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FALL 2012<br />
formerly CASCADE LAND CONSERVANCY<br />
CREATING GREAT COMMUNITIES<br />
and CONSERVING GREAT LANDS<br />
HIGHWAY 101 REVISITED · Q&A WITH SUMNER MAYOR DAVE ENSLOW · GREEN EVERETT PARTNERSHIP · TRIPLE CREEK RANCH
For our work in the Central and<br />
North Puget Sound and for<br />
organization-wide questions,<br />
please contact our main office in<br />
Seattle:<br />
901 5th Avenue, Suite 2200<br />
Seattle, WA 98104<br />
T 206-292-5907<br />
F 206-292-4765<br />
For our work in the South Sound<br />
area, please contact our office in<br />
Tacoma:<br />
1119 Pacific Avenue, Suite 1300<br />
Tacoma, WA 98402<br />
T 253-274-4955<br />
For our work in Central<br />
Washington, please contact our<br />
office in Ellensburg:<br />
409 North Pine Street<br />
Ellensburg, WA 98926<br />
T 509-962-1654<br />
on the cover: RIFFE LAKE. PHOTO BY BENJAMIN HAYES<br />
In late July, Tacoma Power purchased a conservation easement on 1,850 acres of land near Riffe<br />
Lake in Lewis County. Forterra helped negotiate the purchase from landowner Pope Resources.<br />
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will manage the land. The 23.5-mile long Riffe Lake<br />
is the second largest freshwater lake in western Washington. The forests around the lake are home<br />
to a wide variety of wildlife species including elk, deer, bald eagle, pileated woodpecker and<br />
numerous others.<br />
Forterra mainline: 206-292-5907<br />
Please contact the following<br />
individuals for particular business<br />
needs at Forterra:<br />
EXECUTIVE<br />
Gene Duvernoy, President,<br />
206-905-6900<br />
Bonne Tabb, Assistant to the<br />
President, 206-905-6900<br />
Teresa Macaluso, Executive Vice<br />
President & Chief Operating<br />
Officer, 206-905-6949<br />
2<br />
Ann Gygi, General Counsel,<br />
206-905-6938<br />
CONSERVATION AND<br />
COMMUNITY PROGRAMS<br />
Michelle Connor, Executive Vice<br />
President, Strategic Enterprises,<br />
206-905-6899<br />
Jill Scheffer, Senior Conservation<br />
Managing Director,<br />
509-962-1654<br />
Liz Johnston, Conservation<br />
Transactions Director,<br />
206-905-6925<br />
Table of Contents<br />
Riffe Lake. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons<br />
3 Message from the President<br />
4 Our Vision<br />
5 Out and About<br />
6 Highway 101 Revisited<br />
8 Small City Success, a Q&A with Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow<br />
11 The True Nature of Our Urban Forests<br />
12 The Gubernatorial Candidate Forum, a Model for Success<br />
13 17th Annual Conservation Awards Breakfast<br />
14 Meeting the Challenge of Seven Generations at the Duwamish Hill<br />
Preserve<br />
16 Keeping the Farm in the Family<br />
17 Altruism and Advocacy<br />
18 Volunteer with Forterra<br />
19 Chair’s Perspective<br />
FORTERRA.ORG
message from the president ////////////////////////////////////<br />
Mark Twain wrote that “distance lends enchantment<br />
to the view.” It also gives a perspective and sense<br />
of depth. That is why so many of us climb mountains<br />
and gaze at the world around. It also played into<br />
my thoughts as I attended a land and conservation<br />
conference in Aix en Provence, France. Participants<br />
were from France, Spain, USA, India and Australia. I left<br />
with a conviction that our region has much to offer as<br />
we all work to become more sustainable. We also have<br />
much to learn from companion efforts around the globe.<br />
After the conference, my wife Carolyn and I spent time walking to various hill<br />
towns in the Luberon and then a few days with French family members. It turned<br />
out to be a busman’s holiday to some extent. I pondered what made these French<br />
cities and towns click? How do our relatives spend their time away from work? The<br />
response of course is hugely complex, but it is answered in part by the vitality of<br />
the French Café Culture. The communities put considerable value in their central<br />
meeting places. They are places to appreciate the company of neighbors, discuss<br />
life and politics and whatever else; places that create that special something that<br />
makes a community a desirable place to live. We refer to these as third places –<br />
not our home or work, but that third necessary place to round out our social lives.<br />
That deep sense of place has defined many cultures for centuries. It is something<br />
Forterra thinks hard about as we help create great communities where our families<br />
celebrate living, which allows us to conserve our spectacular wild and working lands.<br />
In this issue you’ll read about our partnership with several cities and tribes on<br />
the Olympic Peninsula to define the ingredients of a great western town. From<br />
the eastern side of the Sound, Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow and Tukwila Council<br />
Member De’Sean Quinn’s articles reflect on the importance of a strong sense of<br />
community and gathering spaces. In addition, you’ll read about the Green Everett<br />
Partnership (the sixth and newest Green City), our Urban Forestry Research, the<br />
conservation of Kittitas County’s Triple Creek Ranch, our Washington Conservation<br />
Corps crewmembers and much more.<br />
Several weeks ago, we did our own place making and moved to a new main office.<br />
The office space is in a LEED certified building and was designed from the ground<br />
up with consideration to who we are and how we work. The space demonstrates our<br />
long term commitment to make this region all it can be. It also puts into architectural<br />
form what is within our organizational DNA—that we have a fresh and demonstrably<br />
successful approach to solving serious problems of sustainability for our region. For<br />
our employees, it provides a foundation to be even more collaborative and successful<br />
