City Light North update

"It is one thing to dream, but yet another to see it come to pass. For over 21 years I have fought for, begged for, and pleaded for this project to be done.  Now it is happening! It is getting done and is truly bigger and better than anything I had ever hoped for.” Said John Beal.

May 18, 1999 King County Executive Ron Sims signed an agreement with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers for a $3.5 million project to daylight 1000 feet of Hamm Creek and create a new intertidal area for juvenile salmon. There was a signing ceremony held where many community leaders spoke supporting the efforts of I’M A PAL and other agencies to come together to get this project underway.  Among them were King County Executive Ron Sims, Asst. District Engineer Col. Richard Conte, National Marine Fisheries Regional Administrator Will Stelle, Curtis Tanner of U.S. Fish and Wildlife and John Beal of I’M A PAL.

King County purchased the easement from City Light as part of its contribution to a 1991 legal settlement between:  City of Seattle, King County (at the time METRO) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Dept of Ecology, the Suquamish Tribe and the Muckleshoot Tribe.

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Photo courtesy of Jody Heintzman from King County government.
he settlement called for habitat development, sediment remediation, real estate acquisition for habitat restoration and source control measures. The I’M A PAL foundation brought this project before the Elliot Bay Restoration Panel in 1994 for consideration as one of the projects to undertake because it met all the necessary requirements, and had been a long time dream for John Beal to complete the Hamm Creek system connection to the Duwamish River.

“Col. Grigsby of the Corps of Engineers, once commented to me,” said John,  ‘this must be a mission from God’.  I said it was, but not too many people really knew that.  You can see His hand at work.  It is not just for the salmon, it is for the environment, the healing of the earth, the spirit of the Duwamish, Elliott Bay, Puget Sound and all the way to the Pacific Ocean.”

As with most projects, this one has not been without it’s difficulties but even so it is the beginning of a fulfillment of a dream.  During the construction of this project, John said, “ I had injured my back, it has been painful, but even that, has not taken from the joy and fulfillment of this project being underway.  I am excited about the future of this site.  I must thank all the involved agencies, volunteers and those that have supported, both financially and spiritually.”