FY14 Annual Report
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JULY 1, 2013 - JUNE 30, 2014 Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust ANNUAL REPORT 2013-14 Mountains to 41,187 4,005 HOURS spent by volunteers Sound Greenway PEOPLE building trails, planting trees, volunteered 50% maintaining native plant nursery, with us YOUTH and removing invasive weeds mission The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust 75MILES 18,170 leads and inspires action to conserve TRAIL work NATIVE TREES AND and enhance the landscape from Seattle completed SHRUBS planted across the Cascade Mountains to Central Washington, ensuring a long-term volunteers balance between people and nature. education 5,132 STUDENTS participated INCREASE in the education program +25% over last year 1,750 vision National Heritage Area ENDORSEMENTS An iconic 1.5 million-acre landscape secured that conserves a healthy and sustainable relationship between land and people by national balancing built and natural environments. A landscape providing places for nature and wildlife, for outdoor recreation and heritage area education, for working forests and local ACRES of new public lands agricultural production, while embracing were added to the Greenway media vibrant urban areas with strong economies. 56,350 A landscape supported by a broad cross- section of society, working together as an effective coalition to preserve this heritage for future generations. 44,108 3,167 VISITORS to our website FOLLOWERS on www.mtsgreenway.org Facebook/Twitter national heritage area recreation Significant progress towards designating TESTIMONY Over half of the Greenway is in public ownership, providing abundant the Greenway as a National Heritage Area. recreation opportunities for the 1.4 million people who live here. The designation will recognize the Greenway as “The Mountains to Sound Greenway has a special place in our state and country and bring served as Expedia’s New Middle Fork starts to take shape. After nearly 15 years the resources needed to protect it for future home since its inception of planning, coalition building, and funding acquisition, the vision for generations. During July 2013 - June 2014: and has helped attract the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley is starting to take shape. the talent that makes Accomplishments included building a new trailhead at Dingford Creek, and • Over 1,750 people, businesses, and cities us an innovative permitting more than a dozen future recreation projects. 2014 also marked endorsed the campaign. and entrepreneurial the start of a road construction project through the valley that will continue company.” through 2016. • Staff conducted 22 presentations and reached – Brent Thompson, SVP, Expedia over 530 people at community groups, city councils, and business groups. “Our region is home to Completion of Mailbox Peak Trail. After two summers of work the a robust and growing new Mailbox Peak Trail officially opens September 2014. The old trail, an • Our legislative strategy team worked with our outdoor recreation informal path that has gradually worn into the ridge, was badly eroding congressional delegation to move bills forward industry, which is a and extremely steep. The new trail doubles the distance of the hike from in the U.S. House and Senate. significant driver of jobs and economic growth.” two and half to five miles and makes the ascent much more bearable. • For latest updates about the campaign, visit – Maude Daudon, President/ Decreasing the slope of the trail also reduces the risk of water erosion and GreenwayHeritage.org CEO, Seattle Metropolitan diminishes the need for maintenance and reconstruction down the line. Chamber of Commerce endorsers recreation Governor Jay Inslee Seattle Mayor Ed Murray AAA WOULDRattlesnake BE COOL Mountain TO HAVE ANSnoqualmie INFO GRAPHIC HEREMt SiAT Washington Washington Trails Association Washington State BOTTOM IF HAVE SPACE?? EX: LISTRiver OF ALL THE DIFFERENT Parks & Recreation Washington Dept Fish & Wildlife Museum TYPESISSAQUAH OF RECREATION ALPS AVAILABLE IN THEMailbox GREENWAY Peak of History & Industry Expedia, Inc Sustainable Seattle TEANAWAY Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley education land conservation The Greenway worked closely with land management agencies and other conservation partners to conserve: 'Teach the teacher' brings environmental education to more children. We trained staff from the YMCA Camp Terry and University Teanaway. The largest single land conservation transaction 50,272 acres YMCA on how to teach campers about the natural world. 