SURVEY: Next step in the fight to save Roxhill Bog

| Environment | How to help | West Seattle news | Westwood

(Southwestern side of Roxhill Bog, WSB file photo)
Half a year ago, we reported on a new effort to save Roxhill Bog. It concluded with a note that community involvement would be sought starting in late summer. Now it begins, with a survey:

West Seattle community members are being asked to participate in a survey of the Roxhill Park and its bog natural area as a part of the restoration efforts by a community lead partnership of organizations: Roxhill Champions, Duwamish Alive Coalition, City of Seattle, King County, and American Rivers. The purpose of this survey is to understand how communities are using the park and its natural area containing the bog. The community feedback on current uses, concerns and desires for the future will help ongoing planning efforts to restore the bog natural area and improve its use by community members. The survey is part of the hydrology study which was announced at a February “Stakeholders” meeting.

This natural area is one of the few remaining bogs in the city and was a thriving community treasure where families and community members connected with nature. Local schools used it as an outdoor classroom connecting curriculum with hands on learning, with community groups using it for recreation, education and social activities. It hosted one of the most diverse bird and native plant populations in the city.

The 5.3-acre bog natural area is also the headwaters of Longfellow Creek that flows through West Seattle. In recent years the area of the bog has been drying out, causing a rapid decline of the bog’s 2,000-year-old peat and its unique wetland ecosystem. The first step in restoring the bog’s health is to understand what is happening with the water in the bog. Part of the community-based effort to restore the bog’s health is conducting a hydrology study of it and to also understand how our community uses it currently and would like to in the future.

The survey (is open now and will) run through early September. All answers will be anonymous and any feedback is greatly appreciated. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete and is available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The information shared in the survey will be very helpful in planning for the bog and natural areas that the West Seattle community enjoys.

For more information and to participate in the survey, go to:

ROXHILLBOGSURVEY.ORG

lowmanbeachdrive August 19, 2020 (11:35 pm)

I recommend visiting the bog with a friend or family member (social distancing, of course!). If you jump up, they can feel your feet hit the ground when you come back down – even if they are standing 20 feet away. It’s because of the water underneath both of you. It’s neat for kids (or kids at heart, like me :). It’s right across from Westwood Shopping Center. Check it out!

Rick August 20, 2020 (7:12 am)

I believe Westwood used be part of that same bog just prior to my moving here.

Dawson August 20, 2020 (10:56 am)

Just a cog on a log with my dog drinking pog surrounded by fog as we go whole hog to fix the bog.

JRR August 20, 2020 (1:29 pm)

The extensive reach and function of the bog has already been destroyed by irresponsible development and marginalization of communities. I’m not sure “saving” is the right word. Wasn’t some of the land taken back by the city from Americans of Japanese descent?

JW August 21, 2020 (10:20 am)

Yes, I remember ice skating on the flooded bog of the blueberry farm that became Westwood. The bog is essentially the headwaters of the Delridge basin natural drainage system and Longfellow Creek. If only all of the encroachment of Longfellow Creek could be restored.

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