West Seattle, Washington
24 Tuesday
(WSB photo, last year’s recycling event)
Reminder, with one month to go – on the first full day of spring, you’ll get a chance to jump-start spring cleaning and de-cluttering with the first big recycling event of the season. New location this time for the 9 am-noon Saturday, March 21, event – the south lot at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) instead of the north lot. We’re still awaiting the official list of what will be accepted at this free event coordinated by the West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, but typically it’s a variety of recyclables/reusables, and shredding.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The colorful canopies in the background of our Roxhill Park photo were the only hint from a distance that something “huge” was being celebrated this morning – the successful experiment to restore part of the park’s peat bog, one of the few remaining in the region, at a site that historically fed into Longfellow Creek, and the Duwamish River beyond.
As we showed you after our preview visit to the bog earlier this week, the experiment, more than a decade in the making, is returning a dried-out bog “cell” to the wetland it is meant to be. Under the bark chips, a 300-foot-long vinyl barrier was installed late last year to keep water where it should remain, likened at one long-ago meeting to “fixing a bathtub.” The main architect of the pilot solution, Steve Winter of Natural Systems Design, was among the people who spoke as light snow fell – last one in our 28-minute video, after Duwamish Alive Coalition‘s Sharon Leishman, deputy Parks superintendent Daisy Catague, DNDA‘s interim executive director Shannon Woodard, and Neina Chapa from American Rivers:
Winter explained that the root of the problem was what was done during rapid development in the ’50s and ’60s, as with so many cities – water was something “to be moved through our systems really quickly. What we’re doing here … is really reversing that acceleration.” So they studied the groundwater and figured out how to “get in front” of it – so the barrier went eight feet under Cell 4, “so [the water] you see is about four feet higher than it was for many, many decades,” and now it’s rehydrating the peat. As for the future, he said, “there’s three other cells where we could do this, and that’s where the power of this project is,” including synergy with a Seattle Public Utilities project that could bring stormwater back to the bog too, meaning this is bringing the bog “one step closer to restoring the headwater of Longfellow Creek.”
This morning’s celebration event, which Winter and Chapa jokingly dubbed a “peat party,” wasn’t just speeches – it also offered hands-on projects, such as a mini-stormwater filter you could build with Mikaela Ebbeson, DNDA environmental-education coordinator:
At the Seattle Parks table, environmental education program specialist Nicole Parish-Andrews was offering bracelet-making and wildlife displays (that’s a beaver skull at top left):
Emceeing the event, Leishman repeatedly hailed the power of community in making this day possible – and reiterated that it’ll be vital in figuring out how to go forward and build on this first successful test. Meantime, you can see the restored area for yourself by walking just a short distance east from the park’s play area and looking south of the trail, beyond the chips. You can also watch the DNDA calendar for Roxhill restoration volunteer events – hundreds of plantings are busy taking root already.
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,
(File photo, courtesy Urban Homestead Foundation)
The future of the former Seattle City Light substation across from Genesee Hill Elementary remains unsettled, more than a decade after the city decided to put it and other former substations up for sale. Tonight the nonprofit that formed in 2016 to try to buy the 50th/Dakota site, the Urban Homestead Foundation, announced it is ending its attempt to buy the site for educational/environmental use – but says the nonprofit Forterra will take the campaign on. Here’s what the UHF told its supporters tonight:
A new way forward to conserve the Dakota Homestead land!
We are pleased to announce that Forterra – Land for GoodTM, a well established land conservation nonprofit in King County, will be taking the Dakota Homestead project into the future, effective immediately. Forterra is committed to continuing the vision that so many of us in West Seattle have held for more than a decade. Urban Homestead Foundation will transfer its remaining financial assets (donations received) to Forterra in the coming months and dissolve our foundation in accordance with state law.
There are so many people to thank for bringing this work to successful completion.
● To the original dreamers whose passion for community, land use, and environmental education launched the mission and raised the rallying cry to preserve this piece of our neighborhood.
