June 20, 2009: NW Neutral Carbon Offset Program.  NNRG launches NW Neutral, a carbon offsetting program based on projects by FSC certified small forest landowners.  Read about it HERE.

April 20, 2009: PRKC takes action to support the acquisition of the Raging River Forest.  Click HERE for more information.

February 6, 2009: Fall City Park District passes!  1539 of 3775 ballots (about 41%) have been tallied. 881 (58%) “yes” vs 638 (42%) “no.”

January 21, 2009: Sprawl flattens frogs, other amphibians struggling to survive  Numbers of red-legged frogs and other amphibians throughout the Puget Sound region continue to decline, and scientists have found a misfit between development regulations and the actual lives of migratory amphibians.

Oct. 16, 2008: King County Budget and implications for the Forestry Program and WSU Extension  Everyone is probably aware from this week’s news about the serious budget problems that King County is facing. In Executive Sims’s proposed 2009 budget it appears that the King County Forestry Program (which provides technical assistance and site visits to private forest landowners as well as stewardship of county-owned forest lands) will remain intact for at least six months. The Executive has used money from reserves to fund certain vital services until June 30th, 2009 and the Forestry and Agriculture programs are among these. If the County is successful in getting flexibility in existing taxing authorities and/or new taxing authorities from the state, these programs will be fully funded for the year. Although specific details are unclear, it is evident that the equivalent of one King County Forestry Program position is at risk of being cut as of June 30th, 2009. There is no guarantee for the other positions beyond 2009.

Staffing for the Public Benefit Rating System/Timberlands program has also been reduced to one FTE in Executive Sims’s budget, meaning that outreach and monitoring associated with these programs will also be reduced.

WSU Extension also receives significant funding from the County. Brad Gaolach, WSU King County Extension Director has been following the budget process and its implications for Extension programs, including Forest Stewardship, Master Gardeners, Watershed Stewards, Horticulture and Agriculture, and 4-H. Although specific details about how the budget will impact Extension are still not clear, our county government home and major program partner, the Water and Land Resources Division, is the target of significant reductions including the elimination of 32 positions. This budget process is shaping up similarly to the process in 2000 where Extension clients and volunteers showed immense support for our programs.

The next step is for the County Council to fine tune and approve the budget. During the next three weeks there will be a series of public hearings on the budget. Here are the locations of the public hearings:

Thursday, October 16, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - Maleng Regional Justice Center, Courtroom 3F, 401 4th Avenue North, Kent

Tuesday, October 21, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - Finn Hill Junior High School, 8040 Northeast 132nd Street, Kirkland

Thursday, October 23, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - Shoreline Conference Center, Shoreline Room, 18560 1st Avenue Northeast, Shoreline

Tuesday, October 28, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - King County Council Chambers, 516 Third Avenue, Room 1200, Seattle

Monday, November 10, 1:30 p.m. - Council holds daytime public hearing at the King County Council Chambers, 516 Third Avenue, Room 1200, Seattle

A summary of the Executive’s budget can be found at http://your.kingcounty.gov/budget/. Here is the link to Council website related to the budget process: http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/budget.aspx which includes a link to the timeline for preparation and passage of the budget.

June 6, 2008: King County Policy Makers Walk the Line with PRKC!

King County Councilmembers Kathy Lambert, Larry Phillips and Dow Constantine joined high-level representatives from the King County Executive’s office, Puget Sound Partnership, Puget Sound Regional Council and the Snoqualmie Tribe on a farm, forest and recreation tour of Eastern Rural King County.

“Walk the Line in 2008” was a tour of the urban growth boundary line which designates which areas of the county will be developed for housing and commercial uses and which areas are to be preserved for farm, forest and natural resource lands. The focus of the 6 hour trip was sustainability of public health, regional economy and quality of life in a changing world. There were many discussions about “peak oil” and the inevitable end to cheap energy. Food security was also a common theme.

King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert and Chris Townsend of Puget Sound Partnership listen to speaker on a tractor wagon.  Photo by Alan Bauer.

