Hamm Creek Estuary Creation

December 28, 2007

King County

The Hamm Creek Estuary is located south of downtown Seattle in the Duwamish River estuary. The primary objectives of this project were to establish a native plant community in the riparian buffer of the creek and provide fish habitat. Today, the estuary supports native vegetation that provides food for juvenile salmonids. Salmon also use the intertidal shoreline for rearing and resting during the transition between fresh water and salt water life phases. Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons, osprey, and other wildlife utilize the site.

Restoration began in 1999 and has continued to the present day. Although the site was never developed for industrial use, Hamm Creek was straightened into a ditch between the 1950's and 1971 when the site of the former estuary was used to store dredge spoils. Beginning in 1999, a semi-natural channel and estuary were constructed, replacing the culvert that fed into the Duwamish River.

The restored section of Hamm Creek is on an easement King County purchased from Seattle City Light as part of its contribution to the Elliott Bay Duwamish Restoration Program, a legal settlement reached in 1991 by the City of Seattle, the former Metro wastewater agency that is now part of King County, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington State Department of Ecology, the Suquamish Tribe, and the Muckleshoot Tribe.

Contact Eliza Ghitis, (206) 382-7007.