than we are today. It provides an even crisper sense of our mission and culture so we<br />
stay laser focused on creating great communities and conserving great lands. And, it<br />
simply will be a more fun space for us to do our work.<br />
So from traveling around to hill top villages in France to travelling a few blocks<br />
across town to a new central office space, this summer has been eventful and has<br />
offered many lessons about how to be both livable and sustainable. Forterra is<br />
committed to putting these lessons into action. I also have squeezed in a few days<br />
to scramble to some of my favorite nearby peaks. I am happy to report the view<br />
remains enchanting indeed.<br />
POLICY<br />
Skip Swenson, Senior Managing<br />
Director, Policy, 206-905-6935<br />
Alison Van Gorp, Urban Policy<br />
Director, 206-905-6892<br />
Leda Chahim, Government Affairs<br />
Director, 206-905-6922<br />
STEWARDSHIP<br />
Hayes Swinney, Interim Managing<br />
Director, 206-905-6950<br />
Kory Kramer, Green Cities Manager,<br />
206-905-6923<br />
DEVELOPMENT & OUTREACH<br />
Giyen Kim, Managing Director<br />
Development and Marketing,<br />
206-905-6930<br />
Natalie Cheel, Marketing Director,<br />
206-905-6927<br />
Jodie Galvan, Major Gifts Officer,<br />
206-905-6950<br />
Kristen Kosidowski, Outreach<br />
Program Manager, 206-905-6931<br />
BUSINESS SERVICES<br />
Teresa Macaluso, Executive Vice<br />
President & Chief Operating<br />
Officer, 206-905-6949<br />
Ann Gygi, General Counsel,<br />
206-905-6938<br />
Melissa Laird, Controller,<br />
206-905-6918<br />
Christopher Walter, GIS Director,<br />
206-905-6898<br />
Gene Duvernoy, President<br />
FALL 2012
our vision ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////<br />
THE CASCADE AGENDA is a 100 year vision and immediate action plan for the lands<br />
and communities of our region. It is based on the input of thousands of residents<br />
across our region and offers pragmatic solutions to the challenges and opportunities<br />
created by our tremendous population growth. The <strong>Cascade</strong> Agenda’s collective<br />
vision is grounded in the belief that a broad coalition can<br />
achieve fundamental change.<br />
It is a balanced approach to conservation and community<br />
building that encourages collaboration across all sectors<br />
and considers environmental, social and economic needs.<br />
The <strong>Cascade</strong> Agenda brings together business, civic and<br />
government leaders to accomplish two big goals:<br />
Our <strong>Land</strong>s: Protect 1 million acres of working<br />
forests (93% of existing timberland) and farms<br />
(85% of current agricultural lands) and 265,000<br />
acres of shorelines, natural areas and parks.<br />
Our Communities: Maintain our rural economies<br />
and way of life and enhance the vibrancy and<br />
livability of our cities and towns.<br />
4<br />
THE OLYMPIC AGENDA is an emerging<br />
conversation with the residents of the Olympic<br />
Peninsula to shape a future of great communities<br />
and healthy landscapes. Forterra is working<br />
with residents, organizations and businesses of<br />
the Peninsula to create a 100-year vision and<br />
immediate action plan for the lands, communities<br />
and economy of Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson<br />
and Mason Counties. Drawing on the experience<br />
of creating The <strong>Cascade</strong> Agenda, Forterra will<br />
identify and help implement strategies that will<br />
provide a non-regulatory guide to conservation and<br />
community growth.<br />
FORTERRA.ORG
OUT<br />
ABOUT<br />
///////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////<br />
Clockwise from top left: Forterra’s new I90 <strong>Land</strong> Stewards attended a training session at Noble Creek. Photo by Elsa Sargent<br />
Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard threw the first pitch at the Mariner’s Forterra Night on July 14th. Photo by Ben Van Houten,<br />
Seattle Mariners<br />
Forterra staffers Kristen Kosidowski and Lisa Ciecko did outreach at this year’s Duwamish Alive! Photo by Larisa Lumba<br />
Mayor McGinn stopped by the Forterra outreach table for a visit during the Rainier Valley Summer Streets.<br />
Interested gardeners toured backyard garden spaces at the 3rd Annual Tacoma Community Gardens Summit. Photo by Skye Schell<br />
Volunteers from Symetra Financial joined Forterra for a second year of restoration work at Hazel Wolf Wetlands for their annual<br />
Week of Service. Photo by Kristen Kosidowski<br />
5<br />
FALL 2012
HIGHWAY 101 REVISITED: BUILDING GREAT COMMUNITIES ON<br />
THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA By Jeff Aken, Community Policies Program Manager<br />
6<br />
We all have an idea in our minds of what a strong,<br />
vibrant downtown looks like. It is a place where<br />
locals and visitors alike want to spend time. It is filled with<br />
thriving businesses, attractive buildings and streets that<br />
work for people—pedestrians, cyclists, cars and freight<br />
alike. It is a place that celebrates its history, a place that<br />
feels like a real community. Picturing the ideal downtown<br />
is one thing. Making that vision a reality, however, can be<br />
a much greater challenge.<br />
Forterra is working with communities on the Olympic<br />
Peninsula to address this challenge by focusing on<br />
the intersection of economic development, historic<br />
preservation and urban design. In early June, Forterra<br />
hosted two innovative workshops on the Peninsula that<br />
brought together a broad spectrum of stakeholders,<br />
including key civic and community leaders along with<br />
planners, business leaders and preservation experts<br />
to focus on opportunities to maintain, enhance and<br />
revitalize historic downtowns.<br />
