Effort underway to restore Blackbird Island Pond after flood damage

LEAVENWORTH — For generations of families in the Upper Valley, Blackbird Island Pond has been a place of firsts.

First fish. First patient cast into still water. First quiet lessons in how to sit, wait, and watch something small ripple outward.

Tucked along the Wenatchee River, the pond has long served as an easy entry point to the outdoors. Children can fish safely. Parents can linger. The experience is simple, shared, and close to home.

After the December 2025 flooding, that space looks different.

Debris now fills much of the pond, and the pump system that circulates water and keeps fish alive through the warmer months was heavily damaged. Without those systems in place, the pond cannot function as it has in years past, leaving its immediate future uncertain.

Now, a local effort is underway to bring it back in time for summer 2026.

Trent Jackson has launched a fundraising campaign through GoFundMe, alongside plans for volunteer work days aimed at restoring the pond with a focused, practical approach.

“We’re not trying to over-engineer this,” Jackson wrote on the fundraiser page. “We’re simply trying to get the pond up and running again for families and kids to enjoy this summer.”

The work ahead is straightforward, but significant: clearing a log jam near the pump house, removing debris from the pond, restoring the bank and inlet, and repairing the pump system itself.

Jackson estimates roughly $20,000 is needed to cover materials, equipment, and critical repairs.

“If this pond has meant something to you or your family, we’d appreciate your support,” he wrote.

In the coming weeks, organizers plan to schedule volunteer work days, inviting community members to take part not only through donations, but through hands-on work at the site.

For those involved, the effort is about more than restoring a pond.

It is about restoring a place that has quietly shaped how people in the valley connect with the outdoors, one small cast at a time.

Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-restore-blackbird-island-pond

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media