Pioneer Park Forest Management Plan

Pioneer Park is a 113-acre park consisting of three 38-acre blocks of second-growth western-hemlock forest situated on the south-central spine of Mercer Island.

The park represents the largest relatively unfragmented forest habitat remaining on the island, providing a range of ecosystem services and benefits including recreation, water retention and slowing storm water runoff, improving air quality, temperature buffering, wildlife and aquatic habitat.

Pioneer Park provides nesting or foraging habitat for at least 74 avian species, including bald eagles and pileated woodpeckers. The park is home to over a dozen mammalian species, including little brown bats, the uncommon Douglas squirrel, mountain beavers, shrews, voles, and raccoons. The park provides a range of dry and wet habitats supporting an unknown number of invertebrate species.

The forest must also be managed if the park is to benefit the public. Park users and adjacent properties must be protected from undue risk of tree failure. The Pioneer Park Forest Management Plan is intended to provide sensitive and efficient direction for management and intervention within Pioneer Park that will maintain the native forest ecosystem, protect public safety and enhance positive uses of the park over the long-term.

Follow this link to learn more about the Pioneer Park Forest Management Plan.

*Broken link fixed 8/29/2022