SEQUIM — Crews broke ground on the Dungeness River Audubon Center’s approximate $3.5 million expansion project last week.
To celebrate, organizers of the Inspire Wonder capital campaign held a virtual groundbreaking July 13 to mark the success of a three-year effort to add more than 5,000 square feet for educational and meeting spaces, a commercial kitchen, new entryway and parking.
“This virtual ceremony is the most unusual groundbreaking I’ve ever been to,” said W. Ron Allen, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Chair and CEO.
“I look forward to one year from now, when we can see and talk to each other onsite to celebrate the grand opening,” he continued.
“The tribe is delighted and honored to be a partner in this amazing resource that is a centerpiece of the (North Olympic) Peninsula. We raise our hands to express our deep appreciation to all who have made this project possible.”
Videos were shown of Loni Grinnell-Greninger, Tribal Council vice chair, blessing the site, and Kirk Nelson, the tribe’s facilities and construction manager, breaking the first ground on the project.
The center was incorporated in 1994 as part of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s Railroad Bridge Park on the Dungeness River. It’s run by the tribe, Dungeness River Audubon Center, the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society and the National Audubon Society.
Kirk Nelson, construction manager for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, breaks ground for a virtual meeting to celebrate the beginning of the Dungeness River Audubon Center expansion. (Photo by Silas Crews, Story Crane Productions)
Additional space
The expansion of the now-1,600-square-foot center will provide more room for programs, exhibits and meetings which currently have standing room only for many events.
“Our future is awesome,” Capital Campaign Chair Annette Hanson said at the virtual meeting.
“In 2019, we recorded 220,000 crossings of the bridge, we engaged 4,264 children in hands-on science and served 19,277 people in educational programs,” she said.
“Imagine how many more people can benefit from the center and park when the expansion is complete.”
Center representatives said construction could begin as soon as August, with the expansion expected to be complete by next summer.
Depending on fundraising, a remodel of the existing building could begin soon after the expansion’s grand opening, stakeholders said, with exhibits and interpretive displays in the planning and grant-writing stages.
The tribe purchased 4.5 acres of land east of the center in 2016 for a new entrance into the park.
Annette Hanson, capital campaign committee chair for the expansion of the Dungeness River Audubon Center, and W. Ron Allen, tribal chairman for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, reveal a new sign in June 2018 at the entrance to the Railroad Bridge Park announcing the campaign to build a new parking lot and expand the center. Construction is anticipated to begin in August 2020 and completed by summer 2021. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group file)
Funding
Inspire Wonder organizers announced their campaign in June 2018 after they secured 40 percent of the project’s budget at the time.
The project went to bid in April after 95 percent of funding was secured, but two bids were higher than budget due to concerns about COVID-19, organizers said.
The tribe will serve as general contractor and seek local sub-contractors.
In part, 18.5 percent of funding came from community support to the Inspire Wonder campaign, more than 20 percent from the tribe, and 59.5 percent from grants, including $1.5 million from state taxpayers.
Among those in attendance at the virtual meeting was state Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend, the chair for the House capital budget. He said the center “has been a fabulous community asset through the years, and it has a great future.”
“It is another example of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s commitment to the greater community,” he said.
“(The) center has a huge impact on the lives of kids and families, providing many touches with nature.”
Other speakers included state Rep. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, and Ken Wiersema, education chair for the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society.
A new parking lot and entrance off Hendrickson Road would lead to a expanded Dungeness River Audubon Center with construction anticipated to start late summer 2020. (Image by Roy Hellwig)
Closures/detours
Railroad Bridge Park and the current parking areas will remain open during construction, but some temporary closures on the Olympic Discovery Trail will occur a few times during construction. Detours will be identified and the bridge will remain open.
Stakeholders said the Dungeness River Audubon Center is closed due to COVID-19 and will remain closed through the construction period for safety concerns.
However, outdoor education and virtual programs and other learning opportunities will continue online.
The picnic shelter and the amphitheater will remain open during construction, too.
For more information about the project or to donate online, visit www.dungenessrivercenter.org, call Annette Hanson at 360-670-6774 or email Annette_Hanson@msn.com.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
