End of Summer Blackberries & Swimming in Cedar River

At the Belmondo Reach Natural Area on the Cedar River, Squad battled a large noxious blackberry thicket. The dappled forest light was comfortable and not too hot for some end of summer bramble pulling. Due to the possibility of disturbing artifacts on the site, we stuck to above ground biomass removal of canes rather than digging out the root crowns, which is what will be needed eventually for full eradication.

The site still needs to be checked by King County's archeologist for artifacts before groundwork is given the all-clear. You can read more about the County's Cultural Protection Program on their website.

Naturally we enjoyed the Cedar River for one last swim. We didn't see any salmon, likely they haven't travelled this far yet. Next time!

Pulling Vines in the Belmondo Reach Natural Area.

Sometimes nature needs help with balance in a restoration site. At the Belmondo Reach Natural Area on the Cedar River, a large patch of native manroot / Marah oreganus (aka wild cucumber) was aggressively vining up into a grove of historic trees, as well as smothering a salmonberry patch. The fascinating fruits are irritating if eaten but very fun to stomp. They explode the spongy moist interior and eject large seeds- which of course you have to pick up if your goal is to limit its spread.

Interestingly the grove of large trees were CA/OR-native Lawson’s cedar and redwoods which are remnants of the coal mining settlement that used to occupy the site (see photo from 1889). If you look at the steep riverbank you can still see seams of coal.

The river was perfect for wading and swimming, we look forward to returning to see the salmon and also to keep up with the restoration progress.

Cedar River Restoration and Swimming.

The Belmondo Reach Natural Area on the Cedar River in Renton is a sweet little swim spot with a restoration site managed by King County. We had a large group pulling weeds away from young native plants so they wouldn't be smothered. Indeed, several were prostrate beneath the grass with only a desperate leaf or two rising up to the sun. This year should yield enough growth to raise

 them above the weed height, provided the ever-threatening blackberry is kept in check each season.

Squad always enjoys working alongside AmeriCorps crew members, whom hail from all over the country. In addition to being inspirational public servants, they are fun to talk to! As usual, many-a-parent mused about the unique opportunity for young adults to both travel around the country, develop a network, earn college money and gain experience in a wide variety of public services, from planting and tax assistance to teaching first-aid and assisting non-profits. What a wonderful program. We also learned that there are many positions in the program for crew leaders as well.

It is special to work on the river who's upper waters provide our drinking water. May we continue to take care of it for salmon's sake and all of nature, as well as ourselves.

Sparkling Swim & Stewardship on the Cedar River.

Stewardship Squad has become a big Cedar River fan! As it should be since half of us, as Seattle-Metro folks, get our drinking water from it- not to mention all the salmon that call it home. We worked at King County Park's Belmondo Reach Natural Area to mulch native plants in the restoration site. Everyone made new friends while hauling, filling, chatting & dumping. 

The drought this year is hard on such plantings. It made for a low fun river to swim in though, almost all of the parents jumped in too! The current was ideal for a fun-ride to the rock islands. In the bank above you could spot a coal-seam hinting at the mining that once took place in the area. In fact, this site was a village that supplied miners. Today however, the only coal we handled was dispersing illegal fire rings before high-tailing-it into the warm waters to play.

In addition to a wriggly stonefly nymph, we saw a plump garter snake with a distinctive red/orange stripe and tongue. Neither were very skittish. You can see the snakes of WA on the Burke Museum's website.