From Field to Flow: Restoring Meeker Creek

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:01:01]So my role here at Pierce Conservation District is I am the water quality program manager. In that program [music] we kind of have two arms of the program.

[00:01:09]One is green storm water infrastructure which really works with private property [music] owners to try and get the rain that falls on their property to soak into the ground as close to where that raindrop falls as possible. The other arm is our habitat improvement program [music] and the Minker Creek project falls within there. Um the importance of the habitat improvement program in our urban spaces is that our um open spaces really act like a filter and a sponge [music] for all of the regional storm water that is flowing into those areas. And if we don't keep those areas functioning, they don't act like a healthy sponge. And so the approach that we [music] um employ here at the Pierce Conservation District is um doing habitat improvement through habitat stewardship. And [music] so the Miker Creek project really started with the city of Tacoma addressing several different water quality and water quantity issues. And after they did all of their construction, they approached us to be able to manage this new open space [music] with that habitat stewardship um volunteer approach to open space management.

[00:02:16]Clark's Creek is the major creek that goes through the city of Pu and actually it starts up in Pierce [music] County.

[00:02:23]Um and Clerk's Creek is sick for several different parameters. So it does not meet state standards for temperature, dissolved oxygen and fecal colifform. Um for us in a water quality as it relates to salmon, the fecal colifiform does not actually affect salmon, but temperature and dissolved oxygen do. [music] And so the city of Puialup has essentially been mandated to have a cleanup plan to try and [music] get those parameters back into compliance with the state standards. And so they're always looking for projects and opportunities in the larger Clarks Creek system which includes Mer Creek. So Mer Creek [music] um used to be a meandering creek that would go into Clark's Creek. [music] And back when Ezra Miker was the farmer at the time, he wanted to farm the valley land there. And so he put in a [music] series of ditches, trapezoidal ditches to be able to dewater the land to be able to farm. So Mer what we have renamed as Creek really if you look at the old maps was actually called Meer ditch because it does [music] function like a ditch. Um, and so the city of Puallup has been finding different areas in the larger Clerk's Creek [music] system to be able to purchase up property to be able to put those ditches back into meandering um, function [music] to be able to slow the water but add shade over the top to be able to um, [music] increase dissolved oxygen and decrease temperature. In this area of um, Pialip there was also localized flooding.

[00:03:54][music] And so in the process of them meandering the [music] creek, they actually built up side slopes and dug down deeper into the ground to actually have a holding basin. So as the excess water was entering, [music] it didn't kind of spill over the way it used to when it was just that trapezoidal ditch. And so the city of Pialup saw this as an opportunity to purchase this um old property to be able to [music] meander the creek to be able to add a lot of vegetation um over the top to help cool the creek, which cool water holds more uh oxygen, so higher [music] dissolved oxygen, and then also have um holding capacity. And it was really interesting because after we [music] um the first winter, we went back and talked to some of the community members and they talked about the fact that their basements that used to flood no longer flood. And then when the city was noticing like vegetative growth, they were seeing an increase [music] of vegetative growth, lower temperatures as the vegetation was growing up [music] and also an increase of um our uh our wildlife being able to [music] enjoy that space. So Pierce Conservation District has been a partner with the city of Pialup for a very strong partner for over 20 years. [music] And so we've really acted as their community liaison for their habitat projects. And so um you might have heard of Silver Creek in the Clarks Creek Basin. That's a creek that um the city of Piala [music] purchased this property that was old farmland. Silver Creek used to actually be in a ditch under the ground and would actually was [music] pumped into Mer Creek as um just a pipe into Miker Creek. [music] Um they purchased that about 20 years ago. They daylighted that creek. It is now surface [music] water. And they approached us and asked us if we would help with the replanting and some of the maintenance for ongoing um establishment of those plants. And we said yes. It aligned with our practices. that 20 years ago spurred into a long growing relationship [music] that now has turned into the green puallup partnership which is a partnership between the city of Pialup and the conservation district where the city of Puallup has over 300 acres across all of um the city [music] and they have asked us to manage um those acres with crew time and with volunteer support and so um when Maker Creek wasn't even a property of or the Maker Creek restoration site [music] I should say was not even a property that the city of Pulp owned. They asked us if we brought this on if we did this project is it something that you could take on in management into establishment and they're on beyond [music] and we looked at what we wanted to do and we said yes absolutely. So we were one of the [music] stakeholders that had to say yes for them to even purchase the property.