● To the City of Seattle, who continued to hold onto the property during our community-led efforts to purchase the land.
● To the numerous non-profit organizations and government agencies who pledged their support.
● And most importantly, to all of you, the individuals who donated time and money to our organization over the years. The financial seeds you planted will continue to grow.
We’d also like to acknowledge that this land is not just a parcel to be preserved, but a part of the ancestral home of the Duwamish people since time immemorial. In so doing, we’d like to express gratitude to the Duwamish people, past, present and future, for their stewardship of the land we live, work and play on.
For a small organization to garner such visibility and support across the city is a huge undertaking, and this partnership with Forterra to preserve the land is an incredible win. We couldn’t have done it without all of you – thank you.
Please take a moment today to visit the website of Forterra – Land for Good at <strong>https://forterra.org to learn about their mission. We think you’ll understand why we feel so strongly that our original vision will live on and be realized.
Finally, the work to preserve this property is not done yet! Forterra will still need to close the funding gap to complete the purchase of this land. Therefore, if you’d like to continue to support this project, you can donate directly to Forterra at the following link https://forterra.org/donate-web and specify “Dakota Homestead” in the “additional comment/notes” field.
Thank you all and see you in the community!
Sincerely,
The Board of Directors, Urban Homestead Foundation
We had inquired last September with UHF about the project’s status and while they acknowledged our inquiry at the time, they hadn’t been ready to comment until this announcement. We’re following up with them regarding the unspecified “funding gap” that remained, and we’ll be following up with Forterra tomorrow.
OTHER SITES: Of the other ex-substation sites the city declared “surplus” at the same time, one other has become an environmental-education site, Delridge Wetland Park. Another, on Pigeon Point, has become “tiny townhouses”; the 16th/Holden site in north Highland Park awaits future redevelopment as affordable housing; and two other sites in Fauntleroy and south Highland Park also remain vacant.
By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Today is the last day you can vote to elect a member of the King Conservation District Board of Supervisors for District 3, encompassing Seattle, Vashon/Maury Islands, and parts of Renton and Tukwila.
As we reminded you in previous coverage, the KCD is a special-purpose district, or a limited-purpose local government that specializes in a specific function. The KCD serves to provide “technical assistance to private residents in forest management, farm conservation planning, wildfire preparedness, and streamside and shoreline enhancement,” according to the KCD website. They also work with cities and public organizations to assist with community-oriented conservation like community gardens and urban-forest canopies.
The vote is between three candidates – Erica Chung, Csenka Favorini-Csorba, and Chris Porter, whose full statements can be found here. Porter, a former supervisor, is from West-Seattle, with Chung residing in Queen Anne, and Favorini-Csorba, a current supervisor, in White Center.
Voter turnout has increased a bit since our last report, from 5,467 people or 1% of eligible voters to 7,221 or 1.48%. This election is held completely separate from the standard cycles, so you didn’t get a ballot in the mail. Ballots can be returned electronically using the online ballot access system accessible through KCD’s website. The portal works with most smartphones and web browsers. You have until 8 p.m. tonight to vote, if you haven’t already.
Always lots of interest in shredding opportunities, so here’s news of your next one: As announced by Seattle Parks – Shred-it is coming to Delridge Community Center, 10:30 am-12:30 pm on Saturday, February 14:
$15 per person, residents only, no businesses. Please remove any paper clips or staples before shredding. Two standard garbage bags per car.
Delridge CC is at 4501 Delridge Way SW. After this, the next local event we know of is the March 21 recycle/reuse event presented by the West Seattle Junction Association and Chamber of Commerce, details TBA.
By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Today marks one week left to vote for one member of the King Conservation District Board of Supervisors, whose elections often get overlooked since they’ve been separate from other voting cycles and ballots. You’re voting to choose one of three candidates – two of whom are West Seattleites – to serve on the five-member board responsible for overseeing KCD operations, budget, and setting policy.
