Forest and Creek Restoration Projects, Sign Up For Smith Woods

Two Redmond Neighborhood Park Forest Restoration Projects

NOW

"Green Redmond" has one remaining forest restoration event this year.  Volunteers will be planting trees and removing invasive plants from Smith Woods Park, Saturday, March 28th, 2026, 9-12,  Click this link for details and to sign up:

https://redmond.greencitypartnerships.org/event/700/

THEN

A few years ago at Smith Woods volunteers built a long trail to the park pond.  Retired Mayor Rosemarie Ives of 20 years was shovelling bark with the rest of them. It was an honorary land donation event, as well.   See the trail pictures and event article here.

The Regional Bear Creek Restoration Project in Redmond's

 Friendly Village 

Photo with Article by John Rienke 

Years ago, the "Adopt A Stream Foundation" (AASF) created a major project to restore Chinook salmon breeding habitat in the portion of Bear Creek that flows through "Friendly Village," a forty plus acre manufactured home residence park operated by the King County Housing Authority in eastern Redmond.

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The "Adopt A Stream" Founder, Tom Murdoch designed and directed  "Woods Creek Bridge Removal and Restoration project."  His crew of volunteers will be planting trees in Monroe Valentines Day, 2026.  Woods Creek is a tributary to the Skykomish River. It took ten years for completion; and a lot of it fundraising.  

-- Bob Yoder, 2/10/2026

"Autumn Carpet"

 

Credit John Reinke, Redmond, WA.

Great Blue Heron, by Reinke

 

John Reinke / Redmond Neighborhood Blog 

"Great Blue Heron with fish." By John Reinke

Painting or Photo?  John Reinke's heron is foraging under the Leary Way Bridge in Redmond.  Great Blue Herons are celebrated as Redmond's "Species of Local Importance". They forage in the riparian habitat of Redmond's streams, wetlands and the Sammamish River. Redmond heron raise their young in the Cottonwood rookeries of Marymoor Park and Issaquah.

Photo by John Reinke, Redmond photographer
Source:  Cathy Beam, Principal Environmental Planner, City of Redmond.

SUSPENDED IN MOTION, Autumn Fall In Redmond, John Reinke

Credit/John Reinke 

On my way to the 90th Street Runoff Pond this afternoon, I spotted a small autumn leaf suspended in midair.  It was dangling from a single spider strand.  In the background behind it you will see the Sammamish River Trail.  The river itself is flowing behind the wall of foliage alongside the trail.  Who knows, salmon may be migrating upstream as I took this picture.

-- John Reinke, Redmond photojournalist  

   10/13/2024

Redmond Natural Art

 

90th Street Run-off pond near the Sammamish River. 

Photo by John Reinke 

UPDATED, PART ONE: RHS 25th Anniversary Celebration / John Oftebro

 

Redmond Historical Society 25th Anniversary Celebration in the new Senior & Community Center

President John Oftebro of the Redmond Historical Society (RHS) did a fabulous job producing, directing and emceeing the Redmond Historical Society 25th Anniversary Celebration and Social.  Over 120 attended.  The event was held on Saturday, October 28 at the new Redmond Senior and Community Center.  John's an excellent fund-raiser and superlative jack-of-all trades.  

Laura-Lee Bennett, the Executive V.P. oversaw the event.  RHS Co-founder Miguel Llanos flew up from Los Angeles and gave a 30-minute interactive slide show.  John Couch, Redmond's Park & Rec. Director of 30 years dressed-up as Mayor Bill Brown. Chris "Hurricane" Himes, Redmond's first Strong Mayor gave a charming, short speech. Former Mayor Rosemary Ives was on Block Island attending to her family.  

Board member Deborah Oftebro assembled lead-members to work the coffee cake and cookie table: Judy Lang, Jo Ann Potter, Deb Akerstrom and a Morelli?  My wife Pam and I got to sit with good friends, John Reinke, Gary Smith and Terry Lavender. John Reinke gave the entire audience a holler as he sang along.  

Photo and story by Yoder

9/29/2024

Critical Area Ordinance, Public Hearing

 Great Blue Heron 
"Species of Local Importance"  
Sammamish River, Redmond, WA.   

Hello Planning Commissioners:

"I only caught part of your meeting last night, but it sounds like the State is requiring updates to the Critical Area Ordinance? 

As a college educated biologist -- similar to Mayor Angela Birney -- Critical Areas are important to me.   In the Ives Administration, I made "Species of Local Importance" and "Habitat of Local Importance" comments to the Planning Commission chaired by Mr. Snodgrass.  After much discussion, the commission decided on the Great Blue Heron (GBH) and Riparian habitat, in which it lives.   

