking lot off NE 41st Street, one block beyond the place where Mary Gates Memorial Drive turns left to become NE 41st Street.

Friends of Yesler Swamp, told the Laurelhurst Blog that Union Bay Natural Area was at one time called the Montlake Fill and the area is managed by the University of Washington. It is located near the Center for Urban Horticulture in Laurelhurst.

The UW website gave this historical background: 

The Union Bay Natural Area was under water until 1916 when the new Ship Canal lowered Lake Washington by about nine feet. Later, the city of Seattle used the site as a city dump – dubbed the Montlake Landfill or Montlake Dump – but it was closed in the 1960s.

And the UW management plan says:

The public disposal site (the Montlake Dump) closed in 1964, and garbage landfilling ceased in 1966. Filling, grading, and seeding of the surface continued until 1971. A University Advisory Committee on Arboreta selected the location in 1971 for a new arboretum site.

Connie Sidles is a popular local birding expert who maintains a blog documenting the many types of birds including beautiful pictures at the nearby Union Bay Natural Area.
Go here for more information.

Reminder to Yesler Swamp Boardwalk Users

Friends of Yesler Swamp reminds Boardwalk users to not jog on the boardwalk, as the pin piles that support the boardwalk are “floating” on the peat bog beneath the trail. 

Friends of Yesler Swamp says that jogging pounds them into the peat and ruins" the boardwalk. This trail belongs to all of us. Please help make it last for  generations of swamp lovers," the group added.

Yesler Swamp is located at the corner of NE 41^st and Surber Drive.  A rough trail begins at the East parking lot of the Center for Urban Horticulture, winds through the edge of the swamp and returns to the parking lot.

"The Swamp hides the outlet of historic Yesler Creek, skirts a lagoon that connects with Union Bay, and contains an active beaver hut," the website says. 

Friends of Yesler Swamp and the UW Botanic Gardens have been working together for over a decade to restore the native plants of Yesler Swamp, located near the Center for Urban Horticulture as well as construct a handicapped-accessible natural wetland trail, which also serves to protect and conserve swamp wildlife and minimize human impact on the wetlands.  The  boardwalk was completed on October 16th 2018 with a celebration.

Friends of Yesler Swamp has published a variety of posts regarding the history of Yesler Swamp,  including history of the area from settlement, sawmill, town of Yesler, historic photos, videos, source notes and more, on their website.

The Seattle City Council approved a Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund award of $88,887 to restore Yesler Swamp and help with the cost of construction of the boardwalk.  And the King Conservation District provided a $31,940 grant for construction of a Viewing Platform and more. 

Friends of Yesler Swamp said on their website that the trail "offers views of the wetlands, the beaver lodge and the lagoon, while protecting wildlife by directing human foot traffic away from these sensitive areas.

Go here for more information.

History Of Montlake Landfill, Formerly Located At Union Bay Natural Area

A  neighbor would like to share this interesting history of the Montlake Landfill, now knows as the Union Bay Natural area from History Link:

The Montlake Dump Cluster

Three dumps that were later repurposed by the City were clustered between what are today the southern reaches of  the Washington Park Arboretum and  University Village. One, the Washington Park Dump, at one time the city's largest, was incorporated into the Arboretum and part of it is now, as noted above, the site of the Japanese Garden. 

Another was located in the area now occupied by the Union Bay Natural Area and, from 1926 to 1966, by University of Washington parking lots and playing fields and a driving range. It was variously, and confusingly, called the Montlake Dump, Ravenna Dump, University Dump, and Union Bay Dump.

The third, the Miller Street Dump, adjacent to the north end of the Arboretum and in close proximity to the SR 520 bridge, is the only one that was actually in the Montlake neighborhood. After its years as a dump ended, the land it occupied was owned by the City parks department, but since the construction of the bridge in the early 1960s has been the property of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It is neatly bracketed by elevated ramps that enter and leave the bridge and its southern end is darkened by the unused "ramps to nowhere," the remains of the beginnings of highway projects that voters and the city halted. 

