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Fall is my favorite time of year here in the Pacific Northwest, and the beauty of this season is certainly on display at Lake Sammamish State Park this month: colorful leaves, crisp air, salmon migration, and hopefully some continued sunshine. We hope you’ll join us this month in restoring habitat, taking a walk with Eastside Pride, searching for salmon, or connecting with us at Salmon Days this coming weekend. Thank you to those volunteers who joined us last weekend to replant the front garden at the park and battle blackberry at our Tibbetts Creek site!
While we enjoy the cooler and quieter days at the park, we are also planning ahead for next year and that includes electing a new slate of officers to serve the park and our community. As I wrap up my time as President, I’m proud of how FLSSP has grown in the last two years and of the many things we have accomplished: restoring an area along Tibbetts Creek, replanting the front gardens, adding acoustic panels to the Meadow Shelter, replacing shade trees at Sunset Beach, creating regular and predictable volunteer events, expanding our programming, growing our community events, and strengthening the backend of our organization to provide stability into the future. I’m excited to pass the reins on to our Vice President, Paige Basinger, and know I’m leaving FLSSP in very capable hands.
Thank you for supporting this park!
Jayme Jonas
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Volunteer Appreciation Day:
Thank you!
Last Saturday was National Public Lands Day and also our first Volunteer Appreciation Day! Thank you to the volunteers who joined us to help replant the park’s front gardens and begin seasonal maintenance on our Tibbetts Creek restoration site. After getting our hands dirty, we enjoyed pizza from Formula Brewing. None of what we do at the park is possible without the many helping hands of volunteers – thank you!
Special thanks to the King County Master Gardeners – Issaquah Clinic, who helped us create a new planting plan for the park’s front gardens, Washington State Parks Foundation for funding this project, and park staff for doing a lot of the heavy lifting removing old things so we could bring in the new! Learn more about this project here.
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Come visit FLSSP at Salmon Days this weekend, October 5th and 6th. FLSSP will be hosting a table in the non-profit area near the Issaquah Fish Hatchery. Come by our booth to get your free native plant seeds for fall planting and say hi to our Board Members and staff who will be on hand to answer your questions and share updates about what we are doing at the park. Washington State Parks staff will be at the booth next to us. We would love to see you there!
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Fall Park Habitat Restoration
FLSSP is excited to be working on our Fall restoration series back at our Tibbetts Creek site. This fall, we will continue maintenance, plant more natives, and live stake the area infested with canary grass. We would love to have you join us as we restore this area to help improve fish and wildlife habitat at the park. Register to join us here.
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Queer Ghoulish Gathering – October 26th
FLSSP is partnering with Eastside Pride PNW on October 26th from 10am - noon to host a gathering at the park for LGBTQIA+ youth (age 16+) and adults. The event will offer a guided walk in the park, treasure hunt, games and food. To join us at the park please register here.
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Be a "Salmon Sleuth" on November 2nd
Join FLSSP Board Member and Trout Unlimited kokanee expert, David Kyle, to search for the smaller, less famous kokanee salmon that inhabits Lake Sammamish. Dave will be leading a small group in an area less traveled along Laughing Jacobs creek. The migration pattern of kokanee salmon is less predictable so there is no guarantee that salmon will be viewed on this trip, but Dave will give you all the tools you need to salmon sleuth on your own for the little red fish. Due to the nature of Laughing Jacobs Creek and limited access to this area we will be limiting this trip to just 15 people so please register today to join in this fun experience. Please register here.
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“A Bid for Nature” and Giving Tuesday – Let’s Raise $7,500 and Plunge our Board President!
FLSSP’s success reflects our community’s support for our work and our mission. Your contributions are instrumental in allowing us to continue our work to build community and enhance the nature of this Park for visitors and wildlife alike. Help us meet our 2024 goal to raise $7,500 to support our work by participating in our annual online auction, “A Bid for Nature” (Nov. 27th through December 4th), and Giving Tuesday, on December 3rd. Mark your calendars now!
As a fun challenge, our incoming Board President, Paige Basinger, has agreed to take a “polar plunge” this winter in Lake Sammamish if our community helps us meet our fundraising goal of $7,500! Want to help us get started? Donate online here today to get us started on our goal! If we meet our goal, we will post a video of Paige’s President Plunge on our website and social channels. Help us Plunge the President this 2024!
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Partner Highlight: Lake Sammamish Urban Wildlife Refuge (UWRP)
FLSSP is a proud member of the Lake Sammamish Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership (UWRP). The Lake Sammamish Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership (UWRP), designated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2013, is a collaborative effort that connects diverse communities in the Seattle metro area to nature and inspires stewardship of the shared watersheds. Since 2018, Trout Unlimited has stewarded the UWRP, which brings together federal agencies, local governments, Tribes, nonprofits, and community-based organizations to conserve fish and wildlife, improve water quality, and promote outdoor education and recreation. The UWRP embraces a "Play, Learn, Serve, Work" approach, encouraging people to explore the watershed through hands-on recreation, deepen their knowledge of environmental stewardship, give back through volunteerism, and pursue conservation-related careers. To learn more about the UWRP’s partner organizations and upcoming events throughout the watershed, visit www.lakesammamishrefuge.org. Stay engaged by following the UWRP on Instagram (@LittleRedFish4Ever) and Facebook (LittleRedFish4Ever).
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Partner Events
We have some exciting events coming up in September and want to be sure you’re the first to know!
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Funding Conservation in the 21st Century Public Forum
Join Issaquah Alps Trails Club’s 2024 Public Forum on Funding Conservation in the 21st Century at Blakely Hall on October 17th at 6pm. Panel will include Sam Jarrett, King County Parks Program Manager; Ken Konigsmark, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust Board Member & Former Executive; Jayana Marshall, Washington Department of Natural Resources Conservation Programs Division Assistant Division Manager; and Kristen Ohlson-Kiehn, Washington Department of Natural Resources Recreation & Conservation Division Manager. Learn more and register here.
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Contact Us
operations@flssp.org
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