West Seattle community members are being asked to participate in a survey of the Roxhill Park and its bog natural area as a part of the restoration efforts by a community lead partnership of organizations: Roxhill Champions, Duwamish Alive Coalition, City of Seattle, King County, and American Rivers. The purpose of this survey is to understand how communities are using the park and its natural area containing the bog. The community feedback on current uses, concerns and desires for the future will help ongoing planning efforts to restore the bog natural area and improve its use by community members. The survey is part of the hydrology study which was announced at a February “Stakeholders”meeting.

This natural area is one of the few remaining bogs in the city and was a thriving community treasure where families and community members connected with nature. Local schools used it as an outdoor classroom connecting curriculum with hands on learning, with community groups using it for recreation, education and social activities. It hosted one of the most diverse bird and native plant populations in the city.

The 5.3-acre bog natural area is also the headwaters of Longfellow Creek that flows through West Seattle. In recent years the area of the bog has been drying out, causing a rapid decline of the bog’s 2,000-year-old peat and its unique wetland ecosystem. The first step in restoring the bog’s health is to understand what is happening with the water in the bog. Part of the community-based effort to restore bog’s health is conducting a hydrology study of it and to also understand how our community uses it currently and would like to in the future.

The survey will open to the public on August 17th and run through early September. All answers will be anonymous and any feedback is greatly appreciated. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete and is available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The information shared in the survey will be very helpful in planning for the bog and natural areas that the West Seattle community enjoys.

For more information and to participate in the survey, go to:

ROXHILLBOGSURVEY.ORG