Before Roxhill Bog celebration on Thursday, here’s what the excitement’s about

| Environment | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Far beneath the bark chips, the reason for Thursday’s Roxhill Bog celebration is literally dug in and doing its job.

It’s a vinyl barrier, about 300 feet long, installed last fall as a test, to see if it could help keep water in the part of the historic peat wetland, which has been a source of concern over the years as it’s run dry. Now, the simple sight of standing water thrills those who’ve worked on the problem for years. Through a tangle of branches, here’s what we saw Monday on the south side of Roxhill Park:

This water is evidence the test barrier is working. And the rain that fell Monday brought more water to the wetland, while dousing us during a mini-tour with Sharon Leishman of the Duwamish Alive Coalition and Danielle Devier of Seattle Parks. They were two of the key participants in a 2021 online meeting we covered laying out the plan for “fixing the bathtub via blocking groundwater from leaving it, with a barrier – not just to save the bog, but to save the park, where trails and bridges have been sinking as the bog dries out.

They explained how the vinyl barrier was deemed to be the least damaging way to block it – they wouldn’t have to tear up so much of the bog in the process. Leishman stressed the collaboration that led to the plan, including Natural Systems Design and the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, which has been organizing volunteer restoration-work parties in the park – look closely at this photo and you’ll see a tiny starter clump of grass planted during one of those events:

Bog restoration projects are more common outside the U.S., we learned during the mini-tour, and they also serve an educational purpose – to teach people about peat’s role in carbon sequestration. All the harvesting of peat that’s sold or gardens is releasing a lot of it. So what’s happening at Roxhill Bog is just a start – more of the bog could be restored, and an outdoor education lab could follow, for example. Past surveys have shown area residents have an intense interest in access to more natural areas, and they hope to see some of them at the celebration Thursday, 10:30 am to noon, which will include art, speakers, and most importantly, guided bog tours so you can see and hear about all this firsthand,

HS February 18, 2026 (11:16 am)

Thank you for posting this. I hadn’t heard about the celebrations – tour and presentations. I support keeping the bog healthy and am looking forward to joining tomorrow, Thur.

Josh February 18, 2026 (12:28 pm)

Thank you for writing this article! I learned a lot from this and it seems we have a special place here. Very cool!

Redvine February 18, 2026 (1:16 pm)

This is a great initiative. Currently, there are homeless
encampments scattered throughout the bog area. I hope that the efforts and
funds dedicated to restoring the bog are not undermined by these encampments.
It is important for the city to prioritize this area during plans for
clearing the encampments to protect the restoration efforts.

WSB February 18, 2026 (1:30 pm)

I saw one spot with a couple of tents toward the southwest corner of the park while we toured. Not in the restoration area, which is understandable because they would be sitting/standing/lying down in water.

Patrick H. February 19, 2026 (6:59 am)

Redvine, homelessness has extremely minimal impacts on environmental quality compared to wealth. The construction of Westwood Village did more irrepreparable harm to the bog than a thousand encampments over 50 generations ever could. People with money generate more trash and have a larger carbon footprint than people who are unhoused. We just don’t see it because it’s contained in their homes and their bins. People with access to capital and stable housing are also more likely to clear land and drain wetlands for commercial and private property development.There are companies and people to hold accountable for environmental harms, and they aren’t the ones below you on the socio-economic ladder. Quit punching down.Thanks Duwamish Alive and DNDA for this innovative effort to preserve the bog, and for always operating at the intersection of environmental science and humanity. Y’all rock.

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