Photo by Chris Walter

Location: King County, Ballard neighborhood in City of Seattle

Acreage: 0.75 acres

Ownership History: CLC partnered with the City of Seattle, Groundswell Northwest, and other Ballard community groups to acquire this important salmon habitat property and then transferred it to the City of Seattle in 2002.

Property Description: The 600 feet of estuarine shoreline property below the Ballard Locks is the last remaining undeveloped, wooded bank along the Salmon Bay Waterway.  In addition to providing great views of the Salmon Bay Waterway, interpretive signage will describe the key role of this estuary and efforts to restore it.

Conservation Values: The property represents a great opportunity to enhance the largely degraded estuary of the Cedar River/Lake Washington watershed, which is a critical environment in the life cycle of Chinook, Coho, and other threatened salmon.  As the young smolts make their way through the Ballard Locks, an area for refuge and adjustment to the new environment is critical for their development.  Restoration of this property can help provide the essential refuge, giving the smolts a better chance of surviving this difficult transition and gaining the body weight to thrive in the open ocean.