As we have seen all over the country in recent years,<br />
much of the retail and commercial growth on the<br />
Peninsula was designed for the automobile and located<br />
on the edges of cities and towns. This pulls critical<br />
investments away from the hearts of communities. Many<br />
of these downtowns are struggling to attract and retain<br />
businesses and update streets and sidewalks. Unlike<br />
many newer communities in the Puget Sound attempting<br />
to define a downtown where none exists, Aberdeen,<br />
Hoquiam, Shelton, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and<br />
Sequim all have well-defined downtowns with walkable<br />
streets and commercial spaces. The challenge they face<br />
is how to drive new investment into those downtowns<br />
and revitalize storefronts while making streets safe and<br />
welcoming for people wishing to explore.<br />
Many of these communities have already made great<br />
progress in these efforts. Port Townsend is well known for<br />
its strong Main Streets program that has been addressing<br />
economic development and historic preservation since<br />
FORTERRA.ORG<br />
Hastings Building in downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Joe Lipka, www.joelipkaphoto.com
1985. Port Angeles and Sequim have both passed<br />
ambitious new downtown plans in the last 18 months<br />
and regionally the Discovery trail is connecting<br />
communities with a town-to-town bike/walking trail.<br />
Hoquiam, in Grays Harbor County, has been working<br />
with businesses to activate downtown streets and<br />
create compelling events that show off the historic<br />
downtown.<br />
The workshops Forterra hosted advanced the efforts<br />
underway across the Peninsula and helped to define<br />
the key challenges to their implementation. One of<br />
the main goals is to build support among existing<br />
business owners for the revitalization of downtowns.<br />
It will also be important to educate residents and<br />
elected officials about opportunities to bolster<br />
economic activity downtown and the necessity of<br />
marketing development opportunities. Lastly, one of<br />
the biggest challenges is working with cities to obtain<br />
financial resources to support these revitalization<br />
efforts.<br />
To address these questions in more detail, Forterra<br />
partnered with Washington State Department of<br />
Archaeology and Historic Preservation’s (DAHP) Main<br />
Streets and Certified Local Government programs;<br />
Washington State Department of Transportation’s<br />
(WSDOT) Community Programs and local business<br />
owners, property managers and planners. This group<br />
brought inspiration, experience and opportunities<br />
to these communities and offered concrete ways to<br />
tackle the issues they face. Some of the opportunities<br />
identified included the Main Streets tax credit<br />
programs, WSDOT’s pedestrian and bike funding and<br />
tax benefits for historic preservation that derive from<br />
becoming a Certified Local Government.<br />
Forterra is also working with Ocean Shores and<br />
Aberdeen thanks to a grant from the National<br />
Endowment for the Arts (NEA). We will partner with<br />
Ocean Shores and Aberdeen to help implement<br />
important changes unique to their towns. Ocean<br />
Shores recognizes the need to create a safe,<br />
convenient way to walk from its beaches and hotels<br />
to restaurants and shops in commercial areas. We<br />
are assisting them in developing a Complete Streets<br />
ordinance that will ensure that Ocean Shore’s streets<br />
work for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and<br />
abilities along with cars and freight. The City of<br />
Aberdeen is pursuing a downtown revitalization plan<br />
and Forterra is helping with community engagement<br />
and visioning around the development of this<br />
plan. Both of these efforts are furthering Forterra’s<br />
community programs; an entity that truly is able to<br />
“create great communities.”<br />
In addition to linking economic development, historic<br />
preservation and urban design in communities,<br />
Forterra will provide technical assistance to two tribes,<br />
The Makah and Quinault, through EPA’s Building<br />
Blocks for Sustainable Communities Grant program.<br />
This planning, policy and community engagement<br />
work will take place in the fall of 2012. The Makah<br />
Tribe is working to improve both the health of tribal<br />
members and the walkability of the community.<br />
Forterra will conduct a walking audit for Tribal<br />
members and assess the feasibility of a Rapid Health<br />
Impact Assessment (HIA) focused on a proposed<br />
waterfront trail. The Quinaults are planning to move<br />
their historic village out of the Tsunami zone and<br />
are working with Forterra to build civic engagement<br />
and understanding among tribal members about the<br />
planning process and how they can participate in the<br />
upcoming discussions about the village relocation.<br />
Great towns with strong economies, sustainable<br />
transportation and a high quality of life will be<br />
critical for the Olympic Peninsula. Not only will<br />
they help the Peninsula’s residents, they will help<br />
protect its great lands by reducing the demand for<br />
sprawling development. This is the thinking behind<br />
Forterra’s Olympic Agenda, an emerging plan for<br />
the Peninsula’s economies, communities and lands.<br />
Working with small towns across the Peninsula this<br />
year has not only furthered the goals of the Olympic<br />
Agenda, it’s shown that there’s great hope for similar<br />
success across the whole region.<br />
7<br />
Downtown Aberdeen. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons<br />
FALL 2012
SMALL CITY SUCCESS:<br />
A Q&A with Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow<br />