Partnership for Rural King County (PRKC) coordinated the tour and hosted the day with support from several non-profit organizations representing farming, forestry, natural resource management, and recreation including Northwest Natural Resources Group (NNRG), Stewardship Partners, Sno Valley Tilth and Enumclaw Forested Foothills Recreation Association (EFFRA). The collective group used the theme “urban-rural connections” to unite their different disciplines and focus on regional sustainability.

“As far as we are aware, nobody has before ventured to take this 30,000’ approach to address the symbiotic relationship between urban and rural parts of the County,” stated Lauren Clark of Fall City, one of the chief tour organizers, “I think it was a transformative day for many of us.”

Everything about the tour was locally oriented. From the 3 shuttles provided by woman-owned, Starline Transportation Company located in Seattle’s Georgetown, to the participant “rebinders” binder cover made by Ballard-based Sustainable Group and printed by Redmond’s Pro Printing Solutions. Meals were local in focus and provided by PCC Natural Markets and Organic To Go.

Outside the PCC Issaquah Store from left to right:  Viet Ngugen (Councilmember Dunn Aide), King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, Crystal Creason (EFFRA), Christine Jensen (Councilmember Lamber Aide), Goldie Caughlin (PCC Farmland Trust Board), King County Councilmember Constantine, King County Executive Staff Rod Brandon (Director of Environmental Sustainability), Bob Burns (King County Deputy Director of Lands and Natural Resources). Photo by Alan Bauer.

An impressive group of speakers met the tour along the way including former World Bank Economist Dave Batker of Earth Economics. A keynote speaker at the PCC Natural Markets Issaquah Store’s classroom, Batker asked the crowded room of policy makers, “If you could have your stuff, and all of Bill Gates’ stuff, or clean air, which would you choose?” Phyllis Shulman with Seattle Council President Richard Conlin’s office related the often daunting task of Government to think about the future and ensure people and infrastructure are prepared in uncertain times.

Dr. Reverend Robert Jeffrey of the Central District’s New Hope Baptist Church and Black Dollar Days Taskforce talked about how impoverished Seattle residents have higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity because of limited healthy food choices. This spring his organization embarked on a project to support black-community run Cutting Edge Farm to provide residents connections to the land, water and food on leased sites in Duvall and Kent. The project will provide low cost organic greens and vegetables to inner-city residents.

Kirkland author and futurist Glen Hiemstra attended the entire tour and at end summarized his impressions including the urgent need to address food security. The tour concluded with Jennifer Harrison-Cox, Executive Director of PRKC, and Doug Schindler, Deputy Director of Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust (MTS) presenting a gift from former MTS Board President and current Seattle-based REI’s Chief Executive Officer Sally Jewell to Ron Sims and each of the Councilmembers – a personal handwritten note in a copy Richard Louv’s book “Last Child in the Woods.”

CLICK HERE to read more about the

Urban Rural Connections Project.

May 20, 2008: Seattle PI Article on Farming the Snoqualmie Valley. CLICK HERE for "Farming among the next crop of local startups: Growing food locally a pricey prospect for first-time farmers"

May, 6, 2008: Governor proclaims official Bear Awareness Week.  May 12-18 will be devoted to increasing awareness about the black and grizzly bears of Washington.  CLICK HERE for the more info including talks and events around the State.

March 26, 2008: Seattle PI Story "King County has acres of newly acquired public space, but few are using it".  King County Parks, Sammamish Saddle Club and PRKC assisted PI Reporter Greg Johnston on the story.  CLICK HERE to read the article.  Here's a link to more of of Alan's books:  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Alan%20L.%20Bauer.

March 19, 2008: Snoqualmie hiking book published by Mountaineers.  This newspaper article and book features our beloved Fall City Community member and PRKC's favorite photographer Alan Bauer.  CLICK HERE to read the article.

March 10, 2008: County Council Takes Action on Soaring Eagle Park. Click Here for full details.

