Japanese Gulch, is a drainage basin located in

Snohomish County, Washington Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...

. Within the drainage basin, the City of Mukilteo owns 147 acres of land including a dog park, waterfront access, open space, and a community garden. With its rich historical significance and intertwining trails it brings astonishing beauty to an increasingly urban area.

Hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

bicyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two- ...

, and nature lovers have enjoyed this treasure for over 30 years.

History

In 1903, the Mukilteo Lumber Company (later, the Crown Lumber Company) was established and continued its operations until 1930. Many of its workers were Japanese immigrants who, with their families, lived in company housing in what became known as "Jap Gulch," later changed to "Japan Gulch" and "Japanese Gulch." Most of the Japanese workers moved away when the Crown Lumber Company closed. World War II created the incentive to use Paine Field and Japanese Gulch as a defense position to protect the Bremerton Shipyard and the Boeing plant in Seattle. After World War II had ended, militarization ended and the Boeing plant at Paine Field was developed, a railroad was constructed in the 1960s in order to carry materials to and from the Boeing plant. This railroad spur is the steepest standard gauge railroad in America, at a 7% incline. This divided Japanese Gulch into two. The gulch was also considered for a potential extension of Paine Field Boulevard ( SR 525 Spur) in the 2000s. In late 2007 a development company bid on purchasing the property for developing an

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

. This caused a small outcry from the community, and inspired a movement to save the gulch from being developed. In 2014, the City of Mukilteo completed a purchase for 98 acres of the property from the Metropolitan Creditors Trust of Coeur d'Alene for $5.4 million, preserving the park for the public.

Wildlife

The Gulch is home to a variety of wildlife including

pileated woodpecker The pileated woodpecker (''Dryocopus pileatus'') is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the ...

black-tailed deer Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer that occupy coastal woodlands in the Pacific Northwest of North America are subspecies of the mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus''). They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all r ...

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...

, and

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

Japanese Gulch Fish passage design and habitat restoration

From June 2009 to December 2010, the City of Mukilteo teamed up with the Confluence Environmental Company (CEC) to deal with the issue of upstream fish passage in Japanese Gulch. A stream and watershed assessment were conducted in order to understand the barriers impeding upstream fish passage so that a plan could be created. They built fish ladders at multiple passage barrier locations that allowed for fish such as Coho salmon to be more easily able to travel upstream through raised culverts, and were able to do so at a fraction of the projected cost. The team also identified a historical channel which they were able to redirect back into its original channel, in effect doubling the length of the channel and creating more habitat for fish.

References

{{coord, 47, 56, 33, N, 122, 17, 22, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-WA Japanese-American culture in Washington (state) Mukilteo, Washington Tourist attractions in Snohomish County, Washington Geography of Snohomish County, Washington