NORTHWEST - The Trust for Public Land in Action: 2020

The Trust for Public Land in Action: 2020 C E L E B R AT I N G W HAT YO U M A D E P O S S I B L E IN THE NORTHWEST AND BEYOND

Letter from Northwest Director David Patton Communities need green spaces to thrive in this rapidly changing world.

• In the Willamette Valley, we protected critical White Oak Savanna habitat for the endangered Fender’s blue butterfly. The newly conserved property will provide public education and expanded access.

The coronavirus pandemic, its economic fallout, and the continued impact of systemic racism have caused unprecedented hardship. In these uncertain times, I am more grateful than ever for supporters like you.

Parks and open spaces are more than just places to play: they change lives. Your support strengthens social and civic connections while addressing our most pressing challenges— climate, health, and equity.

2020 has been tough, but there’s a lot to celebrate. In the Northwest, you can explore newly protected lands from the Cascades to the shores of Puget Sound.

• Thorndyke Forest will continue to deliver clean water to Hood Canal and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The public will enjoy expanded access to the Olympic Peninsula.

• Just outside Ellensburg, newly protected lands along Reecer Creek will safeguard salmon habitat and prevent flooding in town.

• From Kiwanis Methow Park in Wenatchee to Dutch Jake’s Park in Spokane, families can play in parks they helped transform.

Sincerely,

David Patton Northwest Director ISTOCK USER RUDI_SUARDI

Great parks and green spaces can transform communities. They improve public health, advance economic opportunity, and bring people together. At The Trust for Public Land, community is at the center of our land-for-people mission.

Supporters like you play a vital role in creating beloved green places across the country.

Thank you for connecting people to the outdoors!

Rock on: Expanding access to climbing R O C K O N : E X PA N D I N G A C C E S S T O CLIMBING More than six million people will try rock climbing this year, making it one of the country’s fastest-growing sports. Despite its growing popularity, climbing isn’t the easiest sport to get into—starting out requires building strength, mastering knots and gear, and conquering a fear of heights. But for many would-be climbers, the hardest part isn’t technical skills or tricky moves; it’s getting to the wall.

That’s why we teamed up with The North Face’s Walls Are Meant For Climbing campaign to create free climbing walls. We’re working in neighborhoods where kids face the highest barriers to exploring the outdoors, including First Creek Middle School in Tacoma, WA. When we asked kids at First Creek what they envisioned for their new playground, they responded with overwhelming clarity: their top priority was something to climb on.

Two new climbing boulders from The North Face will make their dream a reality. The new boulders will give kids and neighbors a place to climb a short walk from home. No gym pass or specialized gear required!

HOW YOU CAN HELP The First Creek project helped us build strong relationships with the Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks Tacoma. Now, we’re working together to launch a Green Schoolyards program in Tacoma.

The program will start with six pilot sites, setting the stage for the citywide transformation of more than 30 asphalt-covered schoolyards into richly layered green spaces. These “green schoolyards” will be open to the community after school and on weekends.

We’re halfway to our goal. Your gift will ensure kids and families in Tacoma can connect with the outdoors at great parks within a 10-minute walk of home.

DEXTER DAVIS

Walls Are Meant For Climbing Tacoma, WA

Improving health with green spaces Spending time outside is more than a nice way to pass an afternoon. Research shows that access to nature is essential to our physical, mental, and social health.

That’s why Kristin Kovalik, The Trust for Public Land’s Oregon Director of Land Protection, spends a lot of time in Southern Oregon.

“The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ranks Klamath County last in the state for health outcomes,” said Kristin. “And there are reasons for that.”

The foundation’s research shows that residents face challenges ranging from limited access to healthcare to lack of transportation. These barriers contribute to poor health outcomes and reduced life expectancy.

Despite these challenges, the community is organized and eager to improve their health.

Kristin began partnering with local leaders to learn how increased access to parks and public land could make their communities healthier. They are working together on two priority projects that will:

• Expand opportunities for physical activity. We are working with the volunteer-led Klamath Trails Alliance to acquire a beloved (but privately owned) network of hiking, running, and biking trails on Spence Mountain.

• Create a vibrant and welcoming Green Schoolyard in Chiloquin. We are collaborating with students, families, and educators to implement their vision for the schoolyard. The revitalized space will be open to the community after school and on the weekends.

At first glance, these projects may look very different, but health ties them together. “We have the opportunity to engage the community in planning and decision making,” said Kristin.

“Together, we can expand access to open space for better health.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP For children and families, safe and welcoming outdoor places can change lives. You can expand access to nature for better health with a gift to Spence Mountain, Chiloquin Green Schoolyards, or The Trust for Public Land’s Oregon Program.

