A round of applause for…

Naturally, we couldn’t have had the photo contest without the support of our sponsors: Glazer’s Camera, Panda Lab, MoonPhoto, Emerald Water Anglers, Mountaineers Books, Seattle Paragliding, Small Lot Co-Op, Annie’s Art and Frame and Rill Adventures. They have provided some amazing prizes and support for this contest. Thank you!!!

But the work is not over just yet. Not in the slightest!

In fact, we are working to ensure that this gem of a landscape, this “place like no other,” remains a constant part of our regional geography forever. That means it’s time to make the Greenway official. And for us, this means seeking a National Heritage Area designation by the U.S. Congress for the Greenway.

We have spent recent years studying the best way to make this special place official. Findings from an extensive study helped us conclude that a National Heritage Area is the appropriate way to officially recognize the Mountains to Sound Greenway. This type of recognition will strengthen a sense of place, enhance funding opportunities, empower partners to work together more efficiently, and formalize the Greenway coalition's cooperative management style across this broad landscape.

This is a great undertaking and there are many ways you can help. You can spread the word, collaborate, and voice your support. We look forward to working with you on this very special project!

Read more about National Heritage Area Designation.

I was still very sleepy after my second (yes second) cup of coffee. I figured I had a hard day of work ahead of me so I knew the extra coffee would help me haul my tools up the steep parts of the Little Si trail (something I wasn’t particularly looking forward to). But today was a special event I was looking forward to: Women in the Woods- an all female trail restoration event which encourages women to get outside, learn how to use tools and build trail structures. I heard from other staff just how much fun our female trail volunteers had at past Women in the Woods events so I was extra excited to work with them and see the transformations that lay ahead for the Little Si Trail at this year’s event.

We started the day off with introductions, learning that some of the women had never participated in anything like this before, some were returning for a second time and some were just excited to get outdoors and make a difference. Throughout the day, the women worked incredibly hard, always in great spirits, and were so helpful with each other. I loved the energy so much that a couple of times it gave me the warm fuzzies!

About halfway through the day we brought out the sledgehammer to break up some rocks. I was psyched to see the enthusiasm they brought to the task! They truly made short work of smashing those rocks.

Throughout the day I watched in awe as the ladies completed a 3-section turnpike (a project started a day earlier by an awesome group of K&L Gates employees during United Way of King County’s Day of Caring). When I looked at the finished product, I was blown away. These were women OF the woods! They had kicked the trail project’s butt- hauling rocks, hammering spikes into the logs, and finishing it all off with style.

What started out as a slow Saturday morning quickly turned into one of the best events I’ve worked on during my internship with the Greenway. I hope everyone got as much out of it as I did. I am certainly awed by their hard work and strength, not to mention the passion and energy they brought to the project. I’m already looking forward to coming out for the next Women in the Woods event. They are so much fun and so rewarding…even when the coffee wore off!

For more information on the Women in the Woods program, click here.

• Instant outdoors expert - The Mountaineers Books, the publishing arm of famous hiking and outdoors club, The Mountaineers, will give one category winner their complete range of local hiking guides. Oh the wonders you’ll explore! For over 50 years, Seattle-based Mountaineers Books has published outdoor books focusing on recreation, environment, and adventure for those who participate with nature. Today, with more than 500 titles in print, Mountaineers Books -- along with its Skipstone and Braided River imprints -- provides readers with information on outdoor recreation, sustainable lifestyle, and conservation advocacy. Mountaineers Books’ Day Hiking Series was introduced in the spring of 2007 with the release of three titles, one of which was Day Hiking Snoqualmie Region which features an abundance of trails in and around the Greenway. Since its introduction to Washington hikers the Day Hiking series has sold over 62,000 copies, 14,000 of which are from Day Hiking Snoqualmie Region alone. Additionally, each Day Hiking title donates 1% of profits to the Washington Trails Association, hoping to further educate, inspire, and protect the beautiful wilderness within the Greenway for years to come.

