Throughout the month of August, a team from Puget SoundCorps – part of the broader Washington Conservation Corps – will work with Pierce County Parks and Recreation and the Pierce Conservation District to help restore areas of Bresemann Forest and Spanaway Park.
The Urban Forestry Restoration Project is administered by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ Urban and Community Forestry Program. It helps enhance the capacity of urban forests to manage stormwater and improve air and water quality by improving the health and functionality of trees.
Team members from Puget SoundCorps will remove English ivy, Himalayan blackberry, Japanese knotweed, and yellow flag iris from the areas. These invasive, non-native plants are a threat to healthy forests because they compete for water and nutrients, and in some cases even kill trees. Invasive species also clog waterways and reduce water flow in stream systems.
Learn more about the Urban Forestry Restoration Project at the agency’s website. The Urban and Community Forestry Program is made possible through a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service. The Washington Conservation Corps program is administered by the state Department of Ecology and is supported through grant funding and education awards provided by AmeriCorps.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kimberly Freeman, Pierce County Superintendent of Resource Stewardship
(253) 798-4009
[email protected]
Micki McNaughton, Washington Department of Natural Resources
(360) 902-1637
[email protected]