- Watershed Park
Infobox park
park=Watershed Park
image size=300px
caption=
type=Municipal (Olympia)
location=Olympia, Washington
coordinates=
size=117.5 acres
opened=1956
operator=
annual visitors=
status=Open all yearThe Watershed Park is apublic park located inOlympia, Washington . The site of the city's firstwater works , recently the park has been infested withgypsy moth s. [Dodge, J. [http://www.theolympian.com/112/story/500633.html "Traps set around South Sound for gypsy moth infestations"] , "The Olympian.July 8 ,2008 . Retrieved 8/2/08.]History
Water well s for the city of Olympia were first created in the area now comprising Watershed Park in the late 19th century. InfluentialWestern Washington businessmanHenry Clay Heermans bought the entire waterworks in 1909, and sold it to the City of Olympia in 1917. [Hunt, H. and Kaylor, F.C. (1917) "Henry Clay Heermans", "Washington, West of the Cascades". S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 10.] . After operating the wells into the 1950s, the city planned to log the area and sell the property, leading to aWashington Supreme Court battle that led to the area's preservation, with a city ordinance protecting the area presently. [ [http://www.ci.olympia.wa.us/cityservices/par/parks/Watershed.htm "Watershed Park"] , City of Olympia. Retrieved 8/2/08.]Features
The Moxlie Creek Springs Basin, one of the largest spring basins in the region, is situated in the center of the park, which is completely forested by a
temperate rain forest .Skunk cabbage and salmon berries grow alongside Moxlie Creek, which weaves throughout the area. The creek is fed byground water and surface water runoff.Chinook salmon ,coho andcutthroat trout live in the creek. There arebig leaf maple ,douglas fir ,red alder andincense cedar throughout the park, along withhuckleberry ,Oregon grape , licorice andsword fern s, anddevil's club . The one and a half-mile long, G. Eldon Marshall trail encircles much of the park. Evidence of the former waterworks in the form of pipes is scattered throughout the park, as well. [ [http://audubonblackhills.org/bestplaces/peep.best.watershed.htm "South Sound's Best Places to Birdwatch: Watershed Park"] , Black Hills Audubon Society. Retrieved 8/2/08.]See also
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History of Olympia, Washington References
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