A storm is brewing at the intersection of Northwest 90th
Street
and Earl Avenue, where the North Beach Ravine—
a 9.6-acre
greenbelt and heron refuge—is slowly being destroyed by illegal
trails.
The ravine—steep-walled, densely wooded, and home to at least
10 heron nests—is owned by the Seattle Parks Department, which
maintains two legal trails in the area. In the last two years, someone
has dug several new trails into the steep walls of the ravine, causing
erosion and damaging trees and other plant life. According to the parks
department, whoever is digging has done roughly $60,000 worth of
damage. And though the city has yet to identify a culprit, neighbors
say they know who is responsible.
On a warm evening in May, one man who lives near the illegal trail
(who asked to remain anonymous) shambled down the steep ravine walls,
tightly gripping lopped-off tree roots to steady himself, until he
reached a wide dirt pathway that wraps around the entire ravine. The
trail splits off down the hill toward a small creek and up into the
backyard of a large white house that looms above the trees. Two years
ago, the neighbor says, “None of this trail was here.”
Heading up toward the trailhead, the neighbor stops at the end of
the path, which leads right into the backyard of the large white house
owned by Tony and Inez Gray, owners of Habitude Salon. A signpost at
the trailhead reads: “Trail of Tears and Fears.” By Monday, May 19, the
sign had disappeared.
The disgruntled neighbor says he has seen Gray down in the ravine on
the weekends, filling wheelbarrows with dirt, removing plants, and
carving out pathways. “Two years ago, [Gray] was very active,” the
neighbor says. But after other residents on the street started
complaining to the city the angry neighbor says, Gray “has been more
covert about it.”
Despite the fact that the trail starts in his backyard, Gray insists
he’s not responsible. “Anytime somebody burps down there, they think
I’m doing it,” Gray says. “These people saw me in [the ravine] five
years ago and they’re using me as a lightning rod. ” Gray blames the
recent trailblazing on other North Beach residents and a Boy Scout
troop. “There are quite a few people taking care of the park.”
While neighbors seem sure that Gray is the one doing the digging,
the parks department isn’t as quick to point the finger. “It’s been an
ongoing problem on my radar since I’ve come aboard,” says the city’s
north region parks manager, Royal Alley-Barnes. However,
Alley-Barnes says, “We have a responsibility to be certain” about
who’s doing the digging.
So far, Gray’s disgruntled neighbor seems dissatisfied with the
city’s response. Standing on the trail below Gray’s house, he points
toward a recently dug patch of dirt. “We just want it to stop. It’s a
greenbelt,” he says. “This isn’t meant to be a place for people to roam
around in.” As we walk back up the trail, a large heron swoops
overhead. “When I moved in, they were everywhere,” he says. Now,
“they’re definitely dwindling.” 