First, here’s what the King Conservation District is: A special-purpose district under the Washington State Conservation Commission, focused on promoting “the sustainable use of natural resources,” according to its website. The KCD collaborates with private residents, cities, and organizations to provide technical assistance in resource management. It is primarily funded by a per-parcel fee and does not receive money from the state’s General Fund. (Here’s a simple breakdown of some of what the KCD does.)
KCD elections – which choose three of the five supervisors – are subject to historically lower voter turnouts because they are not a part of regular King County ballot. When the Conservation Districts were created in 1939, the Washington State Conservation Commission was made responsible for establishing electoral procedures (RCW 89.08), that do not fall under the state statute for general elections (RCW 29A).
That could change soon – HB 2499, primarily sponsored by State House Rep. Mia Gregerson, is currently in committee. The bill would effectively permit conservation districts to choose to hold their elections under RCW 29A, alongside other federal-, state-, and local-office elections, potentially bringing in more votes.
As of today at 12 PM, 5,467 ballots have been returned out of a total 488,692 eligible voters in the district, approximately 1%.
The current election pertains to District No. 3 of the KCD, developed after the Board of Supervisors voted to expand its three elected seats into three separate board districts based on location. District No. 3 represents western King County, including Seattle, Vashon/Maury Islands, and parts of Renton and Tukwila. All eligible voters and candidates must reside within District 3.
Three candidates are running to fill the board seat; from their candidate statements, which you can read in full here:
Erica Chung
Chung earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Studies at University of California Los Angeles, with a master’s degree in Public Administration at Evergreen State. She currently works as a strategic adviser in the Commission Office for the Port of Seattle, a position she has held for five years. She has worked on the Wolf Creek Ravine revitalization project and developed an urban forest stewardship plan. Through which she also collaborated with the City of Seattle and the KCD. Through the board position, she aims to enhance its visibility in the community, amplify its work with local elected officials, and build strong public-private partnerships.
Csenka Favorini-Csorba
Favorini-Csorba, a West Seattle resident, is running for reelection, and was chosen as Vice Chair of the board in 2025. She earned her master’s degree in Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management. During her term, she led a resolution for the Washington Association of Conservation Districts to provide tribal-relations training, has put in continued work to get the KCD election on the general ballot, and has been an advocate prioritizing funds to local environmental-justice organizations.
Chris Porter
Porter, also a West Seattle resident, earned his bachelor’s degree in nursing at San Diego State University, and a master’s on the family nurse practitioner track at Western University. He served on the KCD board once before, from 2020-2023. During his time, he helped to reshape the district’s structure, elections, finances, funding, and relationship with King County. He has a personal passion for conservation, transforming his yard into a wildlife habitat and using a bicycle as his primary mode of transportation. He aims to create a strong sense of community and prioritize conservation efforts.
HOW TO VOTE: Voting began on January 20, 2026 and will end on February 10, 2026 at 8:00 pm. The election relies primarily on electronic ballot access, though physical ballots are also available if you request one ASAP; they must be postarked by February 10 and received by February 19. You can vote online through the KCD webpage.
(Metro photo)
Route 128, which includes West Seattle, is one of the routes to which Metro will assign its newest battery-electric buses starting next week. The new GILLIG-manufactured buses, painted “electric yellow and seafoam blue,” are 40 foot long, with a capacity of up to 69 people, and they’re expected to be able to go up to 280 miles on a single charge. Metro’s announcement today also makes note of this distinctive feature:
The new buses are the first in Metro’s fleet to enter service with new operator safety partitions installed. The partitions include a reinforced lower metal panel extending to the operator’s platform, along with a two-part sliding glass system. A larger, extendable glass panel provides increased coverage and visibility, while an additional polycarbonate panel extends to the ceiling for added protection. The partition will remain closed at all times except when transit operators are assisting customers with mobility devices and meets industry safety standards for vehicle windows and operator compartments.
