Mountlake Terrace Ecosystem Restoration

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Photo Gallery

Work begins on fish and wildlife habitat restoration at Lake Ballinger

Photo of pedestrian bridge over Ballinger Creek from the Lake Ballinger Center, known locally as Mountlake Terrace Community Senior Center, to Lake Ballinger in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. Ballinger Park is where on-going construction to restore the fish and wildlife habitats is currently underway.

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Work begins on fish and wildlife habitat restoration at Lake Ballinger

Photo of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official signage highlighting the Lake Ballinger Ecosystem Restoration Project at Ballinger Park, Mountlake Terrace, Washington. Construction to restore a fish and wildlife habitat for over 16 acres of a former golf course began mid-May 2023 and will continue through spring 2024. The total $5.5 million project construction cost, of which $3.4 million comes from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding that President Joseph R. Biden signed into law in November 2021, includes replacing a vehicle crossing and adding a pedestrian boardwalk to provide access to people, while limiting damage to plants and wetland soils. Minor enhancements to pond habitat are also planned.

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Mountlake Terrace Ballinger Park Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Project

Photo of the Ballinger Creek that run through the Ballinger Park, Mountlake Terrace, Washington. The purpose of the fish and wildlife restoration project will be to restore wetlands, riparian corridors, and create more places for birds, fish, turtles, salamanders, and native mammals to live.

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Work begins on fish and wildlife habitat restoration at Lake Ballinger

Photo of the Lake Ballinger Center, known locally as Mountlake Terrace Community Senior Center, with Ballinger Creek in the foreground, Mountlake Terrace, Washington, where construction to restore the fish and wildlife habitat for over 16 acres of a former golf course, began mid-May 2023 and will run through spring 2024. The $5.5 million project construction cost, of which $3.4 million comes from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding that President Joseph R. Biden signed into law in November 2021, includes creating a wetted creek channel, removing invasive plants, and installing a diverse array of plants.

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Mountlake Terrace Lake Ballinger Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Project

A plan view (aerial) rendering image of the aquatic restoration project site within Ballinger Park, in the city of Mountlake Terrace, Washington. The project will restore wetlands, riparian corridors, and fish and wildlife habitat. The rendering, created by USACE Seattle District's team of architects and structural engineers, showcases the variety of plants and their location on the landscape plans, to give an accurate color representation.

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Work begins on fish and wildlife habitat restoration at Lake Ballinger

Photo of the pedestrian bridge leading residents and visitors to Ballinger Park, in Mountlake Terrace Washington, where construction to restore the fish and wildlife habitat for over 16 acres of a former golf course will run through spring 2024.

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Programs and Projects

Water Resource Projects Agreements

Programs and Projects Home

Civil Works Authorities

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Investment

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and President Joe Biden signed it into law in November 2021. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers submitted a detailed spend plan to Congress as required by Jan. 14, 2022, 60 days after enactment of the legislation. The projects receiving funding were announced Jan. 19, 2022.

According to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Works’ Policy Guidance on Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Act provides $465,000,000 for the Continuing Authorities Program (CAP), which allows USACE to plan, design, and implement water resource projects, on a smaller scale, without additional project specific congressional authorization. This is particularly useful for local governments and agencies needing help with anything from streambank protection to storm and flood damage reduction.

Of the $465,000,000 allocated to the CAP, $115,000,000 is specifically for Section 206 projects, at full Federal expense, to restore fish and wildlife passage by removing in-stream barriers, and to provide technical assistance to non-Federal interests carrying out such activities.

Mountlake Terrace Lake Ballinger Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Project

Scope

The U.S Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, has partnered with City of Mountlake Terrace to restore wetlands, riparian corridors, and fish and wildlife habitat within Lake Ballinger under Section 206 of the Continuing Authorities Program (CAP).

This program authorizes the Corps to plan, design, and construct small scale projects under existing program authorities from Congress. The project will create and preserve critical habitat for species of concern (e.g., amphibians) and provide significant habitat for migrating birds and many species of waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway.

The project site is located at Ballinger Park in Mountlake Terrace.

Sponsor

The sponsor of the project is the City of Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

Objectives

Restore wetlands, riparian corridors, and fish and wildlife habitat.
Create and preserve critical habitat for species of concern (e.g., amphibians) in a rapidly developing urban area.
Provide significant habitat for migrating birds and many species of waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway.
Create more places for birds, fish, turtles, salamanders, and aquatic mammals to live.
Replace a vehicle crossing and add a pedestrian boardwalk, to ensure access and limit plant damage.
Complete minor enhancements to pond habitat.
Develop a more contemplative park that’s close to home for visitors to interact with.

Milestones

Jan. 11, 2023 - Seattle District awarded a $5.5 million contract to Tunista Construction LLC of Federal Way, Washington.
May 30, 2023 - Groundbreaking ceremony at Ballinger Park.
May 2023 - Established construction site and staging of equipment and materials.
May 30, 2023 - Groundbreaking ceremony at Ballinger Park.
June 2023 - Heavy construction begins.

Public Notices

Tunista Construction, LLC, under contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will be mobilizing into the park in early to mid-May 2023, and will be adding a high-visibility construction fence around their work activities. For your safety and that of your pets, please stay out of the construction area.

Earthwork in the park is anticipated to begin in early June 2023. Some areas on the east side of the park along the new trail will remain open to park visitors, but a large portion of the park will be under construction into November 2023.

For residents with backyards on Hall Creek, crews will be removing invasive plants from the creek edge and replanting native plants along the creek edge of your property. There will be construction noise (limited to 7a.m. to 6 p.m.) associated with equipment moving on site, as well as from the boardwalk and bridge construction.

Residents may see an increase in construction vehicles on adjacent streets and expect minor traffic flow disruptions in the Mountlake Terrace Senior Community Center parking lot.

USACE has approved construction work hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The contractor may only work during periods approved by the Corps, even if the city approves variances to work outside those hours.

Check back here for updates.