March 5, 2008: Climate Action and Green Jobs (HB2815) passed the Senate. This is a critical step forward for addressing climate change in Washington state! Climate Action and Green Jobs (HB2815) creates a structure and timeline for implementing the state’s global warming pollution reduction goals and establishes a program to prepare Washington workers for good jobs in the clean energy economy. With funding, the bill will ensure that Washington workers are trained to take advantage of these new opportunities and job growth in renewable and clean energy. Click here for more information.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 30, 2008
Harmful pesticides found in everyday food products:
Mercer Island children tested in yearlong study

The Daily Evergreen, January 28, 2008
Organic Research on the Rise:
Continuing organic food research at WSU is supported by a strong organic market.

December 2007: PRKC Comments on the 2008 Comp Plan Draft

Hats off to all of the PRKC Policy Committee members who read hundreds of pages of the King County Comprehensive Plan draft and met weekly for a few months with each other and members of the community.  Sections of the Comp Plan were sent to stakeholders for comment, including equestrians, farmers, foresters and builders.  The result was substantive comments to County planners and policy makers. 

You can read PRKC's Summary Letter HERE.

You can read PRKC's response to Shorelines Plan HERE.

You can view an Overview Presentation HERE (requires PowerPoint).

December 2007: Announcing a new mountain bike course at Duthie Hill Park!

Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club (BBTC) is pleased to announce that we have received $150,000 in grants from King County to build a new mountain bike skills course at Duthie Hill Park on the Sammamish Plateau. Design work on the course will start in January, which will include input from both the local riding community and the neighbors surrounding the park. Groundbreaking is scheduled for summer 2008.

This new 120 acre mountain bike course will have something for everyone. There will be a range of new trails and technical features, dirt jumps, a pump track and a cross country race loop. In addition, the new trails will create access to already existing trails at Grand Ridge. This park will be another first of its kind designed and built by BBTC. This park will become the hub for mountain biking races and events in Western Washington.

Duthie Hill Park represents the newest trend in mountain biking-- skills parks close to communities where kids and families of all abilities can ride. Following BBTC's success with the Colonnade Skills Park in Seattle, we now have Duthie Hill. Soon we hope to have parks like these in every community in Washington State.

For more information, go to the BBTC trail page for Duthie Hill Park.
http://bbtc.org/wiki/index.php?title=Trail:Duthie_Hill
 

November 2007: EarthCorps Grant Restores Issaquah North Fork

PRKC arranged for EarthCorps to spend a day doing maintenance on previously restored private properties on the Issaquah North Fork.  Removing blackberries, english ivy and other invasives helps the native plants get more established and provides better bird and wildlife habitat.  Many neighbors along the Issaquah North Fork have been participating in restoration the last 4 years with expert guidance from King County staff.  A huge part of a successful restoration is the annual maintenance. PRKC is grateful to King County for helping with funding and making this maintenance project possible.

October 2007: Grand FINale a Great Success!

PRKC worked with the Issaquah Basin Action Team (IBAT) to get out the word and draw in children for the GrandFINale event on 10/13/2007 at Pickering Barn in Issaquah.  The GrandFINale is a community outreach event to get people informed and excited about the salmon in Issaquah Creek. Participating in the event were King County, Issaquah Parks and Recreation, Issaquah Resource Conservation Office, Issaquah Environmental Council, Washington State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and PRKC.  Approximately 350 people stopped by the dissection table staffed by a fishery biologist and about 315 people made their way to the creek viewing area where children received salmon education goodie bags and IBAT docents talked with parents and children.  Unfortunately the last few weeks have brought little rain and, as as a result, most salmon are still stuck downstream.  Maybe next year they'll come in numbers so we can cheer them across the finish line as they come home to spawn.

Click HERE to review past news items.

The Urban Rural Connections Project demonstrates how urban and rural King County together ensure sustainability of our beautiful region in terms of public health, regional economy and quality of life.  Click HERE to learn more about the project.

CLICK HERE to listen to NPR's story "In a Forest's Breath, Deciphering Climate Clues" which talks about how and what people are learning about how forests intake carbon dioxide.