These are the businesses helping to keep the Greenway such a unique place. Next time you get the chance, show them you appreciate their support!

If you are a local Greenway business and would love to help support the 20th Anniversary Photo Contest or 20th Anniversary March, we would love to hear from you. Email Erin MacCoy for more information.

Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust Board Member Joan Thomas passed away on November 28, 2011. Thomas was a steadfast and hard-working champion of the environment, and she will be sorely missed.

In addition to her work with the Greenway Trust, Thomas was a former State Parks Commissioner, a founding member of both the Washington Environmental Council and Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, and served on the boards of Farming and the Environment, the Peach Foundation, Friends of Discovery Park and others. She loved the Northwest and she had a special passion for preserving water quality.

In 2007, the Greenway Trust presented a Citation of Merit to Joan Thomas at our annual celebration, which read:

"In warm appreciation for a lifetime of volunteer dedication to the challenge of protecting the fabric of nature in the midst of urban growth across Washington State. Her vision, leadership and good sense have been instrumental in the creation of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and the vitality and stature of the Washington Environmental Council, the Friends of Discovery Park, Farming and the Environment and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission."

We will miss Joan.

This is a new partnership between the Homeschool Stewardship Squad, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, the Washington Trails Association (WTA) and the King Conservation District (KCD). The Squad volunteers twice a month working with these three local organizations.

This is a unique group because of the wide range of ages- from 9 months to 8 years old – and their interest in gaining practical skills and local knowledge through volunteering. At our Native Plant Nursery we all gathered together on the giant dirt pile of GroCo (a compost product containing recycled human biosolids and sawdust). It is completely safe for humans and I got quite the shocked look when I told the kids what kind of dirt they were sitting on!

We had a blast potting salmonberry for the day on our giant pile of dirt! The kids invented dirt waterfalls to pour the soil into their pots for their shrubs. They even did a great job pushing the heavy carts of plants over to the salmonberry section in the nursery and helped unload.

The Homeschool Stewardship Squad is open to any homeschool families of all ages who are interested in community involvement, family education and volunteering through environmental stewardship. If you would like to join the Squad contact:

Heidi Watters
206.679.8820
Events: 10:30am-1:30pm on the 2nd Tuesday and 4th Thursday of the month

Rachel Allison is the current Youth and Outreach Associate with the Greenway Trust. She graduated from Western Washington University and spent last year as a WCC Crew Assistant Supervisor; sponsored by the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association. She is excited to work with all the amazing youth who have committed some of their time to working in the Greenway!

However, there were registration details and bike check-ins and meeting fellow Trekkers to be done first. Oh, and an awesome party up at the Puget Sound Energy Wild Horse Wind Farm. If you haven't been there, put it on your list of To-Dos right away. Perched atop of Whiskey Dick Mountain, just outside of Ellensburg, it boasts a spectacular panoramic view of the area, including the incredible and monstrously amazing wind turbines (which we got a tour of- super cool by the way, thanks PSE). Anyway, we gathered at the Wind Farm, had a fab bbq by a local restaurant, and enjoyed the musical stylings of the Matt Larsen Trio (CWU alumni). As one of the Trekkers, Ken Konigsmark, put it: "It was a perfect way to kick off the Trek and the next 20 years of the Greenway." Nicely said!

The wind, however, howled like a banshee and whipped itself into a wild frenzy back at camp the first night. Many of the group didn't sleep a wink as the wind shook tents and whistled through the camp. It was a noisy night to say the least- with the wind and some late night passers-through in the form of local kids, it was a long sleepless night for some. A couple of the Trekkers remarked in the morning that their excitement about the next day's bike ride also kept them awake. I believe it since the next morning, few mentioned the night's winds or noise, as most were cruising the camp's parking lot on bikes before they'd even had coffee!

