Watershed Park is a 153-acre

temperate rain forest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American P ...

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...

located in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

that supplied almost all the city's

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

from privately established wells in the late 1800s. The city acquired and operated the wells starting in 1917 until the 1950s when the municipal water source was replaced. In 1955 the forest was to be logged and the land sold but strong local opposition resulted in an ordinance preserving the area as a city park. Throughout, remnants of the waterworks are visible from the park trails.

History

The park takes its name from the watershed of Moxlie Creek.

Water well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. Th ...

s for the city of Olympia were first created in the area now comprising Watershed Park in the late 19th century. Influential

Western Washington Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as the area of Washington state west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, the state capital, Olympia, and most of the state's residents. The ...

businessman Henry Clay Heermans bought the entire waterworks in 1909, and sold it to the City of Olympia in 1917. After operating the wells into the 1950s, the city planned to log the area and sell the property, leading to a

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the ...

battle that led to the area's preservation, with a city ordinance protecting the area presently. Local environmental activist

Margaret McKenny Margaret McKenny (April 17, 1885 - August 1969) was an American landscape architect, naturalist, activist, and writer who was referred to as the "Grand Dame" of Northwest mushrooming. Early life and education Born in Olympia, Washington, she was ...

is recognized as the impetus for establishing the park as a protected place.

Features

The Moxlie Creek Springs Basin, one of the largest spring basins in the region, is situated in the center of the park, which is completely forested by a

Skunk cabbage Skunk cabbage is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * the genus ''Lysichiton'' ** Asian skunk cabbage, ''Lysichiton camtschatcensis'', grows in eastern Asia ** Western skunk cabbage, '' Lysichiton americanus'', grows in western Nor ...

and salmon berries grow alongside Moxlie Creek, which weaves throughout the area. The creek is fed by

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

and surface water runoff. Chinook,

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...

and

coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

live in the creek. There are

big leaf maple ''Acer macrophyllum'', the bigleaf maple or Oregon maple, is a large deciduous tree in the genus '' Acer''. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California. Some stands are al ...

douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

red alder ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description Red alder is the largest species of alder in Nort ...

and

incense cedar ''Calocedrus'', the incense cedar (alternatively spelled incense-cedar), is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae first described as a genus in 1873. It is native to eastern Asia and western North America. The generi ...

throughout the park, along with

huckleberry Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a Nort ...

Oregon grape ''Mahonia aquifolium'', the Oregon grape or holly-leaved barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to western North America. It is an evergreen shrub growing tall and wide, with pinnate leaves consisting of sp ...

licorice Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted. The liq ...

and sword ferns, and

devil's club Devil's club or devil's walking stick (''Oplopanax horridus'', Araliaceae; syn. ''Echinopanax horridus'', ''Fatsia horrida'') is a large understory shrub native to the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, but also disjunct on islands in Lak ...

. The one and a half-mile long, G. Eldon Marshall trail encircles much of the park. Evidence of the former waterworks in the form of pipes is scattered throughout the park, as well. A future expansion of the paved

Karen Fraser Woodland Trail The Karen Fraser Woodland Trail is a paved rail trail in Thurston County, Washington that connects the cities of Olympia and Lacey along the abandoned Burlington Northern corridor. The trail opened in 2007 and connects with the Chehalis Wester ...

will extend that rail to run along the northwestern edge of the park to creat a connection with the

Tumwater Falls The Tumwater Falls are a series of cascades on the Deschutes River in Tumwater, Washington, United States. They are located near where the river empties into Budd Inlet, a southerly arm of Puget Sound in Olympia. Geology The Deschutes River car ...

park. This expansion will connect with Watershed's hiking trails.

Environmental Concerns

The park has suffered from

gypsy moth ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' bei ...

infestations.Dodge, J
"Traps set around South Sound for gypsy moth infestations"
''The Olympian''. July 8, 2008. Retrieved 8/2/08.

References

{{reflist History of Olympia, Washington Parks in Olympia, Washington

History

Features

Environmental Concerns

See also

References