Community Rallies Around Decoursey Park Restoration Efforts

Did you know that you shouldn’t feed the ducks in the park?

Many don’t associate feeding bits of bread or other snacks to birds with issues in the environment, but it can be devastating to local habitat.

Friends of Decoursey Park is a local group that has taken on the task of public education, study and restoration at the Puyallup pond. They hosted a park cleanup and planting event on Saturday, March 9, where volunteers picked up trash, spread mulch and reinforced the shoreline along the pond, which connects to Clarks Creek.

The cleanup event also served as an educational artwalk. Visitors to the park that sunny Saturday were greeted by rows of student art from Aylen, Edgemont and PHS, asking people to not feed the ducks.

The first place winner of the art contest will see their full-scale sign on display in the park entrance and the second and third place winners will see their signs on display around the benches.

Visitors at the park submitted their favorite picks, then the most popular signs will go to the parks board and city council for a vote.

Program coordinator Laurie Larson said public education is critical if anything is going to change at the park.

“If you look at erosion patterns in [Decoursey Park], you’ll notice that most of the damage is around the park benches,” said Larson. Larson is a researcher from the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center and brings scientific knowledge to the Friends group, a partnership between the WSU Extension Center and the City of Puyallup Parks and Recreation Department made possible through federal grants designated for pond restoration.

“Ducks are destroying the area looking for food. There is no amphibians or other habitats along the shore, due to the erosion of native plants,” she added.

Feeding the ducks has resulted in waterfowl overcrowding at the pond and fecal contamination on Clarks Creek and Decoursey Pond.

Human food scraps are not healthy for waterfowl and lead to malnutrition problems. Food crumbs also attract rodents.

The Friends volunteers are working to solve these problems by studying the local habitat, counting pond ducks and simply talking to people about the impact their actions have on the park.

Members of the Friends group visit the park up to three times a week and count the ducks in the park at different points in the day to study their habits. At the end of June, that data will be analyzed further to develop a strategy to dealing with the waterfowl. Larson hopes to arrange for trained dogs to come to the park to scare off the geese over a period of time this spring, a tactic that was successful at Wapato Park in Tacoma.

Larson said that funding for studies at Decoursey Park end in June and the group is hoping to raise more awareness and secure another funding source after that.

If you want to get involved, stop by a Friends of Decoursey public meeting, which is free and open to the public. 

Scheduled meetings are from 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. on April 2 and 16; May 7 and 21; June 4 and 18 at WSU Puyallup Research & Extension Center.

You can also "like" the volunteer group on Facebook.