© 2026 Robert Sickles
The Estuary
The area I live in, the Westside of Olympia, is separated from the rest of town by Budd Bay, an inlet of Puget Sound, and Capitol Lake. The lake is actually a former estuary where the Deschutes River meets Budd Bay. When a small dam was raised many decades ago to create the lake, the city gained an enjoyable park where people could see the State Capitol reflected on the water. There was swimming and boating right in the center of the city. The city also reclaimed some shoreline stretches along the estuary where a shantytown had become a blight. Another part of the plan, a hatchery was constructed with fish ladders for salmon to get up the Deschutes beyond Tumwater Falls.
Now it’s known that the dam offends the natural ecology of river and sea. Because plus-tide sea water has nowhere else to go, the dam contributes to occasional flooding in town. The silted-up lake has high levels of run-off pollution and has become infested with an invading snail species. Sorry Kiwis, but it’s your bloody New Zealand Mud Snail. That’s the critter that finally brought about the shutting down of recreational use of the lake. Nevertheless, Capitol Lake is still an attractive asset in the center of the city. Abundant waterfowl are still there, the 2-mile walking path is popular, and adjacent park areas are frequently used for community events. It’s all going to change.
Now the Estuary Restoration Project has long-range plans to remove the dam, drain and dredge the 260-acre lake and return the body of water and shorelines to their original function. Along with doing the right thing for wildlife and shoreline management, it’s a way to mitigate the effects on the city of rising sea levels. Ecologists, the local tribes, anglers, birders, and kayakers will be delighted.
However enjoyable the freshwater lake has been, nearby residents and park users will get used to a new vista: intertidal mudflats and a diversity of living things. While salmon runs and shorebird colonies will be more successful, so will harbor seals who hunt them, and maybe even the orcas that hunt harbor seals. Not the nature lessons some mothers would like their little ones watching! And the distinctive ambiance of decomposing fish and seaweed on the muck at low tide will be a new addition. It’s fascinating biology in wide open spaces, but in the center of the city?
Maybe it will be wonderful, or not a big deal after all. You tell me... lots of cities lie near backwater bays and marshland. I am not opposed to the project. It is the right thing to do. Just sayin’, though, all you have to do is drive a few miles out to aptly named Mud Bay to see what lies ahead for Capitol Lake. Picnic, anyone?
The Triangle
Meanwhile up the hill, the Westside may become a lot more urbanized in the future, as the Capital Mall Triangle Subarea Plan unfolds. The Plan refers to a large section of town bounded in a triangular shape by three main avenues. There has been a strong pitch for the community to love the idea, and there is some enthusiasm for it, as it deals with some vacant tracts and run-down areas that will shape up nicely and provide housing and business space. Naturally, there is resistance to replacing our mom & pop businesses and easy-paced neighborhoods with denser commercial and multi-story residential development. I submitted this letter to the Olympia Planning Commission when they asked for community feedback on the proposed Westside redevelopment:
“I lived in Kirkland for over 30 years and saw it change to the point I couldn’t live there anymore. The homey town on the Eastside of Lake Washington began to attract investors and developers motivated by the lava flow of money from tech industry millionaires.
“Just before I decided to move to Olympia, traffic had gotten so bad you had to strategize a time and a route to get anywhere. The once useful local businesses were transformed into fancy boutiques, pubs and art galleries, all obviously meant to serve a different community than the one I lived among. And the downtown had become a maze of high-rise condo canyons and unfamiliar street intersections. Parking in town became a huge hassle.
“You say the planned changes for West Olympia will phase in over several years, so it shouldn’t be that shocking to us. but I interpret that as ‘we frogs won’t realize we’re being boiled if you heat up the pot slowly.’ And you promise that it will grow into a ‘more people-oriented urban neighborhood…’ Am I missing your point, or isn’t that an oxymoron? I have lived through urbanization; I’m not buying it.
“Yes, I sound like a fuddy-duddy, anti-growth, not-in-my-backyard type. Yup, ‘bout right. Fellow Olympians, please watch this plan closely. The chainsaws and bulldozers are coming. You don’t miss your water ‘til your well runs dry.”
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Could not have woofed it better....go boy!! woof woof
I live on Seabrook Island outside Charleston, SC. It ain't called the Lowcountry for nothing. We live according to the tides and the plough mud. Man up there, Bobby. 😎