8<br />
By Josh Cohen, Media Associate<br />
The City of Sumner, WA sits in the north end of Pierce<br />
County, forming a triangle with Bonney Lake to the<br />
southeast and Puyallup to the southwest. Home to almost<br />
9,500 residents, it exemplifies what it means to be a<br />
small city with unique challenges and unique advantages<br />
in our ever-changing Puget Sound Region. Forterra has<br />
worked closely with Sumner on the Orton Junction project,<br />
a development plan that would conserve 500 acres of<br />
farmland while bringing to town retail stores, residences, a<br />
farmers market, medical offices and a coveted YMCA.<br />
Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow was elected to office in 2005<br />
and began his second term in 2009. We spoke to Mayor<br />
Enslow about the challenges and successes Sumner has<br />
seen as a small city, the way Sumner’s working to stay<br />
relevant in the region, their status as rhubarb pie capital of<br />
the world and more.<br />
Let’s start with the most important question. How did<br />
you become the rhubarb pie capital of the world?<br />
Well, it’s an interesting history that includes a bit of a<br />
mystery. For over 100 years, the area around Sumner<br />
has been a huge producer of rhubarb. In 1893, Adam<br />
Knoblauch shipped the first field rhubarb to Seattle<br />
in gunny sacks. His son Henry was the first grower of<br />
commercial hot-house rhubarb in the Sumner area, starting<br />
about 1914. In the mid-20th century, one of the two<br />
rhubarb growers associations actually hired a promoter to<br />
travel across the nation to visit state fairs and encourage<br />
cooking with rhubarb. We think that somewhere in there,<br />
they came up with the “rhubarb pie capital of the world”<br />
claim. We can trace it in newspapers as far back as 1946<br />
but don’t know who actually started it. As of 2007, the<br />
USDA census shows that 27 percent of the nation’s acres<br />
growing rhubarb are still around Sumner.<br />
What do you see as the biggest challenges of our region<br />
today?<br />
Well, there are the obvious answers like employment,<br />
transportation, health care and affordable housing. Let me<br />
go with something not often discussed: unique identity.<br />
Sumner, like many cities in this region, has a proud history<br />
and distinct character. How do we preserve those unique<br />
identities so that our region is a collection of strong,<br />
independent, complete cities instead of just one big<br />
unending mass of urban sprawl?<br />
As a small city, how<br />
do those challenges<br />
impact Sumner in<br />
ways they might not<br />
impact larger cities?<br />
How has your city<br />
been dealing with<br />
those challenges?<br />
Being small, we could<br />
quickly become<br />
irrelevant on the<br />
regional scale. No one<br />
worries that Seattle will<br />
merge with Bellevue,<br />
but how many realize<br />
that Ballard used to be an independent small community?<br />
We deal with it by doing what we can to be strong and<br />
relevant so that when it does make sense to partner with<br />
other cities we are a valuable, if small, partner.<br />
Conceptually, we asserted our independence by bringing<br />
back the Rhubarb Pie Capital celebration. It’s cute and fun,<br />
but it also distinctly defines us. On a more serious side, we<br />
moved forward to build Orton Junction. That one project<br />
brings us health care, a gathering place, a farmer’s market<br />
and additional retail options that residents are currently<br />
seeking in Tacoma or even King County. Critics of the<br />
project say our residents should just travel to Parkland<br />
for new jobs and to Kent for retail and to Puyallup for<br />
health care. I like partnering and visiting our neighbors,<br />
but wouldn’t it make more sense to encourage Sumner to<br />
bring back health care, retail, recreation and jobs here so<br />
that people could access them by walking or biking instead<br />
of a long trip in a car?<br />
Alternatively, how do you think Sumner can be part of<br />
the solution? One example that comes to mind is your<br />
embrace of the Sounder rail line and providing parkand-ride<br />
parking.<br />
Sumner’s vision is to set the standard of excellence for a<br />
progressive small town, and that’s how we can be part of<br />
the solution. There are lifestyle options here that are old<br />
but also popular again. On Main Street, you can still visit<br />
the eye doctor, the bank, the pharmacy, City Hall, a few<br />
restaurants and great shops within a two-block walk. No<br />
car travel required. I love riding my bike the two miles from<br />
my house to City Hall, and I’m 70, so if I can do it, anyone<br />
can do it.<br />
FORTERRA.ORG<br />
Mayor Dave Enslow. Photo courtesy of the City of Sumner
Sounder expands that kind of easy access to the entire<br />
region. You can live in Sumner and be in downtown<br />
Seattle in 39 minutes by train. That’s incredible. There<br />
are days when you can’t get from Queen Anne Hill to<br />
Downtown in 39 minutes! Sumner’s part in the solution<br />
is to provide a community that gives people the option<br />
to choose living around this transit. To my knowledge,<br />
we are one of the only cities on the rail line that have<br />
blocks of beautiful housing within walking distance to<br />
the station. We have a town center plan that is all about<br />
transit-oriented development and putting even more<br />
density around the station. Right now, Sound Transit<br />
is also working with our community to improve access<br />
to our station. That may mean parking but it may also<br />
mean completing our trail system so that people can<br />
walk or bike to the station. The public’s part in this is<br />
to embrace choices that make transit a viable option in<br />