After breakfast, we had a ribbon cutting ceremony over where our equestrian Trekkers were camping. It was so cool to see lots of horses (and wagons) sidle up to the John Wayne Pioneer Trail Head ready to go. They make such a great addition to our group and I could tell that the horses and their riders were equally excited to get that ribbon cut and get moving.

The trail day was a long one and the Trekkers had to face serious headwinds as they headed west to South Cle Elum. Luckily, if someone needed a break or a shuttle, they had that option. The sun again cooperated and overall, it was a great first day to ride. The Trekkers stopped at some fruit stands along the way and got a chance to tour Thorp's historic and super cool Grist Mill.

Last night, after a tasty dinner and some great live music by local rock bands, the Trekkers settled in for night number two "on the trail". The tents spotted the landscape at the South Cle Elum Depot. The horse camp settled in just behind the tents and all was right with the world. Thanks Cascade Rail Foundation for a great second night of the adventure!

Today, the Trekkers are en route to Crystal Springs by bike and horse. Tonight they will enjoy a quiet night hanging out together and getting to know each other better. I believe some of our equestrian Trekkers will bake some delicious apple crisp on site tonight- which I know after a day of riding will be eaten in the blink of an eye! Mmm....apple crisp!

More Trek Talk to come...come and see us at Snoqualmie Pass tomorrow if you're around and want to plug into the celebrations. We'll be a part of the grand re-opening of the Snoqualmie Tunnel at Hyak. It's going to be so much fun to ride through that tunnel and head on down to Rattlesnake Lake. Our stagecoach conductor, Gaylord, said last night that the opening of this tunnel means so much to the equestrian community because the John Wayne Pioneer Trail Riders Club will use it regularly. His comment is one of many really- so many people are psyched about the opening of this 2.3 mile tunnel. Come and see for yourself!

When we asked Seattle-based photographer Dave Schiefelbein if he would take on the responsibility of curating the first ever Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust Traveling Photography Exhibition, he knew right away it was something he wanted to be involved in.

“Saying ‘yes’ was easy,” he said. “My life, my home, my photography work – it’s all connected with the Greenway. I eat the food from the Greenway, I hike the trails in the Greenway, and the forests and farms of the Greenway are a big part of my photography. The Mountains to Sound Greenway is already wrapped around all aspects of my life.”

A nationally renowned nature photographer who makes his living shooting some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, the Greenway Trust is really excited to have a professional of Dave’s calibre at the helm of this exciting photographic project.

He will be casting his discerning eye over all the entries we receive in the Greenway Photo Contest over the next few months, and selecting what will no doubt be a stunning, diverse exhibition of images from all over the Greenway.

Make sure your photos are amongst them! Enter here!

The contest is free and open to everyone. The 30 most outstanding photos will be chosen by Dave for the Traveling Exhibition, which will tour the Greenway later this year.

Entries close July 15! So head out into the Greenway and get snapping!

We were all incredibly excited to find out we would be working with the Mountains to Sound Greenway and the more we do, the more excited we get. Before we came to the Pacific Northwest, we had no idea just how many acres of land this wonderful organization helps to conserve and the challenges they went through to make it happen.

The crew has thoroughly enjoyed every project, from planting trees in Ellensburg to trail maintenance and invasive species removal in North Bend. We have appreciated working with the different organizations the Greenway is connected to as well as networking with Greenway partners and friends at their annual celebration in November.

When we weren’t out working, we were out exploring the beautiful Greenway landscape- hiking Little Si, the Mailbox trail (a spiritual quest to be certain!), and Twin Falls.

On behalf of the NCCC crew, I want to thank the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust for the experience, the trainings, the thermal gear, the gloves, and the amazing housing at Valley Camp. We will miss you all greatly!

Kirsten Martin, age 24, is from Madison, WI. She is a yoga teacher who is taking time off for selfless service with AmeriCorps. She loves to travel and plans to backpack across Europe soon.