[00:06:52]Um then the city with their engineers, they hired um contractors to engineer the project and to build the project.

[00:07:00]And [music] I was just kind of um along to be able to provide some input, but [music] just follow along with that process. I'm not an engineer. There's no engineers on staff. We're [music] really looking at after it's built, how do we reestablish the habitat and make sure that that habitat is [music] functioning? And so as the project was coming to an end, I was able to secure a $45,000 grant to help um bring [music] in some plant material and some crew time to assist. Um we put in over 10,000 live stakes um along the bottom of the [music] newly established flood plane.

[00:07:39]That was really difficult. So we had a crew do that. And then we did between 5 and [music] 6,000 uh containerized plants along either side of Maker Creek.

[00:07:48]And all [music] of those plants got installed with volunteers over that first fall. And we the conservation district [music] uh led all of those um restoration efforts. Through that process, [music] we got a lot of community interest and so we were able to establish a habitat stewardship group that were working out there monthly through the establishment period. Now it's pretty much established and it does not need monthly maintenance and there is a neighbor that actually has a nature camp and [music] so they use part of Miker Creek as part of their nature camp and so we do still have community engagement on a regular basis with that site but we don't need that full-blown habitat stewardship support anymore.

[00:08:31]>> So you can imagine that when we've gone through such a large construction project you've effectively scraped down the entire soil line. So, it's a it's got no vegetation on it anymore. Fairly [music] desolate. We've had to rechan out that whole area. Soil has been shifted from point A to point B, compacted in some areas. Um, [music] this is now considered a disturbed zone, right? And so, when we have that type of an area, one of our biggest worries is a large influx of invasive species. When we think about invasive species and native species and non-native [music] species, I think it's best we take a step back and kind of define those terms. What does that mean in this [music] space? Right, for native species, think about plants that have adapted to [music] specific geographic and ecosystem conditions over large swaths of time.

[00:09:20][snorts] Um, they have existed here without our direct engagement and um influence as humans. [music] Um whereas non-native, it's quite the opposite. So things that have come from different areas geographically been introduced by humans into a space and are now having different [music] impacts on the ecosystem. A lot of times depending upon their specific competitive advantages they can become the term invasive.

[00:09:50]Right? So that means that this plant is going to come through and take over a space and [music] out compete the native plants that we have around us. they will form uh what's called a monoculture. So with an invasive plant, we see issues arise that otherwise we wouldn't have. A monoculture is when an a singular [music] species mono starts to take over an entire area and not allow for others [music] to exist uh which reduces a handful of the ecosystem services that we really need in this critical habitat.

[00:10:22]Think uh blackberry, right? One of our main invasive species that comes through. It has delicious berries and it has lovely thickening undergrowth and it can sustain life for [music] very specific groups of species but that excludes 98% of the other ones. Right?

[00:10:40]So if it takes over a whole place [music] we are reducing available habitat for most of our native species causes a lot of problems. It's really easy to think that when we have these larger projects where [music] we've gone through done a lot of construction had a initial replanting that we can say the restoration is done. we've done the hard work and so we can move on to the next project and forget about this one.

[00:11:02][snorts] But it really couldn't be further from the truth. With these early stage projects, we really need to ensure that long-term [music] in order to achieve success that we manage the invasive populations that are trying to come in and promote the health of the native species so that they can better restore the balance [music] within to provide those ecosystem services that we need so bad. One of the ways in which we're able to do this is through our volunteer management program of habitat stewardship. [music] As an organization, we only have so much time, labor, and money that these types of volunteer programs are really vital to the [music] success of the program. So, we train and elevate volunteers to become habitat stewards.

[00:11:46][music] These stewards are able to then lead their own volunteer groups within the community to [music] also just continue our efforts for monitoring and management where they can remove invasive species and install native plants and ensure their success.

[00:12:01]>> [snorts] >> Maker Creek is one of these sites in which we have had two very good stewards for the better part of the last 10 years who have helped [music] by taking a little bit of extra ownership in this space and guiding restoration planning uh especially as it comes to specific zones where we're [music] working and the types of plants that we're putting in.

