© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Corvallis's Sunset Park Now Has Restored Wetlands

City of Corvallis

Restoration of a Corvallis park finally concluded this July after 10 years. Part of the $120,000 project turned an old softball field in to a natural wetland area. The field flooded much of the year, the new natural area is accessible year-round.

In 2006 Sunset Park's softball field, plagued with poor drainage, became the focus of a wetland restoration effort.

But there were setbacks as soon as revitalization efforts began.

Patrick Rollens with the City of Corvallis says staff turnover meant the project took longer than anticipated.

He says the state just approved the wetlands restoration in southwest Corvallis.

Rollens: "These residential neighborhoods have a new natural feature in their backyard—literally. The wetland area itself is accessible through a really nice boardwalk that leads out into the grasslands and kind of takes you through the areas that flood in the rain."

Credit City of Corvallis
Before (2009) and after (2015) the wetlands restoration efforts at Sunset Park in southwest Corvallis.

The site is part of the larger Dunawi Creek watershed. Rollens says native plants are thriving in the restored wetlands, and it's become a stopover point for migrating birds and a home for frogs, ducks, and other species.