Metro will be adding charging capacity, starting this spring at its Tukwila base, which it says will be able to handle up to 120 battery-electric buses.
(October photo of salmon in Longfellow Creek by Manuel Valdes)
Puget Soundkeeper has released its full report on the fall salmon season in Longfellow Creek. It’s been monitoring coho salmon in the eastern West Seattle creek for a decade now, with a focus on gathering data about how urban pollution affects salmon survival. As its announcement explains:
For years, Longfellow Creek has been the epicenter of research studying the effects of 6PPD-quinone – a toxic tire chemical lethal to Coho salmon. Exposure to 6PPD-quinone causes a condition called Urban Runoff Mortality Syndrome (URMS), a disease characterized by symptoms such as disorientation and gasping for air, often killing Coho
within 24 hours. Furthermore, this chemical has been strongly linked to Pre-Spawn Mortality (PSM), where adult salmon die before successfully reproducing. Puget Soundkeeper’s annual Pre-Spawn Mortality Survey analyzes the spawning success of Coho salmon in Longfellow Creek to better understand the impacts of 6PPD-quinone.
Here’s a one-sheet with results of this year’s survey, conducted from October through December. 55.5% of coho in Longfellow Creek died before spawning, and Puget Soundkeeper says that’s consistent with the data it’s been collecting since 2015 – some years up to 90 percent of the fish died before spawning.
So what can be done? Puget Soundkeeper says:
Fortunately, solutions exist. Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) projects, such as raingardens or bioswales, can effectively remove toxins from runoff and prevent harmful chemicals from entering our waters. In addition to GSI projects, policy action is critical. A bill (HB 2421) aimed at removing 6PPD from tires was introduced to the Washington State House and Senate Environment Committees last week. Community members can help move this legislation forward by calling their representatives and voicing their support. [Here’s how]
Puget Soundkeeper will be recruiting the next cohort of salmon surveyors in August; stay tuned to our website for more information. Puget Soundkeeper thanks all volunteers, partners, and donors who make this project possible.
There are also volunteer cleanups during the season; we reported on one back in November.
Seattle Public Utilities just sent the reminder – this is the last week for “free” composting of Christmas trees and other holiday greenery – either via curbside pickup, or transfer-station dropoff:
Remove all decorations, cut into sections 4-foot or less, and place trees or bundled greens next to your Food & Yard Waste cart on your regular collection day. Apartment residents may place up to two trees next to each Food & Yard waste cart at no charge. You can also drop off up to 3 trees less than 8 feet in length at a Transfer Station.
The “free” tree-cycling continues through Saturday (January 31). After that, you’ll have to chop up your tree so it fits in your yard/food-waste cart, or take it to the transfer station (South, in west South Park, is the closest)
Tire-dumping in West Seattle greenspaces seems to be a recurring problem. After multiple reports in the West Duwamish Greenbelt, tonight word of another location – a texter sent the report and photos:
Someone dumped maybe 50 tires on the side of the road on Fairmount Avenue. It’s kind of a criminal amount of illegal dumping … I just got home from the airport … Sounds like this happened sometime Thursday night or Friday.
That timeframe was according to the texter’s neighbors. The city’s page about illegal dumping explains, among other things, how to report it (and also has a map of recent reports).
P.S. Almost forgot to mention, the dumped-in-Fauntleroy spa chairs shown here earlier this week have been taken away, reports Tom (who sent the original photo of the chairs).
Something else the sunshine brings to mind … spring cleaning, and the free West Seattle recycle/reuse events that can help with it. Here are two dates to save (both Saturdays):
(WSB photo from March 2025)
MARCH 21: The annual recycle/reuse event organized by the West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce is set for this date. This is in partnership with multiple organizations that accept a variety of recyclable/reusable items. We don’t have this year’s specifics yet – and the location might change from past years – but we’re told you can definitely count on this date.
APRIL 25: This will bring Fauntleroy UCC‘s next twice-yearly Recycle Roundup – one partner but a long list of items they’ll accept, including electronics, and plenty of capacity. (We usually are able to publish that list well in advance; not this early, though.)