100% of in the 23-year history of the Greenway, and the largest state Washington State participants believed the training will help them lead environmental transaction in 45 years. The state’s first Community Forest Dept of Natural activities in the future. Resources / Dept "I loved the way you will ensure wildlife habitat connectivity as well as recreation of Fish & Wildlife pushed the students to access, bringing increased tourism and revenue to nearby We New curriculum helps 9th graders. do more and keep high Kittitas County communities. taught 9th graders about healthy forests and expectations for every streams to help prepare them for biology classes student...I was thrilled Echo Lake. A new acquisition adjacent to the I-90/SR 18 106 acres in 10th grade. Students participated in field study with the result and interchange that will be added to the Raging River State Washington State trips and land stewardship projects. would do it again in a Dept of Natural Forest, as part of the Greenway’s longtime conservation goal heartbeat." Resources Connecting students with nature. Led to connect Tiger Mountain and the Cedar River Watershed to -Tricia Cecil provide greater recreation and wildlife connectivity. stewardship events for 3rd/4th graders at Oxbow Science Co-Chair, Farm; engaged Clark Elementary students in Issaquah High School developing a habitat restoration plan with Friends Manastash. Made up of former checkerboard sections, 4,792 acres of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery; and taught programs for 21st Century this addition helps consolidate public lands for better Washington State Community Learning where students from diverse backgrounds thrived on wildlife migration between U.S. Forest Service lands and Dept of Fish & Wildlife active, outdoor learning experiences. the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area near Ellensburg. Tall Chief. Located along the Snoqualmie River, this 191 acres education property was a dairy farm and then the Tall Chief Golf King County 21,987 Course, before a developer bought the land and proposed 25% INCREASE 5,132 students student hours to build 18 high-end homes. The farming community in the in students served eight curricula based on Snoqualmie Valley came together around this property to see LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS this rich land brought back into agricultural production. aligned with state teacher standards community partnerships habitat restoration The secret to 23 years of success comes from our ability to effectively Basin-wide knotweed removal nears milestone. Restoration Sites convene a broad-based, bi-partisan coalition of local stakeholders. Since 2008, we've been controlling invasive knotweed Bear Creek along Issaquah Creek, methodically moving downstream Camp Terry Building a coalition of leaders in the Snoqualmie Valley. We’ve from the headwaters. In summer 2014 our crews will Discovery Park Cedar River Watershed convened a new Snoqualmie Valley leadership group to address issues in the finally reach the mouth of the creek, after restoring nearly 500,000 sq ft of creek bank. Our efforts included Chinook Bend Valley from a holistic perspective by coordinating efforts and collaborating Gold Creek Pond on action. The group includes the Chambers of Commerce, the Snoqualmie extensive public outreach and cooperation, as the Issaquah Creek Valley Community Network, and Stewardship Partners, and has led events majority of infested parcels were privately owned. Lake Samm. State Park such as 'Leading the Way to a Sustainable Snoqualmie Valley'. Luther Burbank Park Stopping the spread of weeds at recreation Mailbox Peak Trail Building a Community-Based Forest in the Teanaway. The Manastash River hubs. The Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley is Meadowbrook Farm Greenway Trust is part of the Teanaway Community Forest Advisory Council, a major recreation destination but visitors (and their Mercerdale Hillside a broad-based group of stakeholders selected to plan for the future use of vehicles) inadvertently bring invasive plant seeds to Mount Si this first-of-its-kind community forest, a newly-conserved state forest at the trailheads. We are partnering with the U.S. Forest Park Pointe headwaters of the Yakima River north of Cle Elum. Service and the Washington State Department of Raging River Rasmussen Creek Natural Resources to strategically control weeds before Rattlesnake Mountain Launch of Greenway Technical Advisory Council (TAC). The they spread further into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. newly formed Greenway TAC significantly increases our ability to act quickly Ribary Creek Riverfront Park and effectively on regional issues. The TAC is comprised of members from Catching invasives before they colonize post- Sammamish Cove government, business, tribal, non-profit, and community interests, each with Snoqualmie Forest special knowledge, skill, or resources critical to implementing the vision. wildfire. In the aftermath of the Table Mountain fire S. Fork Snoq. River near Cle Elum, the Greenway worked with local partners South Woods to replant native Ponderosa pine and assess the spread Squak Valley