Finn Hill’s woodlands and watersheds have been severely degraded through deforestation and suburban development over the last 150 years. Nevertheless, the neighborhood is served by numerous large parks and most of its ravines are wooded; some of Finn Hill’s creeks and wetlands remain. Thanks to the preservation of these natural assets, Finn Hill retains some excellent examples of Puget Sound lowland native plant and tree ecosystems. Areas of Finn Hill are home to dense canopies of mature second growth Douglas fir, cedar, hemlock, madrone, big leaf maple, and vine maple. Beneath these trees are native shrubs and ground cover such as osoberry, Oregon grape, salal, and huckleberry.

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Finn Hill also still hosts a significant variety of wildlife that have found ways to adapt to human encroachment. Black tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, mountain beavers, squirrels, muskrats, racoons, beavers and otters live amongst us. Flying squirrels have been spotted in St. Edward Park to the immediate north of Big Finn Hill Park. Bald eagles and owls roost in Finn Hill’s Douglas firs, herons circle above Lake Washington along Finn Hill’s shoreline, ducks are ubiquitous, as are Canadian geese. Local residents, working with UW Faculty through the St. Edward Environmental Education & Research Center are tabulating evidence of wildlife activity throughout Finn Hill.