In 2003, the Friends facilitated a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the city of Fife to purchase and preserve the 13-acre Lower Hylebos Marsh site.

The abandoned log sorting yard had been taken over by invasive weeds and junked vehicles, provided poor habitat and was a magnet for illegal behavior.

NOAA began restoration of the site in the fall of 2005, removing 30,000 yards of fill dirt, creating 5 acres of new off-channel marsh habitat along the lower mainstem of Hylebos Creek.

Under contract to NOAA, the Friends began a large-scale revegetation effort in December 2005, to establish native riparian and wetland plant communities that will support native fish and wildlife species. Between 2005 and 2007, Hylebos crews and volunteers planted 28,000 native trees, shrubs and wetland plants. The Friends will continue to do supplemental planting and remove invasive plants for the next several years to establish a sustainable native plant community.

Total Site Acreage: 13 acres

Restoration: Grading and excavation, creation of intertidal marsh habitat, native tree and plant re-vegetation, invasive removal

Project Began: September, 2005

Construction Completed: November, 2005

Marsh habitat Created: 5 Acres

Fill Dirt Removed: 30,000 yards

Native Plants: 28,000

Acreage Preserved: 13 acres

Volunteer Hours: 638

Partners:       National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration,
                    City of Fife
Funders:        National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration,
                    City of Fife

See a photographic history of the Lower Hylebos Marsh Project

See our Lower Hylebos Marsh photo gallery