The 922-acre Green River Natural Area extends slightly north from the edge of the Enumclaw Plateau. It is about seven miles east of Auburn along State Route 164 and roughly six miles northwest of Enumclaw.
The natural area is comprised of the former Metzler, O'Grady and Green River Waterway Parks all adjacent to the Green River. The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) acquired the parcels between 1973 and 2003 with funds from a variety of sources.
Steep valley walls and a broad valley floor combine to create rich mosaics of plant communities that characterize the natural area. Mixed forest and deciduous upland forests cover much of the valley wall, with several forested and scrub-shrub wetlands nestled in the benches. Gallery cottonwood forests, deciduous forests, meadows (old pasture/agricultural fields), and forested, scrub-shrub, and emergent wetlands are common on the valley bottom.
Native plant installation and invasive plant control enhancement efforts have occurred along with streambed restoration projects focused on improving salmonid habitat. Several of these wetlands form the headwaters of short tributaries to the Green River. The lower reaches of the wall-based streams in this area are utilized for spawning by coho and chum, and rearing by chinook, coho, chum and winter steelhead. Cutthroat trout have also been reported.
The cache is now a .50cal ammo can, graciously provided to me by Uxorious, decorated in my usual camo. The trading items and log book are now in a lock and lock INSIDE the ammo can. DO NOT put anything inside the ammo can without it being inside the lock and lock as well, unless it's water proof.
(Please note that messages sent to me from Geocaching's message system while in the field, may not receive an immediate response.)
 This cache is owned by a WSGA member. If you are a geocacher in the state of Washington, please consider joining Washington State Geocaching Association. See the WSGA website for details. |