their routine. Choosing transit may not mean driving<br />
your car to a station instead of to work: it may mean<br />
moving close to the station so you can walk to the train.<br />
What programs and projects is Sumner advancing to<br />
remain relevant in a fast growing region?<br />
I may have already answered this one above, so let me<br />
mention one other item that’s important. When many<br />
people think about building strong communities, they<br />
think about the physical aspects—streets, housing,<br />
retail, etc. Yet, perhaps the strongest component<br />
to building a strong community is building strong<br />
relationships among people. In a small community, it<br />
happens naturally. You know who visited your neighbor<br />
for lunch yesterday, and you can’t get milk at the store<br />
without seeing five people you know. Community<br />
efforts are built from the ground up, not the other way<br />
around. Orton Junction didn’t start with a developer<br />
or even a city-led idea. It started with a group of<br />
citizens who met on a Saturday morning five years ago<br />
because they knew in their bones that Sumner needed<br />
something more. Some wanted more athletics, some<br />
wanted more art, some wanted someplace safe for<br />
children to hang out on weekends. They met, they<br />
debated, they researched, and they came to the city<br />
with the idea of bringing a YMCA, which led to the<br />
Orton Junction effort. They were able to do this so well<br />
because they already knew and respected each other.<br />
People are our most valuable resource and relationships<br />
are definitely not disposable.<br />
I’ve read Sumner is doing some interesting work<br />
recycling biosolids from your Waste Water<br />
Treatment plant that people can use to fertilize<br />
their gardens. That seems like a win-win for the<br />
environment and the city. Do you think programs<br />
like this could be beneficial to other small cities in the<br />
region?<br />
This is a good story that gets overlooked. Like any, our<br />
wastewater treatment facility produces biosolids from<br />
all its processes. Typically, those biosolids get burned<br />
at special facilities. We used to truck ours to Tenino,<br />
but I think that one closed, so now, it would have to<br />
be trucked to Eastern Washington. However, we no<br />
longer have to truck ours anywhere thanks to some<br />
forward-thinking by our employees. When we redid our<br />
facility a few years ago, they insisted on investing in the<br />
equipment to produce a class A biosolid that can be<br />
used by gardeners. We have a product that exceeds,<br />
by far, all the EPA’s standards for such biosolids. People<br />
can pick up a truckload or come by a shelter near the<br />
facility to shovel whatever they want into their own<br />
containers—all for free. We no longer have any left<br />
that needs to be trucked anywhere to be burned.<br />
Sometimes, people complain that we’re out!<br />
Gardeners get a free, all-natural alternative to chemical<br />
fertilizers; the City eliminated its transport and fuel<br />
costs; and the region gets cleaner air with fewer<br />
truck emissions and fewer emissions from burning<br />
the biosolids. I think what’s beneficial is that great,<br />
progressive ideas can come from so many places. We<br />
as communities have to encourage everyone to say,<br />
“Hey, I have an idea…” and then be willing to listen. On<br />
a regional scale, that means that Sumner or Buckley or<br />
Orting may have an idea that’s as progressive as one<br />
coming out of Bellingham or Olympia.<br />
9<br />
The Art & Rhubarb Pie Festival in downtown Sumner. Photo courtesy of the City of Sumner<br />
FALL 2012
WELCOME GREEN EVERETT PARTNERSHIP:<br />
Snohomish County’s First Green City<br />
By Joanna Nelson de Flores, Green Cities Project Manager<br />
10<br />
Access to green space and forested parkland is a<br />
critical element for ensuring our cities provide the<br />
high quality of life we all want. They can provide an<br />
escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, educational<br />
opportunities and a place in which communities can<br />
come together. Luckily for those of us in the Puget Sound<br />
region, our cities have some of the finest parks in the<br />
country. But, those parks cannot remain so incredible<br />
on their own. Our trees are aging and remnant forests<br />
are under the threat of invasive species that, left to their<br />
own devices, would leave us with nearly useless fields of<br />
English Ivy, holly and Himalayan blackberry.<br />
This is where Forterra’s Green Cities Program comes<br />
in. Working in partnership with municipalities around<br />
the region, we’re helping develop and implement<br />
community-based stewardship programs for forested<br />
parklands, natural areas and greenspaces. Our restoration<br />
and stewardship efforts have been making an important<br />
impact in Seattle, Kirkland, Tacoma, Redmond and Kent.<br />
Now, as of April of this year, we’ve joined forces with the<br />
City of Everett to create our sixth Green City Partnership,<br />
the first in Snohomish County.<br />
Everett Parks & Recreation and Forterra have created<br />
the Green Everett Partnership to improve the ecological<br />
health of Everett’s forested parks and natural areas, while<br />
educating and inspiring residents to help care for those<br />
resources. We will create a comprehensive assessment<br />
of the city’s forested parklands and draft a 20-year plan<br />
with short- and long-term goals. The plan will assign<br />
responsibilities, determine costs and help build lasting<br />
ties with community volunteers.<br />
“This special partnership allows us to plan and begin the<br />
restoration in our forested parks that we have wanted to<br />
focus on for quite some time now,” said Everett Parks<br />
Director Paul Kaftanski. “People love being outdoors<br />
