The following letter was sent to members of the Edmonds City Council. We are publishing it as a letter to the editor at the author’s request.

Dear Council Members:

Protection and restoration of the Edmonds Marsh wildlife sanctuary requires a comprehensive evaluation of its significant resources; salmon, wildlife, unique marsh vegetative and aquatic resources and water quality and the impacts from surrounding development.

As a member of the local community group: Save Our Marsh, I join their efforts to restore and maintain the wellbeing of the wildlife and the environs of the Edmonds Marsh-Estuary. Specifically, I support the letter they submitted earlier today and add the following comments.

The proposed budget in the CIP and CFP should not include funds for ad hoc, piecemeal stormwater projects under the guise of protecting the Edmonds Marsh in the absence of a comprehensive evaluation of the marsh, its environs and the development of a restoration and protection plan.  Until there is a final disposition of the Unocal property these projects are premature, can cause harm and preclude future restoration work.

Such funds should be banked or transferred to the City’s Marsh Restoration Fund for future restoration of the estuary once the property ownership is resolved. The Public Works Department is not the proper agency of the city to oversee the restoration of the marsh environs and such work must stop. Restoration will require much more than mere stormwater engineering.

Restoration of the marsh and wildlife habitat is much more than a stormwater project but rather can be a key element for restoring the Edmonds Marsh and establishing a true wildlife sanctuary in the midst of our city. It can be a prime attraction and component of the city’s economic development.

A better use of the city’s time, limited funds and resources is to review and revise the city’s Comprehensive Plan, which still includes policy and plans for the no longer viable “Edmonds Crossing” project on the old Unocal property adjacent to the marsh. This can involve all segments of the public in determining the future use of the Unocal property and the restoration of the marsh-estuary wildlife sanctuary.

The marsh is valuable resource area held in trust by the city for the public at large. It is no longer appropriate to treat the marsh as a stormwater project and confine any planning and use to decisions to only the Public Works Department and WSDOT. The city needs to view the marsh in its entirety and how it functions in conjunction with surrounding areas. For starters, the tide gate should be opened to permit the marsh/estuary to reconnect to Puget Sound.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to further deliberations about the restoration of the Edmonds Marsh wildlife sanctuary.

Sincerely,

Ronald Eber
Edmonds