Rattlesnake Mountain is the long, forested  ridge that parallels I-90 just south of Snoqualmie and North Bend.  It runs 7 miles from State Route 18 to Rattlesnake Lake and the Cedar River Watershed.

In 1991, when the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust set about conserving the farm and forest lands along I-90 for habitat, scenery and recreation, most of Rattlesnake Mountain was owned by some of the region’s largest timber companies. The Greenway Trust has worked since 1993 to encourage public purchase of this mountain top ridge.

Today, 3,600 acres of Rattlesnake Mountain belong to the public. Half of those acres are managed as a Natural Scenic Area, co-managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resource (WADNR) and King County.  Other forest lands on the mountain will remain as working forests in perpetuity, managed by WADNR and the United States Forest Service.

Rattlesnake Mountain Trail

For many years, a steep, rugged trail took hikers up the eastern end of Rattlesnake to “the Ledge,” a rock outcropping at the 3,000-foot level.  Views to Mt Si, the Snoqualmie Valley and the vast forests of Seattle’s Cedar River Watershed are spectacular.

Until this year, hiking the remaining 8.8 miles along the spine of Rattlesnake Mountain required bushwhacking over fallen trees, thickets of brush following very little in the way of a trail.

In 2002, with the help of the Greenway Trust, the City of Seattle supported construction of a new 2.1-mile trail to the Ledges.  Volunteers from the Washington Trails Association, EarthCorps and the Greenway Trust put in over 20,000 hours to complete the new Ledge Trail.  Today, an easier Ledge Trail attracts over 100,000 visitors a year.

In 2004, the Greenway Trust and partners began extending the Rattlesnake Mountain Trail another 8.8 miles, up to the top of the ridge and down the north western slope of Rattlesnake Mountain to Exit 27 just off I-90 at Snoqualmie Point.

The completed Rattlesnake Mountain Trail is 10.2 miles long, with an elevation gain of about 2,460 feet and a high point at 3,460 feet.

Sweeping views from viewpoints include the front range of the Cascade Mountains to Mt. Baker in the north and views south to Mt. Rainier and the southern Cascades volcanoes.

Hikers can now get onto the new cross-Rattlesnake Mountain Trail at two locations:

• south of North Bend at Rattlesnake Lake (I-90  Exit 32)
• from the new trailhead at Snoqualmie Point, just of I-90 Exit 27.  This I-90 trailhead accommodates 50 cars.

Partners and Funders

Public landowners of the ridgeline of Rattlesnake Mountain are:

The City of Seattle, King County, the State Department of Natural Resources and the US Forest Service.

Funds for public purchase of Rattlesnake Mountain land have come from the Washington State Legislature, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, King County Wastewater Treatment Division, Federal Forest Legacy Program and Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The funds to add a complete Rattlesnake Mountain trail and trailheads on the edge of the Seattle metropolitan area came from the City of Seattle, The Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the state Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation, the National Recreational Trails Program, the State Legislature and the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.

Construction partners in the five-year project were Seattle Public Utilities & Cedar River Watershed staff, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust staff and volunteers, Washington Trails Association staff and volunteers, EarthCorps staff and volunteers.

The new Rattlesnake Mountain trailhead at Snoqualmie Point is owned by the US Forest Service. It was designed by the State Department of Natural Resources, built by the Greenway Trust and will be maintained by WADNR and the City of Snoqualmie Parks Department.

A newly completed section of the Logan Avenue Trail nearly completes the connection between Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park and the Cedar River Trail.  This multi-purpose trail follows the west side of Logan Avenue North from N. 6^th St., a block from The Landing, to the Logan Avenue Bridge.

A connecting, existing 4-mile bike lane provides access to housing, retail, commercial, and to the Boeing 737 plant. In this section, Boeing provided an easement to the City of Renton to enable this 5’ wide bike lane construction.

