'Japanese Gulch', in Mukilteo, Washington

Mukilteo, Washington

Mukilteo , which means "good camping ground", is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 20,254 at the 2010 census. It is on the shore of the Puget Sound, and is the site of a Washington State Ferries terminal linking it to Clinton, on Whidbey Island.Mukilteo is...

, is a privately owned 800 acres (3.2 km²) green space. With its rich historical significance and intertwining trails it brings astonishing beauty to an increasingly urban area. Hikers

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, bicyclists

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

, and nature lovers have enjoyed this treasure for over 30 years.

The Gulch is home to a variety of wildlife including pileated woodpeckers

Pileated Woodpecker

The Pileated Woodpecker is a very large North American woodpecker, almost crow-sized, inhabiting deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast. It is also the largest woodpecker in America.Adults are long, and weigh...

, black-tailed deer

Black-tailed Deer

Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupying coastal temperate rainforest on North America's Pacific coast are subspecies of the mule deer. They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all recent authorities maintain they are subspecies...

, great blue heron

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...

, and coyotes

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

. However its continued existence is threataned by developers. In late 2007 a development company bid on purchasing the property for developing an industrial park

Industrial park

An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...

. This caused a small outcry from the community, and inspired a movement to save the gulch from being developed.