and in natural areas, especially when they live in urban<br />
settings. Our parks are a great destination for all kinds<br />
of recreation. We want to keep them as desirable of<br />
destinations as possible.”<br />
Forterra’s participation in the Green Everett Partnership<br />
was made possible by a generous grant from The<br />
Boeing Co. This grant enabled Forterra to contribute the<br />
valuable staff time and expertise needed to launch the<br />
program.<br />
“Boeing recognizes the importance of protecting and<br />
preserving our local lands and their benefits to a healthy<br />
community. Through the Green Everett partnership, our<br />
investment engages thousands of volunteers each year to<br />
help make Snohomish County community parks safe and<br />
accessible,” said Liz Warman, director of Boeing Global<br />
Corporate Citizenship for the Northwest region.<br />
The Green Everett Partnership is already working on the<br />
ground to build community support. The Partnership<br />
is looking for dedicated volunteers that love to spend<br />
time outside working in their local forested parks. The<br />
Partnership will support and train Forest Stewards to<br />
implement restoration projects and lead groups of<br />
volunteers to rebuild healthy native plant communities<br />
within Everett’s forested parks and natural areas. This<br />
year the partnership will focus on developing stewardship<br />
activities at Howarth Park and Thornton A. Sullivan Park<br />
at Silver Lake, but stewards interested in working at any<br />
Everett forested park are encouraged to get involved.<br />
If you’re interested in becoming a forest steward<br />
please contact greeneverett@forterra.org or<br />
425-238-0065 for more information<br />
FORTERRA.ORG<br />
Photo by Norah Kates
THE TRUE<br />
NATURE OF OUR<br />
URBAN FORESTS<br />
Forterra’s Urban<br />
Forestry Research<br />
By Lisa Ciecko, Green Cities Project Manager and Weston Brinkley, Stewardship Research & Development Manager<br />
Trees and natural areas are all around us. They are not<br />
just out in the mountains or over on the coast, but in<br />
our parks and backyards and on our streets. But, much<br />
of what we know about natural areas—their health, how<br />
they impact us, how to maintain them—was determined<br />
through research in rural areas and wilderness, not where<br />
people are most often in contact with them. The trees<br />
and natural areas where people live and work are much<br />
different and have a special set of needs and values they<br />
provide. Because most people live in cities and towns,<br />
these are the landscapes that that have the most direct<br />
impact on our lives. Conducting new research about<br />
these unique spaces will teach us how to maintain these<br />
landscapes and get the most value from them. Urban<br />
forestry research is therefore paramount in creating livable<br />
communities and conserving great natural areas.<br />
Starting in 2009 with initial funding from the US Forest<br />
Service Pacific Northwest Research Station and the<br />
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, Forterra<br />
joined a broad range of partners including the University<br />
of Washington, King County, EarthCorps, City of Seattle<br />
and the Forest Service to form the Green Cities Research<br />
Alliance. This collaborative partnership pairs scientists<br />
with practitioners and local decision makers to co-design<br />
and implement research efforts that provide relevant and<br />
practical information. Needs were assessed, research<br />
scopes drafted and implementation co-managed by this<br />
range of professions to increase research effectiveness.<br />
One project included in-depth field interviews with<br />
over four-hundred volunteers working to steward and<br />
restore urban natural areas in Seattle Parks, King County<br />
Parks and the Duwamish River Corridor. Results teach<br />
us about volunteer motivations and experiences, which<br />
are being worked into volunteer event management and<br />
recruitment programs at the City of Seattle, King County<br />
and numerous non-profit event leads. Interestingly,<br />
these environmental volunteers are motivated by social<br />
considerations such as improving their neighborhood and<br />
meeting new people.<br />
Another project developed and implemented rapid<br />
data collection methods to provide a comprehensive<br />
understanding of the composition and health of forested<br />
areas. Piloted on over 20,000 acres of forested King<br />
County parklands, the project has produced, for the first<br />
time ever, a complete picture that park managers can<br />
work from to prioritize forest management and implement<br />
programs to improve this important regional resource.<br />
The tool itself now can be used more widely as an<br />
advanced technique for urban forest assessment.<br />
Our ecosystem values project examined the condition<br />
of urban forests. Much like the volunteer assessment,<br />
this work was carried out in three areas – City of Seattle,<br />
King County Parks and the Green-Duwamish River<br />
Corridor. Tree measurements were compiled and analyzed<br />
to characterize the forest structure and to calculate<br />
ecosystem services (like carbon sequestration and<br />
pollution removal) and to estimate associated economic<br />
values. In Seattle, the Forest Ecosystems Values project<br />
results are informing Urban Forest Management Plan<br />
revisions and building awareness of the value of the<br />
city’s trees.<br />
Though the last three years of research has been<br />
substantial, it is only the initial project of the Green<br />
Cities Research Alliance. Future research will continue to<br />
improve the way we exist with our most immediate natural<br />
resources. As we continue to coordinate the efforts of<br />
