Two local nonprofit organizations, Citizens for a Healthy Bay (CHB) and Friends of the Hylebos (FOH), have entered into a partnership to provide stewardship services for ten City of Tacoma habitat restoration sites located around Commencement Bay. 

More than 99% of the original 6,100 acres of mudflats and marshland in Commencement Bay have been destroyed by pollution or development.  Although a majority of the historical estuarine habitat in Commencement Bay has been lost, significant efforts have been made in recent years to restore critical aquatic areas and protect what habitat remains.

Restored habitat and community stewardship in Commencement Bay and surrounding watersheds is critical, particularly in an urban environment.  Several migratory species of birds and fish use this habitat as stopovers.  Salmonids migrating to the ocean from the Puyallup River, Hylebos Creek and other streams feeding into Commencement Bay need places to rest, feed and gain size before continuing.

Since 1991, Citizens for a Healthy Bay has been working toward the goal of restoring 10% (610 acres) of the original natural mudflat/salt marsh habitat of Commencement Bay.  To date, over 260 acres of critical shoreline, riparian, intertidal and shallow sub-tidal aquatic habitat has been restored or set aside for restoration. 

The Friends of the Hylebos, based in Federal Way, has been working with the community to protect and restore streams, wetlands, forests and open space in the Hylebos watershed since 1983.  

Both organizations engage dedicated and diverse groups of volunteers, young and old, to pick up litter, remove invasive plants and plant and mulch native plants at these restoration sites.

Citizens for a Healthy Bay and Friends of the Hylebos will celebrate their new partnership and the 40th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22nd) by holding “Forests to the Bay” community restoration events to help protect the forests and wetlands of Hylebos Creek and natural habitat along the shoreline of Commencement Bay. 

Citizens for a Healthy Bay’s annual Earth Day event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17th at its Middle Waterway restoration site at 711 E. 11th Street in Tacoma).  After breakfast snacks, volunteers of all ages will visit education stations to learn about the different aspects of habitat restoration.  Then they will have the chance to engage in hands-on work removing invasive plants and planting native ones.  The first 50 volunteers will win a free tree and TAGRO potting mix; and everyone will be served a delicious lunch.  To register for CHB’s event, people can contact Restoration Manager Jeanine Riss at (253) 383-2429 or jriss@healthybay.org
 
Friends of the Hylebos and the City of Federal Way will team up from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 24th to mount a citywide effort to remove invasive English ivy from forests, to save trees from this killer vine. There will be up to ten park sites in the city where volunteers will gather to pull ivy away from trees.  The Friends will be directing efforts at three parks: Dumas Bay Preserve, Poverty Bay Park and Dash Point State Park.  To register for the Friends event, people can contact Restoration Coordinator Lili Allala at (253) 740-3767 or lili@hylebos.org