The Miller Street Landfill, called the Miller Street Dump during its working life, served for more than 20 years as one of multiple dumps scattered around Seattle, often in low-lying areas. Three large dumping grounds were arrayed between the south end of today's Washington Park Arboretum and the northern shore of Union Bay: the Washington Park Dump near the Arboretum's south end, the University Dump at the north end of Union Bay, and the Miller Street Dump on the southern shore of Union Bay. The Miller Street Dump opened sometime between 1911 and 1916, closed in 1936, and for a time was part of the Arboretum and owned by the City. When the original Evergreen Point Bridge was built in the 1960s, the property was taken over by the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Seattle's population tripled between 1900 and 1910, growing from approximately 80,000 to nearly 240,000, and garbage grew apace. In the early years of the new century, private contractors collected trash from many neighborhoods, but they often dumped it wherever they could, with a favorite spot being under the train trestles on the tidelands along Seattle's waterfront. Even before the population boom, sanctioned dumping on tide flats in south Seattle had created a pile of garbage 120 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 60 feet deep. On May 14, 1905,

According to a 1911 City survey, there were by that time nine official dumps scattered around Seattle, and garbage collection was in the hands of private contractors, paid with public funds and under the overall authority of the City's Streets Department.

This system would remain in place until 1915, when the health department took direct control of garbage-collection duties, using City employees and equipment, including two new scows to haul some of the refuse for disposal in Puget Sound. But this did nothing to stem the ever-increasing flow of garbage or the need for additional dump sites, and a 1920 survey counted 15 in operation within city limits. 

Work on the Montlake Cut portion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal project began in 1911 and was completed in 1916. Dredge materials from that project were used to fill nearby marshland. When the coffer dam holding back the waters of Lake Washington was breached in July 1916, the lake's level dropped approximately nine feet over the next three months, exposing swaths of new marshland around the perimeter of Union Bay.



Friends of Yesler Swamp also wrote about the Montlake Landfill:

NEXT DOOR TO A LANDFILL

In 1933, people began dumping trash in the Union Bay marsh. Later, the city began using the area as a garbage dump and landfill. The fill material was household garbage, rubbish, ashes, stumps, lumber and rubble. Some 11 million cubic yards of trash, including debris from the construction of the I-5 freeway, were deposited on the marsh.[57]

In the end, up to 40 feet (12.2 meters) of garbage and debris were dumped on the marsh.[58]
The idea was to “reclaim” the swamp land for building or other useful purposes. Walter L. Dunn, a professor of engineering at the University, conducted a study in 1966.

He noted:
When the work of recovery by means of refuse began in 1933, the swamp generally had the consistency of thick sludge, much of it over 60 feet deep. It has been built into a usable part of the campus.[59]

“Bulldozer at Montlake Landfill, University of Washington, August 17, 1958,” University of Washington Libraries Special Collections UW19075

Rubbish was burned on the fill until 1954, when the practice was stopped due to citizen protests. Closure of the landfill was begun in 1965 and was completed in 1971.


Not everyone favored filling the swampland with garbage. In 1951, UW Professors Higman and Larrison published their evocative journal of their visits to the swamp, Union Bay: The Life of a City Marsh.

They wrote:
It is a unique place, this marsh. Man, by building the ship canal, lowered the water of the bay until its margins became a series of exposed flats. Man is therefore responsible for the marsh. If the present trend continues, man, by continued filling, drainage, and building, will some day destroy it.[60]
Fortunately, the “useable part of the campus” — the part of the marsh that was filled in by rubbish for over 30 years — did not extend as far as the east basin.Yesler Swamp, once again, was spared.