The newest link, connecting to and extending further south includes an art installation called "Wings and Wheels," with inlaid bronze sculptures that encourage trail users to learn about the history of airplanes built and flown nearby.  The trail in this segment is a 12’ wide, multi-use trail, separated from Logan Avenue North by a landscaped border.

The goal is to create a continuous bicycle route from Maple Valley to Renton, and north along Lake Washington to Newcastle and Bellevue, or around the southwest end of Lake Washington to the City of Seattle, as part of the Lake Washington Loop System – and connecting to the Burke-Gilman Trail.

Also in the design and planning stages is the Lake to Sound Trail system, which will connect the cities of Des Moines, SeaTac, Burien, Tukwila and Renton – hence the name Lake to Sound.

Image courtesy of City of Renton.

A group of friends walked from the top of the Cascades through the forest along I-90 to Puget Sound.  The strength of their vision - striking a balance between thriving communities and intact wildlands - carried them through a lot of hard work, and swept up other friends along the way.

Twenty years later, the Greenway is a reality. Creative solutions have emerged, and folks are excited about moving into the next stage of taking care of our landscape.

The Greenway is turning 20, and we're poised and primed to celebrate. How can we really appreciate our place?  We're going on an awesome summer ADVENTURE!  Come with us!

We will spend nine days walking and biking through the Greenway, exploring shaded forests and taking in sweeping views. We will swim and hang out in nature. We will enjoy awesome community events like rockin' concerts. We will eat yummy food and chill by the campfire. Seriously, could summer get any better than that?!

Folks ages 14-18 get a special place on the Trek.  After all, conserving land is one thing.  Taking care of it is a lot more work. We need you to help lead us into the next 20 years - literally!

To really understand why the Greenway is so special, we're going to get out in it.

Thanks to support from generous donors, young people can join a Youth Team - that's summer camp with a fancy name.  Led by experienced educators, the teams will be part of the Trek, providing lots of fun opportunities to play, hang out, learn, and tromp in the woods. Sweet!

The Bottom Line:

Youth Teams.  9 days.  Fun.  Fabulous.  Summer.  Adventure.

Community.  Good food.  Friends.  Music.

Get out in the Greenway - Join a Youth Team!

That’s all I could think of as I hauled flipcharts and boxes of markers into our meeting space in Roslyn, a historic coal mining town on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains scented with ponderosa pine from the forested ridge above.

I’m lucky to work as a Student Conservation Association/AmeriCorps intern for a community assistance program in the National Park Service called Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA). We help communities build partnerships and plan projects in conservation and outdoor recreation. On this brisk October Friday, we packed our van with art supplies and hiking boots and headed roughly 80 miles east of Seattle to Roslyn.

Besides its commitment to local history and architecture, this community of only 900 people has a Dark Skies Ordinance and one of the strictest Critical Areas Ordinances in Washington State. For most folks, Roslyn’s claim to fame is serving as the backdrop for the popular 1990s television show “Northern Exposure,” but that’s not the reason why the National Park Service is involved. We’re here because this town boasts more than 300 acres of permanently protected working forest within its city limits.

In 2004, Roslyn’s nonprofit organization, RIDGE, reached a settlement with adjacent resort Mountainstar (now Suncadia) for the City of Roslyn to acquire forested lands on the ridge surrounding the city and adjacent to Roslyn's historical cemeteries. This means more than 62 percent of the City of Roslyn is forested.

The Roslyn Urban Forest (RUF) is a working forest. It’s an outdoor classroom for students from around the region. It’s a protected habitat for species that need maturing pine forests to thrive. It’s a tourist destination for hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians, naturalists, birders, families, and history buffs. It’s a filtration system for rain that could help mitigate impacts from stormwater rushing down from the ridge above.

The town recognizes the Roslyn Urban Forest as an important resource to connect people to the outdoors and Roslyn to the rest of the region. To support this resource, Roslyn’s citizens are developing a comprehensive trail and recreation plan to promote non-motorized recreation in the forest. Through a partnership with the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), RTCA brought together a team of 13 landscape architects from around the state for a pro-bono design workshop to work with the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), The Wilderness Society and local experts on a visual concept plan for the Roslyn Urban Forest. For one and a half days, we learned, brainstormed, drew, and prepared for a public open house to showcase the community’s vision for the future.

