Oly Ecosystems acquires parcel on West Bay Drive for conservation
The nonprofit Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation, also known as Oly Ecosystems, has acquired a parcel of land in west Olympia for conservation, the organization announced.
The acquisition was made possible by a $212,000 donation from an anonymous couple in the community and a matching donation from the Angela J. Bowen Conservancy Foundation.
The 1.75-acre parcel is at 1515 West Bay Drive. The site, according to Oly Ecosystems, has 420 feet of frontage on West Bay Drive and “represents a unique opportunity to conserve dwindling shoreline forest and to improve water quality through green infrastructure.”
“Our new acquisition represents a unique opportunity to address untreated stormwater by providing the space and geography to treat the water coming from an adjacent stormwater pipe that drains the upland neighborhood,” a news release reads.
Oly Ecosystems has previously partnered with the city’s public works department to address stormwater in West Bay.
“We expect to continue that partnership with tangible action at this site,” organization officials said in the release.
If the Oly Ecosystems name sounds familiar, the group has raised its profile in recent weeks because of its opposition to the proposed development known as West Bay Yards, which is just south of the Oly Ecosystems parcel.
West Bay Yards, as proposed, which would include 478 units of market-rate housing spread across five buildings, along with 20,000 square feet of commercial space, on the nearby site of the former Hardel Mutual Plywood, which burned down in 1996.
—Rolf Boone
This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