the science community and land managers within the<br />
Pacific Northwest region, we will continue to improve our<br />
landscapes and communities and link our investigations<br />
to other U.S. urban areas.<br />
11<br />
Lisa Ciecko and King County Parks Resource Specialist conducting research. Photo by Troy Deady, King County Parks<br />
FALL 2012
The Gubernatorial Candidate Forum,<br />
a Model for Success<br />
By Leda Chahim, Government Affairs Director<br />
12<br />
On November 6, the people of Washington will elect a<br />
new governor, marking the start of a new era for our<br />
state. In these tough economic times, we need a leader<br />
who can bring everyone together from disparate sides of<br />
our state’s most pressing issues to find solutions that serve<br />
our communities now and into the future. We need to<br />
ensure that all of our state’s residents have opportunities<br />
for economic prosperity, a great quality of life and<br />
access to the natural assets that support our health and<br />
happiness including forests, farms, salmon and wildlife.<br />
On June 27, Enterprise Community Partners, Forterra<br />
and NAIOP came together to co-host a Gubernatorial<br />
Candidate Forum with Attorney General Rob McKenna<br />
and former U.S. Representative Jay Inslee. Nearly<br />
350 guests joined our organizations at the Westin in<br />
downtown Seattle for a question and answer session<br />
moderated by Chris Sullivan of KIRO FM.<br />
When it was first announced that Enterprise, Forterra and<br />
NAIOP were co-hosting a forum, many people were struck<br />
by the seemingly-unlikely partnership. But, stepping back<br />
and examining each organization’s mission, it is clear we<br />
share an interest in smart infrastructure investments; green<br />
affordable housing and land use that can accommodate<br />
growth, support the economy, and maintain a good<br />
quality of life while protecting the extraordinary natural<br />
assets of our State.<br />
Through the course of the hour and a half-long forum,<br />
Sullivan implored the candidates to share their visions<br />
for how to grow our economy, protect our lands, provide<br />
access to affordable housing and other key issues.<br />
While there were certainly differences, there were areas<br />
of agreement between the candidates as well. The<br />
candidates described the importance of programs like<br />
the Housing Trust Fund in supporting the state’s most<br />
vulnerable residents. Both Inslee and McKenna expressed<br />
a deep appreciation of the value of our state’s natural<br />
resources to our economy. They shared an interest in<br />
innovative programs to supplement public investment in<br />
our communities, pointing to transferable development<br />
rights (TDR) programs that leverage the private market to<br />
conserve working farms, forests and natural lands. Inslee<br />
offered that we need to find the economic engine that<br />
marries the creation of livable cities with conserving our<br />
states natural assets, such as TDR and an infrastructure<br />
financing tool called tax increment financing. McKenna<br />
pointed to the <strong>Land</strong>scape Conservation and Local<br />
Infrastructure Program (LCLIP) as a model for linking the<br />
two and financing infrastructure while incentivizing the<br />
conservation of our farms, forests and natural areas.<br />
When Washington welcomes its new Governor in January,<br />
we will look to them to help lead us in growing our<br />
economy while setting our communities on a course for<br />
a sustainable future accessible to all of Washington’s<br />
residents.<br />
FORTERRA.ORG<br />
Photos by Kristy J. Alley
17th Annual Conservation Awards Breakfast<br />
Forterra’s annual Conservation Awards Breakfast is a<br />
special time for our organization where we get to look to<br />
our broad base of partners and friends and recognize them<br />
for the important work they’re doing to help create great<br />
communities and conserve great lands around the region.<br />
On May 17th, we held our 17th annual Awards Breakfast<br />
and it was a great success. Thank you to all of our<br />
Table Captains, sponsors and guests. In a new room at<br />
the WA State Convention Center with close to record<br />
attendees, we honored some outstanding members of<br />
our community. Our awardees ranged from the Seattle<br />
Center for their Next Fifty Celebration to the S. Central<br />
WA Resource and Conservation Development Council<br />
for the Reecer Creek Floodplain enhancement project as<br />
well as the WA Trails Association for their commitment<br />
to providing great hiking opportunities in the state and<br />
E3 for integrating education, environment and economy<br />
for a sustainable future. The Frank Pritchard Lifetime<br />
Achievement Award was rightfully awarded to Chairman<br />
Ron Allen of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe whose<br />
acceptance speech was exceptionally poignant and<br />
thank you to our community partners<br />
moving and was proceeded by a wonderful performance<br />
from the Port Gamble S’Klallam singers.<br />
“American Indian tribes, in our community, have always<br />
been for terra. We have been historically for the land.<br />
For preservation of the land. For protection of it. In our<br />
culture, in our religious practices and traditions protection<br />
of the environment, all that has been given to us, must be<br />
protected. For me as a leader from my tribe, it has always<br />
been about balance.”<br />
Forterra’s Board member, Andy Wappler’s request for<br />
support was humorous and heartfelt with a play on<br />
Forterra’s new trademark ampersand. President Gene<br />
Duvernoy spoke to the meaning of the ampersand and<br />
how it represents Forterra’s mission and values. Stone<br />
Gossard of Pearl Jam closed the morning out with a call to<br />