“The work accomplished at this workshop pushed the Roslyn Urban Forest’s trails and recreation plan two or three years ahead,” said Mitch Long, workshop participant and City of Roslyn liaison to the Citizens Advisory Committee.

At the end of the open house, we were wiped out, still caffeinated, and colored in markers, but honored to be part of this critical step in Roslyn’s visioning process. I would have pinched myself to make sure it actually happened if my hands weren’t so tired from writing. The wind was calm as we carried the supplies back to the van in the moonlight, but the energy still hovered over the town like the scent of pines. I suspect it will last for countless generations, like the forest it supports.

Emily and Jasper

Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark designated the new Middle Fork Snoqualmie Natural Resources Conservation Area (NRCA). The river valley was identified as ecologically distinguished, featuring patches of natural-origin forests, important fish and wildlife habitat, and scenic views.

This natural area, with 10,273 acres within its proposed boundary, is nested along Interstate 90, and flanked by the Mount Si NRCA and federal forests and offers wildlife corridors for many large and small animal species alike.

Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the Middle Fork Outdoor Recreation Coalition and many individuals and organizations within the Greenway Trust coalition have worked for decades to turn the once-lawless Middle Fork Valley into a safe, accessible place for families, hikers, kayakers, rafters and fishers.

Located just east of Mt. Si in the heart of the Mountains to Sound Greenway, lands within the new NRCA are ecologically rich, featuring forested slopes, scenic views and important fish and wildlife habitat along the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. The new Middle Fork NRCA is on the east side of the river, while the Mt. Si NRCA has been recently expanded to the river bank on the west side.

The new NRCA was signed into being at the annual Greenway celebration in Seattle on December 2nd, 2009. All four Commissioners of Public Lands who have held public office since the founding of the non-profit Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust were in attendance: Brian Boyle, 1982-1992; Jennifer Belcher, 1993-2000; Doug Sutherland, 2001-2008 and Goldmark.

A potential solution? Create a system of neighborhood greenways, where everyone feels confident getting around on the streets. In a nutshell, a neighborhood greenway is a designated non-arterial street that has traffic-calming and way-finding infrastructure that slow cars, while offering safe and pleasant travel routes for cyclists, walkers, and kids (for more information check out this video or see Councilmember Sally Bagshaw’s FAQ). These neighborhood greenways will retain existing parking, maintain car access for residents, and be created using existing bicycle funding. This win-win citizen led movement will help link schools, neighbors, parks, and businesses.

People support neighborhood greenways for a wide variety of reasons: parents want a safe and healthy route for their kids to get to schools, parks, friends houses, and libraries; residents want to enjoy a quiet street where cars are welcome but not entitled; neighbors want a fun way to get some exercise on the way to a local coffee shop; and people like me want to share the experience of getting around the city by bike with their family and friends who do not feel safe on heavily trafficked roads. This diverse cross section of Seattleites has already been successful in procuring funding for 11 miles of neighborhood greenways by the end of 2012! If you live in Seattle and want to get involved in this grassroots effort check out this link. If you live in a different city, get together with some of your neighbors and form a local movement of your own! You can help make a difference in your neighborhood, and help make this region – the Mountains to Sound Greenway – a more enjoyable and sustainable place to live. Stay safe and have fun!

Gordon Padelford is a Seattle native and recent graduate of Colby College. Gordon uses his car, feet, bike, and Orca Card to get around. He works at the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust through the Department of Ecology’s Washington Conservation Corps (an AmeriCorps program). Gordon enjoys biking, living in a walkable neighborhood, land use issues, eating food (especially from local farmers and ranchers), hiking, and playing with his two new cats amongst other things.