Camouflaged Goose Nest On Sammamish River

 

 Canadian goose nesting on tree snag in Redmond / credit John Reinke 

In 2020, John Reinke took this amazing photo of a Canadian goose nesting her offspring in a 20-foot tree-trunk snag. Note the camouflage!  The snag is located in the 90th-Street Run-off Pond designed to clean water entering the Sammamish River. 

The dead tree was cut down in 2023 during a $1M city restoration project to improve drainage from the pond into the Sammamish River.  Since then the goose and other waterfowl haven't returned to build nests.

Mr. Reinke lives in Redmond, WA.  He's an avid nature photographer focusing on city wildlife living along a downtown segment of the Sammamish River.  

-- B. Yoder, 

  4/2/2024

City Hall Protest: "Bring Them Home Now."

Bob, Around noon today, I was on my way to River Trail Roasters for a cup of coffee, when I spotted a demonstration in front of Redmond City Hall, just across the street.  I quickly crossed the street and fished out my cell phone camera and discretely snapped a few photos.

The demonstrators were evidently a local Jewish group, as there were quite a number of planted signs on display, each one showing the photo of someone currently being held hostage by Hamas after the October 7th attack.  Based on a partial count, I estimated the number of attendees as perhaps 50 to 60. Many were carrying Israeli and American flags. 

While I was there, a woman was at the loudspeaker atop the city hall steps, calling out the names of individual hostages for the audience to silently acknowledge.  A large sign mounted at the entrance proclaimed: Kidnapped by Hamas / #BringThemHomeNow. (See first attached photo.)

My sympathies were certainly with them.

-- John Reinke, 11/17/2023

Reader comment:  Mayor Birney needs to proclaim an anti-Semitism Day after her daughter’s deplorable behavior at USC. https://mynorthwest.com/3938818/rantz-mayors-giggling-daughter-exposed-tearing-down-israeli-hostage-flyers/

 library leaves by Reinke

Sammamish River Double Crested Cormorants

 Photo by John Reinke, Redmond, WA.  

Redmond Ospreys And Their Nests

Marymoor Park juvenile osprey / credit Reinke

According to the Marymoor Park website, this tall osprey nest platform located near Parking Lot B was constructed in 2008, to replace a decommissioned cell tower. The new platform has been used by ospreys ever since.  

A juvenile osprey is currently occupying the nest.  (A juvenile can be identified by the white fringe around all of its brown wing feathers, which adults do not have.) 

I discovered that there are two empty osprey nests only a half mile away and still inside the park.  One nest structure is located in a tall lighting tower on the perimeter of baseball field #6 and the other is similarly located on the perimeter of baseball field #8. .

Empty osprey nests on Marymoor lighting tower

During all of my visits to the platform, only the juvenile has been present and I have never seen it flying around or accompanied by adult ospreys.  However, my visits have all been of fairly short duration, so I presume that the adults are still attending to the juvenile.  Nonetheless, the fall migration season has already begun, so presumably the juvenile and its parents may have already departed.  

-- John Reinke 

    Redmond, photojournalist 

   10/8/2023

90th Street Pond Restoration Underway, Fish Protected

Green Heron spears a frog on the 90th Street Bridge stormwater pond

The City of Redmond budgeted a little over a million dollars to remove sediment and restore the functionality of the 90th Street stormwater runoff pond.  The pond is located at the intersection of the 90^th Street Bridge and the Sammamish River.  The project is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of October.

For over twelve years, I have been observing and photographing the abundant wildlife that often appears in this pond. Great blue herons frequently catch fish and frogs here.  Above, is a rare Green Heron spearing a frog!  Different species of waterfowl often appear during the spring and fall migratory seasons.  I once photographed six adult male wood ducks together in the pond at the same time!

In addition to the varied birdlife, I have photographed:  a beaver on two different occasions, a raccoon, river otters frolicking in the pond twice, and a coyote, which really surprised me.

I don't know what will become of this wildlife once the project is complete.  A worker said they netted all of the fish at the east end of the enclosure, and relocated them to the west end, nearest to the river.  This was to protect the fish. The worker said that when entering the pond the accumulated sediment was so deep where they were netting the fish, that it came up to their shoulders!

--Photos and Story by John Reinke, 8/7/2023

City removing rich, organic soil from the pond

"The existing NE 90th St stormwater pond treats the runoff from the 90th St stormwater basin before it drains into the Sammamish River. It was constructed in 2000 and currently provides about two thirds of the water quality treatment required by today’s regulations. The pond works by allowing sediment to settle out of the stormwater before it enters the Sammamish River. Over the last 20 years, significant sediment has accumulated, filling up a portion of the pond. The City will be removing the accumulated sediment from the pond during the summer of 2023. "

(Source:  NE 90th Street Stormwater Pond Retrofit | Redmond, WA )

Sammamish Eagle Nest Gone, Eaglets Fledged

A week ago on Wednesday July 12, I arrived at the Redmond Central Connector bridge at about 1 pm.  At that time, the eagle nest was still intact.  

