Adriana Hess Wetland
Tahoma Bird Alliance is your entry point to Adriana Hess Wetland Park at 2917 Morrison Rd W, University Place. This peaceful natural space was saved from development in 1988 by the efforts and commitment of Adriana Hess, Thelma Gilmur, and others, including Pierce County Conservation.
Important native plant species found in the wetland include cattails, which provide cover from predators for birds and aquatic creatures; Douglas Spirea, a dependable bird and pollinator food and cover source; and blue rushes, whose deep roots hold the land and provide year-round bird habitat.
Wetlands act as an overflow reservoir during rainy months, preventing flooding and runoff into surface streams and public sewers. The rainwater held within wetlands seeps slowly in, joining stored ground water that will replenish surface streams with clean filtered spring water during the dry season.
Adriana Hess knew when she settled in Pierce County that wetlands are critical pieces of the environment. Watching wetlands all around her being filled in, paved over, and built upon, Ms. Hess began writing and speaking at local meetings to educate people. To our lasting benefit, this wetland was preserved .