UNTIL THEN: Can’t wait to dispose of some items? Find options via the Seattle Public Utilities “Where Does It Go?” lookup.
Two notes about Seattle City Light electric-vehicle charging in West Seattle:
(WSB photo, one of two current chargers on 39th SW, shown in October)
TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF JUNCTION STATION: Starting tomorrow (Tuesday), the two-charger station on 39th SW near West Seattle Bowl will be closed for about a week, according to this announcement we received from SCL:
City Light will replace the two existing 50 kW DC fast chargers with newer 62.5 kW ChargePoint chargers beginning January 13 with anticipated closure of at least 1 week. This projected timeline may change based on weather and site conditions. Please plan for alternative charging during this time as both charging stations will be unavailable.
The project website says this is a prelude to a full-site replacement later this year, to “change the current site layout” and further upgrade the chargers. The station was built in 2020 and has had recurring problems with theft/vandalism in the ensuing years.
(November photo of Morgan Junction site)
MORGAN JUNCTION EV LOT STATUS: Meantime, City Light has not yet started work at the eight-charger EV lot site in Morgan Junction. Last fall, City Light revised the expected start date of construction multiple times. It’ll likely be a topic at the upcoming quarterly meeting of the Morgan Community Association on January 21st, so we asked SCL spokesperson Jenn Strang if there’s a chance it’ll be under construction by then. Her reply:
The current status of the project is that we are in the pre-construction submittal phase with the contractor. This process includes reviewing and approving requirements such as the safety and environmental plans. It is vital to ensure public safety before starting construction. The official start date of construction will be set once all the required approvals have been obtained.
When we first reported on the charging-lot plan in 2022, the utility was saying construction could start by the end of that year.
Second Thursday arrives on the early side this month – next Thursday, January 8 – so here’s a look at one of this month’s second-Thursday features: Words, Writers, Southwest Stories, presented online by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. For January, the topic is “Wild in Seattle” – a book by David B. Williams, one of the two guest presenters. Here’s the SWSHS announcement:
Join author David B. Williams for a conversation about his 2025 book, “Wild in Seattle: Stories at the Crossroads of People and Nature.” Published in April, Wild in Seattle contains 47 essays exploring the geology, flora, and fauna around Seattle.
Williams, an award-winning natural-history writer, explores the way both nature and humans have shaped Seattle, from earthquakes and tsunamis to animal migration and architecture. David will be joined by historian Judy Bentley, author of” Hiking Washington’s History” and “Walking Washington’s History,” to discuss how history and geology has shaped our city.
You can RSVP for their 6 pm Thursday presentation – and read more about them – at this page on the SWSHS website.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Though the employment picture is cloudy in some industries, others are desperate for more trained workers, and some of those booming fields are at the heart of programs at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) on Puget Ridge.
One of them – Automotive Technology – is celebrating the recent arrival you see above: A uniquely configured training vehicle for students to learn how to work on EVs.
We were there as it was shown off during an event at the campus’s Steve and Sharon Huling Automotive Technology Center, with one of its namesakes on hand, as well as educators, local advisers, SSC president Dr. Monica Brown, and a leader from the college system’s fundraising foundation.
The training vehicle, created by Consulab from a car it purchased from Tesla, offers invaluable visuals – a college one-sheet explains that it “exposes every component — motors, batteries, charging systems, power electronics —while using a high-voltage emulator for safe, hands-on diagnostics and troubleshooting.” It’s the latest addition to what SSC notes is the only independent – not tied to a specific manufacturer – EV training program in the area.