THE REBIRTH OF YESLER SWAMP

Following closure of the landfill, the University began planning for the future of the area. Fortunately, the Washington legislature in 1971 enacted the Shoreline Management Act, whose purpose was both to preserve the natural character of the shorelines of our state as well as to increase public access to the shores.[61]

The University approved a master plan for the former landfill in 1974, designating the marshland around Yesler Swamp as “unmanaged wildlife.” The swamp at that time featured red alders, willow, a few cottonwoods and “thickets of Himalayan blackberry.”[62] In January 1978, the University decided to demolish Union Bay Village and move married student housing to other locations.[63] The natural area would instead be devoted to research and teaching. [64]
In 1993, the UW undertook a plan for the future of the Union Bay shoreline. A committee, which included Kern Ewing, was charged with preparing a management plan. The emphasis was on “the importance of preserving this freshwater wetland as a public heritage and . . . increasing concern on the part of the University faculty and students that this rare nearby habitat be available intact for future study and teaching.”[65]

The planners agreed that the entire landfill over the deep, spongy peat deposits of Union Bay was unsuitable for construction of buildings. Instead, the natural area should be reserved for teaching, wildlife habitat and recreation. A wetland study at the time characterized much of the area as “wetland.”^[66] All of area encompassing Yesler Swamp was designated as open space.^[67] Specifically, the marsh to the west of Yesler Swamp was designated as a Conservancy Preservation Shoreline area.^[68]

The planners generally recommended removing invasive non-native plants and animals, adding native plants, maximizing biodiversity, and controlling human impacts.^[69] The area would come to be known as the Union Bay Natural Area.

YESLER SWAMP TODAY

In 2000, for the first time, serious attention shifted to Yesler Swamp. In a series of Capstone Projects carried out by UW Restoration Ecology Network (U-REN), teams of students led by Kern Ewing and others began restoration of Yesler Swamp. The students dug out invasive blackberries and canary reed grass, planting willows and other native species to shade out the invaders, and mapped out a rough trail.




Students studied the history of restoration efforts in the natural area and the hydrology of the swamp, observing that the fluctuating lake water levels posed a challenge for constructing a permanent trail for access to the lagoon. They noted that when heavy rains fell, the trail was not navigable without rubber boots.

Taking into account the unusual hydrology of the area, in 2004 the students developed a detailed plan for a loop trail. The route forms the basis for the current loop trail design. Laura Davis, a member of the 2004 Capstone Team, later became a professional landscape designer and joined forces with Friends of Yesler Swamp to develop the current trail plan for Yesler Swamp.^[70]

In 2010, Friends of Yesler Swamp, assisted by a grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Matching fund, retained SBA Landscape Associates to design an environmentally sensitive, all season trail and boardwalk to provide community access to Yesler Swamp. A professional design was prepared, and all environmental permits were obtained. The Department of Neighborhoods has promised additional funding to begin construction of the Yesler Swamp Trail.

Groups of environmental students at the UW continue to study the swamp and work towards its restoration. Friends of Yesler Swamp has partnered with U-REN students and hosts monthly work parties. Community members and students have devoted hundreds of hours to pulling ivy, chopping Himalayan blackberry, digging invasive grasses, and planting native species like willow and cedar.

(Photo by Carol Arnold)

At the same time, UW students and community groups like the Green Seattle Coalition are working to restore the headwaters of Yesler Creek.

Birders highly value Yesler Swamp for the variety of birds that inhabit the swamp. Over 100 species of birds have been spotted there, including Trumpeter swans and Barred Owl.

Friends of Yesler Swamp also sponsors popular children’s events to introduce kids to Yesler Swamp. Children have laughed with Swampy the Bear and learned the secrets of nature from experts in children's education.

Photo by Jean Colley

Aldo Leopold, the famous author and master of environmental ethics has written:

The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants and animals, or collectively: the land. . . . A land ethic of course cannot prevent the alteration, management, and use of these ‘resources,’ but it does affirm their right to continued existence, and, at least in spots, their continued existence in a natural state. In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it.[71]

In its long history, Yesler Swamp has endured periods of use and abuse as a resource for the convenience of human beings. Today, the environmental community is working to change our relationship to this rare natural resource from that of “conqueror” to “citizens of this land-community.”