Saving salmon, saving orcas: coalition, volunteers lead Duwamish Alive! & Orca Recovery Day on Oct. 19

Volunteers will participate in Duwamish Alive! & Orca Recovery Day on Saturday, Oct. 19 at various locations throughout the Green-Duwamish Watershed, including Auburn, Kent and Tukwila.

Organizers said the event is an effort to bring communities together, from Seattle to Auburn, to restore critical salmon habitat at 19 urban parks and open spaces to support the environmental health of the watershed, its salmon and the endangered resident orca.

Volunteers will begin at 10 a.m. to lead major cleanup and habitat restoration along the Green-Duwamish River, which is home to chinook salmon that the South Sound orcas depend on for food.

Green River event locations are:

• Fenster Park , 4th St. SE, Auburn, with Mid Sound Fisheries and Auburn Parks

• Riverview Park, South 255th, Hawley Road, Kent, with Mid Sound Fisheries and the Green River Coalition

• North Green River Park, 26452 Green River Road, Kent, with King County Parks

Tukwila Duwamish River event locations are:

• Duwamish Hill, 11100 E. Marginal Way S., Tukwila, with Forterra, Seattle City Light and Tukwila Parks with a welcome ceremony by Jolene Haas of the Duwamish Tribe

• Duwamish Shoreline Challenge, 12770 Gateway Drive, Tukwila, with Forterra, restoring salmon habitat along the Green River Trail

• Hamm Creek, 10000 W Marginal Place S., with Veterans Conservation Corps, restoring salmon habitat along Hamm Creek – where the first effort in restoring the health of Duwamish River occurred by Vietnam veteran John Beal.

Duwamish Alive! is a collaborative stewardship effort, recognizing that collective efforts are needed to make lasting, positive improvements in the health and vitality of the Green-Duwamish Watershed, its communities and wildlife.

To volunteer and register for a location, visit DuwamishAlive.org, or email info@duwamishalive.org.