SSC’s Dean of Automotive, Aviation, Heavy Diesel, and Welding, Ferdinand Orbino, said the high-tech addition underscores the skill sets needed for automotive technology now – “part electrician, part coder, part mechanic:
After he spoke, it was back out into the learning area, where Automotive Technology faculty member Teryn Kilgore explained what the Consulab trainer can be used for and how it works:
The Consulab trainer was obtained with the help of a $147,000 state grant. It’s being incorporated gradually into the program. The Seattle Colleges not only continue to seek grant funding but also are happy to have supporters like the Huling family, as Dr. Brown noted in her remarks:
Steve Huling also spoke, talking about how he got involved, and how much growth he’s seen in the program:
Other participants in the event included Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsor) owner Todd Ainsworth, a member of the program’s Technical Advisory Committee; his business now services EVs, and he verified the need for technicians to get training.
As more funding is sought and obtained, the next major step for SSC is to launch a Battery Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Training certificate program next fall; they’re exploring evening class times so currently employed technicians can attend after work to “upskill.” In the longer run, Battery Electric and Hybrid Vehicle training will also become part of the two-year Associate of Applied Science program. Details about Automotive Technology training, teaching, and giving at SSC can be found here.
With one week until Christmas, you might still be shopping for special people on your list. If any of them are nature fans – West Seattle photographer and naturalist Madison Kirkman might have the perfect gift idea: “My partner and I have been working on making a calendar for the Seattle area with all kinds of naturalist information for the area – whale migrations, what can be foraged and when, salmon viewing, heron nesting, low tides, moon phases, etc. This is the first year we are selling it.” You can order the calendar here for $20. Madison has a free online version too – “We don’t want money to be an exclusionary factor for anyone having this information. We just want people to know what exists around us and how/when to see it! So it’s a local resource online and also a calendar if anyone wants to physically see it at a glance.”
A reader asked what’s going on with that Delridge greenspace, east of the Southwest Precinct and the businesses north of the precinct [vicinity map]. We recalled development plans nearby, years ago, but that’s not what this is for. The land is SDOT property, so we took the question to that department. Turns out it’s for an environmental project that got a little publicity more than two years ago; we tried to get details at the time but our inquiries hit a dead end, and eventually fell off our list (aside from a mention at a meeting last year). In response to our new inquiry, SDOT spokesperson Mariam Ali replied:
the vegetation work you’re seeing is part of the Delridge Native Forest Garden project. SDOT and our partners are restoring these parcels to improve habitat, support tree canopy growth, and create more welcoming community green spaces in the neighborhood.
We recently completed planting and established a path to support ongoing stewardship and future volunteer events. Our first volunteer planting event with the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association took place on November 22.
More information about the City’s broader forest restoration and tree-planting investments can be found here:
Delridge Native Forest Garden Project – Transportation | seattle.gov
The project website has this map:
The timeline for work here, also as noted on the project page, runs until 2028. The funding is $900,000 of a $13 million federal grant, according to this 2023 news release (when we, as mentioned above, tried to get more details). We asked SDOT about the tribes involved in the program; they say it involves the Muckleshoot Tribe because they’re federally recognized.
By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Last weekend, we reported on the annual Longfellow Creek cleanup event, hosted by Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. Each year, teams gather to clean up the park and chat with Puget Soundkeeper’s salmon-survey team.
In the wake of the event, Puget Soundkeeper shared their mid-survey data with us. Of note is the fact that this is their first year performing necropsies on both female and male salmon. So far this year, the team has counted 402 live salmon and 125 dead salmon in Longfellow Creek, for a total recorded population of 529. See the data for this year and last year here.
For the past several years, in addition to tracking the coho population, they’ve been monitoring for Urban Runoff Mortality Syndrome (URMS), a condition caused primarily by chemical runoff from car tires. So far this season, the team has recorded 13 live coho with URMS.
When it works its way into a coho population, URMS can be devastating to population numbers. A key element of Puget Soundkeeper’s work has been both tracking and combating the use of 6PPD-Q, the chemical responsible for URMS.
“Unfortunately, the chemical 6PPD-Q has been standard in tire construction for years and is an essential safety mechanism,” said Ewan Henderson, a Clean Water Program Specialist with Puget Soundkeeper. “This means it’s in every tire on the road and can’t really be banned until a viable alternative is on the market.”