KLAMATH TRAILS ALLIANCE

Spence Mountain

Klamath Falls, OR

Mountains to Sound Greenway: Looking to the Future The Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area stretches 100 miles from Seattle to Ellensburg. Thanks to supporters like you, it just got a little bit bigger.

legacy of Jim Ellis, who led the effort to create the Greenway. Kids from across King County will be able to learn about our iconic forests and what it took to protect them.

For decades, conservationists and hikers sought to protect a crucial property on Tiger Mountain.

Protecting this place would connect adjacent public land and unlock miles of trails. After decades of trying, we permanently protected the property on West Tiger Mountain this spring.

Public lands provide a range of critical benefits, from clean air and water to recreation to jobs to improved quality of life. As our region grows, we must act quickly when the opportunity arises to protect properties like this one.

With the land secured, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plans to build a new trailhead and 40 miles of new trails. Located near popular hiking areas, the new trailhead will ease pressure on nearby parking lots and improve access to 95 miles of trails.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Your gift will expand recreation opportunities and protect the environment by conserving the most important lands across the Greenway.

The trailhead will include an outdoor education and interpretive center. The center will honor the

Your support for our Mountains to Sound Greenway program will enable us to act quickly so we don’t we lose important conservation opportunities forever.

DARCY KIEFEL

Kiwanis Methow Park construction complete!

The Parque Padrinos had been looking forward to the grand reopening of Kiwanis Methow Park in Wenatchee, WA, for a long time. Years of organizing, fundraising, and construction had brought their vision to life. The newly transformed park includes a turf soccer field, an upgraded playground, and a brand-new kiosko—a performance pavilion, common in town squares across Mexico.

The Padrinos sprang into action, posting Spanishlanguage fliers at local businesses and creating a series of social media videos. They even gave interviews to a local Spanish-language radio station. “[The Parque Padrinos] are the absolute best way to get messages to [the South Wenatchee] community,” said Carol McCormick of the Chelan-Douglas Health District. “The heart of the Parque Padrinos is to uplift their people and to protect them.”

The Padrinos were ready to celebrate. They picked May 10 (Mothers’ Day), a few weeks before everyone started working long days for the summer harvest season.

This is not the first time the Padrinos have tackled issues beyond the park’s boundaries.

They’ve worked on get-out-the-vote campaigns and lobbied local political leaders to invest in South Wenatchee.

But then COVID-19 hit. As the crisis unfolded, they realized their neighborhood would be particularly vulnerable since it is predominantly Latino and low-income.

“Kids need to see and experience the fruits of their labor and organizing,” says Bendito. “Now that I see the Padrinos leading, I’m confident we have begun a movement that will impact lives wherever our people take this experience.”

“Already there is a language barrier, and the information needs to be processed in a way that the community can really grasp and put it into context,” says Teresa Bendito-Zepeda, a founding member of Parque Padrinos and member of our Northwest Advisory Board.

TPL STAFF

TPL STAFF

Victory for public lands COURTESY OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (JEFF OLSON)

Big news for public lands: the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) is now law! The GAOA allocates over $9.5 billion to fix the maintenance backlog at federal lands like national parks and forests. And it guarantees full funding—$900 million every year—for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), our most important funding source for parks and conservation. The Trust for Public Land has used LWCF funding to protect many of our most iconic places in the Northwest, like the Columbia River Gorge.

The bill will have an immediate impact here in the Northwest. Thanks to the increase in federal funding, we were invited to amend our request for Spence Mountain in Klamath Falls, OR. The increased funding will move us much closer to protecting the beloved hiking, biking, and running destination.

Securing full funding for LWCF has been the top legislative priority for The Trust for Public Land for over 30 years. Thank you for getting this important bill across the finish line!

Columbia River Gorge Corbett, OR

Northwest Advisory Board We are so grateful for our volunteer leaders!

Joshua Anderson, Chair Marco Abbruzzese, Vice Chair Peter Ackroyd Tom Bayley Teresa Bendito-Zepeda Tony Cavalieri Jessyn Farrell Barbara Fielden

Alden Garrett Annalee Luhman Jackie Martinez Schut Rupa Patel Thomas S. Reeve Cody Reiter F. Jerome Tone Katie Young

EMERITUS MEMBERS Mary F. Black T. William Booth Campbell Mathewson Douglass A. Raff Brady P. Walkinshaw Lyn B. White Martha M. Wyckoff

MAE WOLFE

Thank you

for joining us as we reimagine and realize the power of land for people to create stronger communities.

We couldn’t do it without you.

Join us.

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.

tpl.org

David Patton Northwest Director 206.274.2916 | david.patton@tpl.org Danny Rees Northwest Director of Philanthropy 206.274.2921 | danny.rees@tpl.org 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1520 Seattle, WA 98164

COVER (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): JENNA STAMM, MAE WOLFE, ANDY RICHTER, TEGRA STONE NUESS, ANNIE KUSTER.