The Urban Wilderness

A few weeks ago, I mentioned some of the animals of the urban wilderness, those that have adapted extremely well to life with humans. This week I’ll share some wild urban spaces, little patches of actual jungle in the urban jungle. Note: the actual jungle I refer to isn’t really a jungle.

The Seattle area where I live is home to quite a few wild spots in not so wild areas. I’ll run through some of the ones I have been to. 

Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park is one of the largest city parks in Washington. It has Puget Sound shoreline, which is hope to marine life such as harbor seals and giant Pacific octopi. It also has some old growth forest, home to black-tailed deer and eagles. Other attractions include the zoo and Fort Nisqually. 

Not-so-giant giant sequoia at Point Defiance

The recently renamed Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge preserves the delta of the Nisqually River. Located between Olympia and Tacoma, it is bordered by Interstate 5. With freshwater and saltwater marshes it is an important stop on the Pacific Flyway and its estuarine waters nurture salmon smolts adjusting to seawater. 

Taking flight at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

The US Army Corps of Engineers’ Hiram Chittenden Locks provides a channel for boats to travel between Lake Washington and Puget Sound. On the west side of the locks is a rookery of great blue herons, the only place I’ve ever seen one. Harbor seals frequent the locks, hoping to snag a migrating salmon. Salmon are visible at the lock’s fish ladder. 

Great blue heron rookery

Sockeye salmon at the fish ladder

I grew up near Philadelphia, and there are some urban wilderness areas there also. John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge is right alongside Interstate 95, just south of the airport. It is one of the last remaining tidal marshes on the Delaware River and an important bird habitat. 

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge (US Fish and Wildlife Service photo)

Valley Forge National Historical Park is best known as the location of George Washington’s winter camp during the American Revolution. Now completely surrounded by suburban development, it is a haven for white-tailed deer. I’ve also seen turkey vultures and heard turkeys there. 

Colonial Springs, deep in the woods (right off the highway) at Valley Forge

New York, the largest city in the country, even has some wild spaces. Central Park is home to more than just pigeons. I’ve seen a woodpecker and squirrels there. Migrating birds on the Atlantic Flyway probably stop there from time to time. The Oakwood Beach neighborhood of Staten Island is no longer a neighborhood; home have been bought out following Hurricane Sandy. The area is already reverting to nature. Across New York Harbor, New Jersey’s Sandy Hook boasts a rare intact holly forest, as well as coastal dunes. Imagine my delight watching crabs skittering through the woods. 

A woodpecker grows in Manhattan

Holly forest at Sandy Hook (Middletown, NJ Patch photo)

One last place worth mentioning is Springbrook Nature Center in Minneapolis. I’ve never been there but a friend is there frequently. It is home to many species of birds, plus the usual deer and even foxes. With any luck I will get there some day. 

Springbrook Nature Center (photo by Mark Layeux)

What are some surprisingly wild places near you?

US Fish and Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/John_Heinz/visit/plan_your_visit.html

Middletown, NJ Patch: https://patch.com/new-jersey/middletown-nj/holly-forest-walk-at-sandy-hook