Category Overview
Washington is famous for its gorgeous and abundant waterways, from the Salish Sea to the Nisqually River, but many communities lack open public beaches and waterfronts where everyone can enjoy picnicking, swimming, paddling, boating, and angling. Water Access projects fund public shoreline access, boat launches, and fishing docks to create more opportunities for water recreation.
Project Highlights
The City of Kenmore used this grant to develop water access to reach the Sammamish River and Lake Washington, as well as to improve associated aquatic lands. The scope of work included development of a public hand-powered water craft facility with staging areas, float and hand carry launches, a community plaza, picnic shelter, restroom, parking lot, trails, and elevated walkways with bridges and river viewing platforms. The scope of work also included enhancement and improvement of wetlands and buffer vegetation for migratory birds and other wildlife habitat, Riparian Protection for fish and salmon species, as well as created new wetlands to add to the existing wetland system along Swamp Creek and the Sammamish River. The primary recreation and conservation opportunities that this project provides is improved public access to the waters of the Sammamish River and Lake Washington for hand-powered boating, fishing, nature viewing, and aquatic habitat enhancement.