Rainbow Valley Shoreline Restoration Plan

Rainbow Valley is a "deep-seeded" piece of Oly-lore. Sound Native Plants has been active in southern Salish ecological restoration since the mid-90s and this is a project from our beginning years. The history of this place is contentious where humans are concerned, but its restoration is a success for key and endangered animal species like the Oregon spotted frog, rufous hummingbird, and salmonids.

The landscape surrounding the restoration site is a mosaic of vital wetland and prairie oak habitat. Once spreading from British Columbia to California, oak prairie woodlands are now considered to be some of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States with only about 3% remaining.

The name "Rainbow Valley" does not refer to the water or land, but the people who inhabited this place from the 1970s-90s. During these decades, the property was owned by Gideon Israel, an old-school hippie, peace activist, Vietnam vet, and Olympia local. Israel would regularly host music festivals and events, including Rainbow Gatherings on the land. It was in those days that "Rainbow Valley" gained its name. While the community created and maintained on this land may have been beneficial to human inhabitants, there were negative repercussions on the ecosystem.

In comes Sound Native Plants. In the late 90s we were initially contracted by Israel to create and implement a restoration plan for Rainbow Creek, designed to remedy past event impacts. Before on the ground work began, Israel lost ownership of the land and The Nature Conservancy acquired the property as part of their nature preserve along the Black River. Fortunately, we were able to continue with our restoration plan in Rainbow Valley with The Nature Conservancy as our clients. In addition to our restoration plan, they also commissioned a native plant nursery to be set up on site.