But, according to Henderson, last week saw a significant reason for hope. In the past seven days, Wales-based company Perpetuus Advanced Materials and Ohio-based company Flexsys have both announced alternatives to 6PPD-Q, both of which may lead to a reduced environmental impact. However, Henderson pointed out, there are still no policy changes stemming from these developments.
For now, Henderson says the “main focus is on filtering polluted storm water before entering streams,” including using green infrastructure, which has proved effective at reducing the levels of 6PPD-Q in waterways. Here’s a video Henderson recommended from King County Natural Resources and Parks, which explains how green infrastructure works.
In the meantime, if you’re interested in volunteering or donating, or learning more about Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, you can go here.
(Photo courtesy SPU/WM: Tool Library’s Sean Isom and WM’s Anna Seweryniak)
Every Wednesday, as featured in our Event Calendar and daily highlight lists, the West Seattle Tool Library hosts a Fix-It event, to which you can bring a tool and get help fixing it so you don’t have to toss it. That’s why Seattle Public Utilities and Waste Management just gave the Tool Library a $1,000 “ReThink Waste” grant, one of five small grants just announced for Seattle organizations that have projects/programs “to reduce waste or create new pathways for sustainability.” That’s not all the Tool Library offers; it’s been open for 15 years, as a community resource, on the northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW). And if you want to check out the next Fix-It event, that starts tonight at 5:30 pm!
2026 is six-plus weeks away, but the state Ecology Department just sent out this early alert:
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, a scheduled 4-cent increase in the price for plastic film carryout bags at Washington restaurants and retailers will raise their minimum cost to 12 cents per bag from the current 8 cents. The increase is part of a 2020 law meant to encourage shoppers to bring their own carryout bags. The minimum charge for a paper carryout bag will remain at 8 cents.
Washington’s single-use plastic bag ban was implemented in 2021 and prohibits thin, .5 mil disposable plastic bags. The law sets standards for thicker, 2.25 mil reusable plastic film bags and requires plastic and paper carryout bags contain a minimum 40% recycled content.
“Paper and plastic carryout bags impact the environmental at every stage of their production, transportation, and disposal,” said Peter Lyon, manager of Ecology’s Solid Waste Management Program. “Bringing your own bag is the easiest way to avoid the charge, reduce emissions, preserve resources, and prevent bags from becoming litter.”
To avoid the additional cost of carryout bags, Ecology recommends people store reusable bags in their cars, backpacks, purses, and other handy places where they can be easily retrieved when needed.
Resources designed to help businesses remind customers to bring their own bags are available on Ecology’s bag ban webpage, including printable “BYOB” signs and posters that can be hung in parking lots, on windows, and at checkout counters.
How bag fees work
When a customer chooses to purchase a bag from a grocery store, retailer, or restaurant, the law requires a minimum charge of 8 cents for paper bags or 12 cents for plastic bags. Businesses are allowed to charge more than the minimum fees to help recoup the higher costs of compliant paper and plastic bags. Bag fees are treated as taxable retail sales – the fee goes to the business. Customers using food benefits, such as WIC, TANF, SNAP or EBT, are not subject to bag fees. Food banks are also exempt from applying bag fees to paper or plastic bags.Learn more
Visit ecology.wa.gov/bag-ban for more information about the law’s requirements, frequently asked questions, and flyers and resources translated into 18 languages. Contact bagban@ecy.wa.gov with questions or requests for technical assistance.
Seattle had a “bag ban” for almost a decade before the state implemented its law – which pre-empted the city rules – in 2021.
(Photo courtesy Puget Soundkeeper)
By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Nearly 60 volunteers gathered Saturday at Dragonfly Pavilion for a salmon-season Longfellow Creek cleanup event hosted by Puget Soundkeeper and Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. The event was a way for community members to become stewards of their environment, said Tanya Balaji, a Stewardship and Education Manager with Puget Soundkeeper.