[00:12:21]So this place has actually very drastically changed over the last 10 years when it where it started being kind of a grassy farmland as was mentioned earlier in the presentation to where it is now being a much [music] healthier diverse riparian ecosystem. Uh there's been a lot of different stages in between. It doesn't just one day from one to the other. There's a transitionary time period. Uh initially we started right along the stream bank [music] there and tried to plant in a lot of very quick growing deciduous trees that are going to provide shade quickly. Shade is one of our key ways in which we help manage invasive populations. So plants [music] like willows pacific or sika willows very good for that initial rush of vegetation. Additionally shring shrubs like your Douglas spyhea or your twinberry honeysuckle marvelous [music] plants. Then as you start to think about getting a little bit further away from that stream, we want to still have distinct positive impact. [music] And so we're continuing with that thought process. How do we provide quick shade to this area? So your alders, uh, your quaking aspens are marvelous additions to this space. And [music] now it's been 10 years, we're starting to think, well, how do we start adding in, especially into the drier, elevated areas, how do we start adding in evergreen shade? This is starting to now push that forest, guide its succession into a later stage where we have uh uh more of your Douglas furs and shore pines, right? Think about the standard green evergreen kind of tree that you're seeing out there. [music] That's what we're starting to include now that the planning has shifted. There were three types of habitat that this really focused on creating and benefiting.

[00:14:03]There is first the riparian corridor.

[00:14:05]So, as we rechanneled the stream as it connects with Clark's Creek, uh it added in that there [music] was also the flood plane now attached over 100 ft of it next to the creek where [music] if and when that water overflows, it's now able to infiltrate in a much larger space.

[00:14:22]And lastly, [music] from where all of the dirt was taken for the meandering creek, we made a new hooky upland area, which is another different type of forest ecosystem. Each of these has benefit within that space, [music] whether it's her flora and fauna or water quality. As we added in the meanders for that riparian corridor, it reduces the [music] speed at which the water goes straight into the Clark's Creek. So that reduces the amount of pollution entering the creek because it increases the time in which it has to filter and infiltrate. It also reduces soil sediment that is within the water column flushing into the creek, which [music] is a really big detrimental factor when it comes to salmon uh migration and habitat.

[00:15:04]Uh the last thing I wanted to mention [music] as well is with the more dense canopy that's starting to form with the willow population, it cools the water as it goes into Clark's Creek, providing a cleaner, cooler water that goes in there to provide better salmon habitat. So any habitat stewardship [music] site or any open space that you have in an urban area is constantly being bombarded with threats of invasive species coming in from adjacent properties. [music] So even after establishment, you cannot just walk away. You always need to think about it as a maintenance mode. So that is where we are with uh Miker Creek. But Miker Creek is about 10 years old now.

[00:15:43]And so while we call it established, it's not mature. And [music] so what I would expect to see in the future for Maker Creek is that those [music] big evergreens that are there will keep continue to grow and then you know 50 years down the road they might be [music] we might drive by and see 100 foot tall trees um and [music] starting to actually have a reduction in some of the understory as more shade is being put over the site. [music] Um, so I just see it growing and growing um and [music] being and thriving and thriving and bringing more and more wildlife into the space and diversifying that wildlife.

[00:16:20]When we first started because everything was kind of low, we would get um raptors that were on the snakes and that was really cool to see [music] and we would have swallows that were eating all of the insects that were kind of in enjoying having that open water. we no longer have all of those swallows on site because we no longer have those insects because we don't have [music] that open water anymore, but we start to see other bird life coming into the [music] space. Um, and so as it matures, it will bring in [music] a different set of uh wildlife community and that's really exciting to see. Maker Creek was [music] a really neat opportunity for me to really grow as a professional. So, um, the biggest lesson learned that I took from Mer Creek [music] is actually a saying that I say about all new habitat sites. And I really say it's almost like you're raising a child where you first get this new site and you have all of these new plants and everything's looking great and you look across the landscape and you're like, "This is my baby and it looks so great. I can't wait to see it grow up." And after its first season, [music] then you start to have the weeds coming in. And nature doesn't like a vacuum and [music] you get weed seeds coming in and you're having to do all of this maintenance and that lasts like 3 to 5 years and I'm kind of to call that like the pimply like adolescent stage um where they're just kind of a teenager and they're just a big challenge. But then you get past that stage and you get to young adult where they're starting to mature and you can kind of see the bones of what they're going to be as an adult.

[00:17:54]And I really think [music] that seeing that progression from start to finish with Mer Creek and it being such a large site, so being able to really see it at a landscape scale, [music] um it really gave me a good perspective going into any other restoration site [music] that it's going to look really good at first and then when it starts to look bad, you don't actually say it's a [music] fail. You actually have to just go and invest more time and effort into it to get it to the stage where it can kind of hold its own against all of those invasive threats coming [music] in. And then you're just giving it some TLC as it like becomes an Vault.