Seahurst Park facts for kids
Seahurst Park is a large park in Burien, Washington, a city close to Seattle. It covers about 178 acres and has beautiful forests and a beach on Puget Sound. This park was once managed by King County, but in 1996, it was given to the new city of Burien. The beach itself is about 2,000 feet long.
Park Landscape
The western edge of Seahurst Park is a beach right on Puget Sound. The eastern part of the park goes up to 425 feet high. The beach is currently being restored to a more natural state. A big part of this work is removing an old seawall that was built 35 years ago. They are replacing it with a gently sloping beach.
The park has two main streams, one at the south end and one at the north end. Between these streams, there is a steep slope that runs along the shore. The area around the north stream has a large wetland. Some parts of Seahurst Park have unstable slopes, and there have been landslides there in the past. The park also has many natural springs.
Wildlife and Marine Life
Seahurst Park is home to many different kinds of animals. You can often see eagles, herons, woodpeckers, and owls. Raccoons, pheasants, and many types of seabirds and marine creatures also live here.
There is a salmon hatchery in the park. This hatchery helps raise salmon, but the park does not have a natural salmon run. The returning salmon are used to help create the next group of young salmon to be released. Local school districts use this hatchery and a related Marine Technology Lab for educational programs.
The City of Burien has named Seahurst Park a Marine Reserve Area. This helps protect the marine animals that live along the shore. In 1997, a study found that Seahurst Park had fewer clams than other beaches in the King County area. It also had smaller clams on average. In 2004, a big project started to improve the beach habitat. This work may have helped the clam population grow since then.
Park History
Seahurst Park was created in 1975. It was managed by King County until 1996. That year, it became part of the new city of Burien.
The park is sometimes called Ed Munro Park or Ed Munro Seahurst Park. This is to honor Ed Munro, a state legislator from Washington. He was very important in helping to create the park.
Recent Improvements
An old seawall in the park, built in 1972, was starting to break down. It also changed the natural environment of the beach. To make the beach look more natural, large logs and native plants were added.
A Beach Habitat Restoration project began in 2004. This project has already removed one-third of the seawall. It has also restored a more natural beach on the southern part of the park. Work on the northern part of the beach started in September 2013 and finished in the summer of 2014.
During this time, the city also bought a 10-acre piece of land on the southern edge of the park. This land was added to the park system. Besides the beach restoration, some work was done to remove plants that don't belong there. Trails were also made better, and other park facilities were updated.
