National Park Service Awards Contract for New Greenhouse Facility to be Built at Robin Hill Farm County Park

Date: April 21, 2009
Contact: Barb Maynes, 360-565-3005

The National Park Service has selected Northcon, Inc. of Hayden, Idaho to design and build a new Olympic National Park greenhouse facility in Robin Hill Farm County Park. Construction of the new facility, to include a greenhouse, tool shed, cold frames and nursery beds, will begin early this summer, with completion scheduled for autumn. The total project cost, which includes both design and construction of the new facility, is $358,000.

The new greenhouse and nursery will provide an improved facility for the park’s ongoing and highly successful revegetation program, and for the upcoming Elwha restoration project. After the Glines Canyon and Elwha dams are removed and the reservoirs drained, hundreds of thousands of native plants will be used to restore native vegetation to the Elwha Valley.

“We’re grateful for the creativity and collaboration with Clallam County staff that is making this new facility possible,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin. “The project meets both park and Clallam County goals, and with construction of the new greenhouse and nursery, we are another step closer to restoring the Elwha ecosystem.”

Robin Hill County Park is located off Dryke Road just north of Highway 101 between Port Angeles and Sequim. The 195-acre park provides day-use opportunities in an area of mixed forest, meadow and wetland. Twenty acres are maintained for pasture management; the new greenhouse will be located on a five-acre site within this area.

“Having Olympic National Park's native plant nursery at Robin Hill Park is a great opportunity for the public to learn about this important program,” said Steve Tharinger, County Commissioner.

Olympic National Park’s native plant propagation program is recognized as being one of the best in the Pacific Northwest. Since its beginning in 1987, it has produced over 400,000 native plants for restoring damaged areas throughout the park including the Seven Lakes Basin, Lake Constance, Hurricane Ridge and several sites along the wilderness coast. In addition to these ongoing projects, park staff is already working to produce the hundreds of thousands of native plants that will be used to re-plant and restore the over 700 acres of land that will re-emerge after the reservoirs are drained.