Herons Forever
Herons Forever, an incorporated nonprofit with more than 600 members, was founded in 1989 to protect the colony of great blue herons in Renton’s Black River Riparian Forest.
Description:
Herons Forever is a Puget Sound-based all-volunteer nonprofit organization. We are the only group dedicated solely to the protection of Renton’s Black River great blue heron colony.
We strive to build local support to preserve, protect, and enhance the ecosystem of Renton’s Black River Riparian Forest for critical fish and wildlife habitat and for aesthetic enjoyment and recreation of citizens, both local and from afar.
Herons Forever is the primary advocacy voice for Black River on behalf of citizens and several larger organizations. Our first task in the early 1990s was to work with the City of Renton to secure the funds necessary to acquire the land.
History:
Black River is home to one of the largest great blue heron colony in the tri-country region of King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties, and it is in a unique riparian deciduous lowland forest ecosystem. This habitat type was once abundant, but is now extremely rare.
Herons Forever is an incorporated nonprofit with more than 600 members. It is a local all-volunteer organization that partners with numerous community and environmental groups to advocate for the protection of the Black River site.
The citizens who formed Herons Forever, along with Seattle Audubon, Rainier Audubon, and others have been involved in every aspect of the public process for the protection of the site since 1986, and we have been a consistent and effective voice advocating for its public acquisition and protection. While much of Black River is now protected, the ecosystem extends to adjacent parcels that are privately owned and slated for development.
Herons Forever was founded in 1989 expressly to be the advocacy voice for Black River on behalf of citizens and several larger organizations that had a broader focus. Its first task was to work with the City of Renton to secure the funds necessary to acquire and protect the land. This successful effort included a total of $7,931,844 from a variety of sources, including funds from King County and State Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) funds. Herons Forever helped acquire 63 acres of urban wildlife habitat to adjoin the existing 30 acres the City of Renton had set aside years before.
As Black River became a destination for nature enthusiasts in the region, primarily because of the close proximity to which visitors can view the herons throughout the nesting season, multiple threats to the site were emerging. Poorly planned nearby developments have been proposed throughout the last two decades that could have resulted in deleterious impacts on the herons and other important features of the site. Herons Forever has always been there to successfully challenge these developments to make them more environmentally sound.
At its peak, Black River has had more than 120 great blue heron nests. This number has gone down as a result of severe bald eagle predation of the heron's eggs and chicks (every colony in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia has suffered this same fate). The herons at Black River continue to choose this location to nest despite their losses. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people have come to view the colony.
Our work also protects the many other species that call the site their home, including Chinook and Coho salmon, Cutthroat trout, red foxes, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Common Yellowthroats, warblers, Cooper's Hawks, and Wood Ducks.
Contact person: Suzanne Krom, President, (phone), (email)
Main office number:
(206) 933-0222
Address:
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Directions To Black River Riparian Forest And Great Blue Heron Colony: See Http://heronsforever.org For Directions.Renton, WA 98055 (See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.heronsforever.org/
Directions:
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http://heronsforever.org/directionstoblackriver |
Miscellaneous Information
| Liability |
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No
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| Does your organization welcome court-ordered community service volunteers? |
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No
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| Does your organization have volunteer positions for youth 12-18? |
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Yes
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| Last updated on August 24, 2009 |
