City of Seattle Cedar River Watershed Tour
The City operates a 90,000 acre area covering the headquarters of the Cedar River in the Cascade Mountains, southeast of Seattle. This closed watershed provides two-thirds of the water supply to Seattle and many of the surrounding communities.
The tour will start with a visit to the special fish passage facility at the lower end of the watershed. It features a unique device for selectively moving Coho and other native salmon runs past a former migration barrier. The tour will then pass through a major portion of this pristine watershed, including scenic Chester Morse Reservoir and Lake Young, with stops at several archaeological sites.
Box lunches will be served at the Visitor Interpretive Center at Rattlesnake Lake where participants can view fascinating water chimes. The tour will emphasize watershed management and river flow enhancement for fishery and recreational purposes, as well as water supply. Several examples of river restoration projects will be viewed along the lower Cedar River. The tour will be lead by Celese Spencer of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU).
The participants should dress in warm clothes and bring rain gear.
Tentative SchedulE
9:00 AM Bus will follow I-90 east to Exit 17 in Issaquah (Front Street Exit). Bus continues south from Issaquah to Landsburg. 10:00 AM » Bus arrives at Landsburg, which is the fish passage facility at the entrance to the Cedar River Watershed. Rand Little of SPU will talk about the fish passage facility. 11:15 AM » Bus departs Landsburg. Bus continues on a well-maintained gravel road up the watershed (no 4-wheel drive vehicle is necessary, as many school buses use the same road). 12:00 PM » Bus arrives at the Cedar Rive Education Center. 12 - 12:45 PM » Lunch and tour of the Education Center 12:45 » Bus continues to the masonry dam 1:00 - 1:30 PM » Participants tour the dam facility 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM » Tour Chester Moser Lake – Discuss use of this lake for the City of Seattle water supply. 3:00 PM » Bus arrives at scenic Cedar Falls 3:30 PM » Bus departs Cedar Falls 4:30 PM » Bus returns