I left and returned to the same location at about 5 pm.  The partial collapse of the nest had somehow occurred during that interval.  The above photo was taken at that time.  In it, you can see that evidently one of the eaglets had flown out of the nest and landed on the branch of a nearby tree.  The other eaglet had remained on top of the partially collapsed nest, as you can see.  I departed from the scene shortly thereafter.

I returned again on Friday, July 14.  The eaglets were nowhere to be seen, and most of the rest of the nest had fallen away, as you can see below:  

A day or two later, I learned that a friend had subsequently seen both eaglets and parents in or near the nest tree, and that they took off for parts unknown.  So far as I know, they have not been seen again.

It's a mystery to me as to why the nest partially collapsed in the afternoon of July 12, 2023.

-- Story and photos by John Reinke, 7/19/23

Sammamish River Eaglets

 

credit / John Reinke

Three week old eaglets nesting on the Sammamish River.  

One is quite a bit larger than than the other.

-- by John Rinke, Redmond, WA.  

Pair of Nesting Eagles On the Sammamish River

A friend of mine told me 4 or 5 days ago that she had been monitoring the nest daily for 35 days.  According to the excellent website https://www.eagles.org/, that is the incubation period for hatching eaglets.  Presumably the egg(s) will have hatched by now, if that is true.  - John Reinke, 4/24/2023

Photos by John Reinke

John's  photos were taken from up on the Central Connector bridge over the Sammamish River.  The nest is on the west bank of the river across from the Opportunity building.  As of 7/14, the chicks have fledged (left the nest.)

Redmond Town Center's Heron Art

click pictures to enlarge

 

It's all a matter of perspective and taste. By night Fairbourne's RTC art installation draws you towards an amenity of the Center; its proximity to Bear Creek.  But in daylight, what's it trying to convey?  

(After dinner, our waitress at BJ's took our picture!) 

Redmond Resident Reinke Reports Destructive Beaver Chewing

 

The wire mesh protecting this alder from chewing beavers was pulled away.

Location:  Sammamish River Trail across from the Opportunity Building.  Photo and report by John Reinke 

Tom Hardy says...

Thanks for the photos John Reinke.  Yes, sometimes the beavers figure out a way to get over/under or crush the caging we put up, especially older cages. Because of all the recent beaver activity along the trail, over the next few weeks, the City’s WCC crew will be installing some new cages and improving older ones between Redmond Way and 90^th Street. This has more to do with public safety along the trail versus trying to stop the beaver from felling trees altogether.

 

All of the Red alders along the trail and Sammamish River are volunteer trees (planted by mother nature not us), and for the most part we are ok with those being taken down. It makes the shoreline more complex and provides a little more space and light for the long-lived conifers. Because the beavers are chewing a lot of trees right along the trail though, we are going to try and encourage them to leave those alone and choose trees that won’t fall onto the trail.

 

Happy Holidays, 

 

Tom

 

Tom Hardy  Stream & Habitat Planner, City of Redmond

Redmond Resident on Beaver Patrol

 

Photo by John Reinke, 10/17/2022

The City of Redmond  is fortunate to have diligent resident, John Reinke, who monitors beaver activity and their habitat. Above, is a photo of an alder tree on the Sammamish River Trail felled by a beaver. The Sammamish River is closeby on the right. It looks like someone may have pulled it off the trail.

John reported the downed tree to City stream specialist Tom Hardy and the Mayor.  Mr. Hardy immediately removed the tree and the Mayor thanked John at a public meeting.  Mr. Reinke often reports beaver activity to the County. 

John likes to insert puns' into the end of his stories! 😉

 "Finally, let me say that if I were a beaver, I'd give a dam, or at least try to make one!" 

"It was swimming steadily toward me when I suddenly heard a loud "thwack", and saw the creature's hind legs suddenly rise straight up into the air, before immediately sliding down beneath the roiling water."  (I guess we could call it a “slam dunk”…)

-- Bob Yoder, 10/23/2022

The Salmon Seeson is Upon Us!

Redmond resident John Reinke has seen salmon migrating upstream from three Redmond bridge locations:  1) Redmond Way bridge, 2) Connector Trestle bridge, and  3) the Union Hill St. bridge. 9/25/2022 report.  When the October rains come expect migrations in force up the Sammamish River and Bear Creek bridges to Juel Park, the 95th Street bridge, into Woodinville and Cottage Lake to spawn.    

ISSAQUAH SALMON DAY FESTIVAL, October 1-2.  Awesome event!  Don't miss it! 🐟🐟🐟

"Save the Salmon" is an advocacy group to protect Lake Sammamish salmon. Great website.

10/1/2022