Our top 10 stories of 2013

What a year it has been… Below is a compilation of our top 10 most liked and most read stories from Facebook over the past year which highlights some significant accomplishments, fun events, new recreation improvements, and more. Enjoy!

1. BREAKING NEWS! Congressman Dave Reichert has just introduced legislation in theU.S. House of Representatives to establish the Mountains to Sound Greenway as a National Heritage Area.  This proposed designation would give the framework and tools needed to take care of the Greenway – today and into the future.  This is a significant moment for the Mountains to Sound Greenway! (4/30/2013)

2. Thanks to our 180+ participants who came out last Saturday and biked through the Snoqualmie Tunnel and along the John Wayne Pioneer Trail with us. Great weather, good company, and lots of (well-deserved) food back at the BBQ. Hope you can join us next weekend for our Rattlesnake Hike as well! (7/3/2013)

3. Obama gave a shout out to Mailbox Peak today while announcing Sally Jewell as his choice for Interior secretary! Here is a photo of Sally giving some love back to her favorite Mailbox Peak trail at a Greenway volunteer event in 2012. Congratulations Sally! (2/6/2013)

4. Delicious food, incredible backdrop, and excellent company last Thursday at our Snoqualmie Valley Tour & Dinner.  The event celebrated the launch of our newest initiative – work with stakeholders from across the valley to create a sustainable future for this special place.  Want to support our work? www.mtsgreenway.org/donate And thanks to our wonderful hosts, Camp Korey, and for the wonderful food from Herban Feast Catering and Events. (10/1/2013)

5. Greenway staff headed out recently on a backpacking trip to the spectacular Teanaway Basin,

located in the NE corner of the Mountains to Sound Greenway.  Incredible views, followed by waking up to snow!  (It must be autumn…).  Just one of the incredible jewels of this region, a worthy example of why this should become the Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area. (10/3/2013)

6. Getting ready for our Annual Dinner tonight at the Washington State Convention Center. Gorgeous views of downtown! (12/4/2013)

7. Great day in the woods on Saturday discovering the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley with our members.  We got to hear the history and current initiatives from Greenway Board member Mark Boyar, enjoy some gorgeous scenery as we hiked, and mostly escaped the rain.  Thanks everyone who came out! (5/20/2013)

8. Hooray to our friends at the City of Issaquah and Washington Dept Fish & Wildlife for their great work this summer removing the dam on Issaquah Creek! Constructed in 1936 just upstream of the hatchery, its removal will open up miles of salmon habitat that had been virtually inaccessible over the last 80 years.  Here’s a few shots of what the dam looked like before, and the progress towards removing it. Stay tuned for more photos! (7/30/2013)

9. What a great day to plant trees at Rasmussen creek with the Snoqualmie Tribe. Even the barn cats from the Cherry Valley Dairy came out to help! (11/16/2013)

10. Photos from the scene of the Table Mountain fire(on the eastern side of the Greenway) almost one year later, and you can see that the forest is starting to recover.  We sent a crew in early July to see if invasive plant populations had moved in after the fire (a few have, but we’ve caught them early).  The Table Mountain fire burned over 42,000 acres between Cle Elum and Ellensburg last September and October. (7/24/2013)