For the Reporter

The Rose Foundation selected the Middle Green River Coalition (MGRC) as a recipient of a $10,000 grant from the Puget Sound Stewardship and Mitigation Fund.

The funding will support the continued water quality and habitat restoration project adjacent to Soos Creek along the Green River southeast of Auburn, near the Neeley Mansion.

To date, MGRC has planted more than 3,000 native willow and cottonwood on the site and has maintained it to ensure the plants survive. The project expands on an existing Washington Department of Ecology grant that King County Department of Natural Resources received to remove blackberry and plant native vegetation along the creek to improve fish and wildlife habitat and water quality.The Puget Sound Stewardship and Mitigation Fund was created by a legal settlement between the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway.

The fund’s goal is to mitigate past pollution runoff into Elliott Bay and Puget Sound from the BNSF Balmer Yard facility in Seattle by supporting community-based efforts to protect or improve the water quality of Puget Sound.

About Middle Green River CoalitionMiddle Green River Coalition is a nonprofit organization committed to protecting and preserving the Middle Green River Watershed and was founded in 2000. Check out more at mgrc.org.

OTHER LINKS:

Rose Foundation: www.rosefdn.org