Governor Inslee and Mayor Rheaume celebrate public acquisition of the North Creek Forest

Bothell’s New Urban Forest

Governor Jay Inslee, Bothell Mayor Andy Rheaume, and representatives from the Friends of North Creek Forest and Help Our Woods cut a ceremonial ribbon to celebrate the acquisition by City of Bothell of 63.4 acres of forest in the North Creek watershed today.

The North Creek Forest property features second-growth forest with wetlands and streams that connect to North Creek, the Sammamish River, and Puget Sound. The acquisition of this forest preserves a wooded hillside adjacent to the rapidly-growing University of Washington Bothell campus, and will provide a future site for students for outdoor education and ecological restoration.

Bothell’s newest and largest park was 17 years in the making, according to Jim Freese of Friends of North Creek Forest. A wide variety of partner organizations joined together to help acquire this new public forest. Funding came from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, Conservation Futures funds from King and Snohomish counties, and private donations.

Future plans include building trails, restoring natural habitat, and providing public access to the new forest. Friends of North Creek Forest provides naturalist hikes and information about this new public land at http://www.friendsnorthcreekforest.org/.