Balaji, who has a background in oceanography and biology, has been working with Puget Soundkeeper for just over a year, and says it’s been a great experience. Volunteers were signing up through Friday night, even during the downpour, and according to Balaji, there were surprisingly few cancellations.
(WSB photos from here down)
The cleanup had two goals. First, to help clean up the waterway and surrounding area ahead of winter. “Restoration work helps nurture a better habitat,” Balaji said. It is also a chance to highlight the yearly Salmon Survey, involving a rotating group of volunteers who check on Longfellow Creek every day of spawning season, counting live and dead salmon. (We’re expecting the total seasonal count to be made public on Monday.)
During the event, volunteers were encouraged to stop by and chat with the survey teams, to learn more about vital conservation efforts. In addition to keeping track of the population, the survey teams are on the lookout for Urban Runoff Mortality Syndrome (URMS), a sometimes devastating condition caused by chemical runoff from car tires. URMS is specifically dangerous to coho salmon, and Puget Soundkeeper’s teams are monitoring it as a key step toward protecting waterways.
A team of four survey members, including Puget Soundkeeper volunteer Tallie, found two salmon, a male and a female, just before noon Saturday. After wading into the creek and retrieving the fish, survey members perform a quick necropsy on the salmon.
Tallie said they’re searching for three key features. First, whether or not the tail is still present. Because survey teams work on different days, they mark salmon they’ve already recorded by severing the end of the tail. If the salmon still has a tail, they check for an adipose fin, a small fin located on the back of the fish. Salmon grown in hatcheries have this fin removed, which allows the team to determine which salmon are wild, and which trace to hatcheries.
Finally, and in a show that drew a crowd of volunteers, they check each salmon to see if it’s spawned. Here’s Tallie, holding up a small female salmon to cheering from the crowd, as she revealed that it did manage to spawn.
“I didn’t think I would like it at first,” said Tallie, who’s been volunteering for two years, “but it’s kinda cool to see.” Overall, she says the season has been good, though Saturday was an outlier, with no living salmon spotted by noon.
Beyond keeping the environment clean, events at Longfellow Creek also help keep younger people active in their communities, said Mark Dorsey, who attended Saturday with a group of students from Unleash the Brilliance. Founded in 2008 by Mark’s brother Terrell, Unleash the Brilliance is a nonprofit that aims to help youth stay engaged with their education, especially youth facing challenges that may result in reckless behavior, said Dorsey.
He says it’s been incredibly rewarding to see younger people get involved in stewarding their environment. “Before, you’d see kids just standing around on their phones,” Dorsey said, “But now they’re competing to see who can pick up the most trash, or plant the most trees. They’re all competing to see who can do better.”
For more information, to donate, or to volunteer with Puget Soundkeeper, check their website here. For more information about Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, go here.
When last we checked in on the future Morgan Junction EV-charging lot, the city said construction would start in October. That month ended with no sign of construction, so we checked in again.
While the project website now says “late 2025” for the start of construction on the eight-charger lot, we asked Seattle City Light spokesperson Jenn Strang if they could be more specific, and Strang said November, adding, “We’re currently working through pre-construction activities with the contractor.” As we reported a month ago, Zenisco Inc. won the contract with a bid of $823,250.
The photos and report were sent by Matthew;
Just wanted to give you a heads up about some more tire dumping in the West Seattle Greenbelt off Highland Park (Way) towards the bottom of the hill. About 100 tires were dumped about 200’ up from the gate. The gate has been unlocked for some time and allowing this commercial level dumping again. Awhile back, there were at least 100 tires dumped by the gate. Seems like the perpetrators are back. And, now, there’s an abandoned van nearby.
That van has been there since at least 10/14/25. Several neighbors and members of the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails group have sent in Find It Fix It reports.
No action yet, though, so we’ll check with city departments tomorrow. That area also has had several fire reports lately, with another one (described as “very small”) around 9 pm tonight.
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