action for all businesses, large and small, to join Forterra,<br />
Pearl Jam and 12 other prominent businesses to recognize,<br />
reduce and mitigate their carbon footprint through a new<br />
program called C 3<br />
(Carbon Capturing Companies).<br />
You can watch all the videos and speeches at<br />
Youtube.com/forterranw<br />
GREEN CITIES PARTNER:<br />
Gene Duvernoy &<br />
Carolyn Madsen<br />
13<br />
Allen & Company, LLC | The Arbor Group at UBS Financial | Bentall Kennedy | Charlie and Courtni Billow | Bonney-Watson | City<br />
of Issaquah | City of Seattle Parks and Recreation | Cocker Fennessy Inc. | The Communications Group | Michelle Connor and Mark<br />
Levensky | Denny Miller Associates Inc. | Gallatin Public Affairs | Stone Gossard | Greater Metro Parks Foundation | Green Diamond<br />
Resource Company | Virginia & George Gunby | Heartland LLC | Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson P.S. | James and Eileen Kelley |<br />
Martha Kongsgaard and Peter Goldman | Martin Flynn Public Affairs, Inc | Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish<br />
Counties | Merrill & Ring Forest Products LP | Miller Nash, LLP | Mithun | Pacific Portfolio Consulting, LLC | Perkins Coie LLC |<br />
Plum Creek Timber Company | Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe | PSG Washington, Inc. | William D. and Jill Ruckelshaus | Schnitzer<br />
Steel Industries | Seabrook <strong>Land</strong> Company | Seattle City Light | Rob Short and Emer Dooley | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Sound<br />
Transit | Stoel Rives LLP | Stream Real Estate LLC | The Student Conservation Association, Inc. | The Commerce Bank of Washington<br />
| Thompson Smitch Consulting Group | Touchstone Corporation | University of Phoenix | University of Washington College of<br />
Built Environments | University of Washington College of the Environment | VanNess Feldman GordonDerr | Doug and Maggie<br />
Walker | Washington Forest Protection Association | Washington Realtors ®<br />
In-Kind Support: AVMS | BIG TREES | NurseryTrees.com of Snohomish, WA | nwartanddesign<br />
FALL 2012
meeting the challenge of<br />
SEVEN GENERATIONS AT THE<br />
DUWAMISH HILL PRESERVE<br />
By Guest Writer De’Sean Quinn, Tukwila Councilmember<br />
14<br />
hen I was in the third grade, I learned the power of<br />
W people working toward a common purpose. It was<br />
something my parents instilled in me as a young child.<br />
And it is represented by the people willing to volunteer<br />
their time restoring the Duwamish Hill Preserve.<br />
The Preserve started with a collective vision backed up<br />
with robust volunteerism. Eight years ago, the Friends<br />
of the Hill partnered with Forterra and a willing property<br />
owner—a true “public-private partnership”—with a<br />
mutual commitment and ability to embrace a very unique<br />
project. My wife and son have joined me volunteering<br />
along with many others at restoration events at the site.<br />
Those of us who live in Tukwila regard the Preserve as a<br />
shared community project of historic significance.<br />
Thanks to the dedication demonstrated by all who<br />
volunteer, championing this issue through the city council<br />
with my fellow council member Verna Seal was an<br />
opportunity to honor volunteers with sound public policy.<br />
The combination of a slowing economy and growing<br />
demands on taxpayer dollars is forcing all policymakers<br />
to make tough choices. Those choices do not, however,<br />
have to include abandoning our responsibility to preserve<br />
our natural heritage and protect our quality of life<br />
through protecting our environment. How a community<br />
treats its environment defines our moral and ethical<br />
commitment to social and environmental justice. We are<br />
demonstrating that commitment through this project.<br />
There is much more work to do. This 10.5 acre property<br />
was acquired in 2004, in Partnership with Forterra and<br />
the City of Tukwila. The Hill is part of a mid-Duwamish<br />
Valley cultural landscape significant in Puget Sound Salish<br />
traditional stories known as the “Epic of the Winds.”<br />
As a council member the significance of supporting<br />
Duwamish Hill Preserve took me back to my childhood.<br />
My parents taught me about the seven generations<br />
of sustainability—the concept of urging the current<br />
generations to live sustainably and work for the benefit<br />
of the seventh generation into the future. They were<br />
taught it by friends they protested with during the civil<br />
rights movement in Seattle, where community activists<br />
worked together toward the common purpose of equity<br />
and social justice. In my career as a public servant I’ve<br />
worked hard to meet this standard of planning through<br />
progressive public policy.<br />
Working toward preserving Duwamish Hill allows the City,<br />
Forterra and volunteers the opportunity to realize the<br />
“concept of benefiting children seven generations into<br />
the future.” In order to benefit the seventh generation<br />
of our region we must reclaim our environment through<br />
the protection of open space and natural areas and the<br />
improvement of our water quality. We are seeing these<br />
efforts in the work to restore Puget Sound.<br />
FORTERRA.COM<br />
Photo by Elsa Sargent
Locally we must let our actions match our<br />
rhetoric. Doing so will require continued<br />
leadership, courage and a connection to our<br />
next generations. Friends of the Hill, Forterra,<br />
a willing property owner, the City of Tukwila<br />
and King County understood Duwamish<br />
Hill Preserve’s significance. We realized the<br />
vision, made it our reality and now know that<br />
this property will remain in public ownership<br />
in perpetuity. It will serve as an outdoor<br />
classroom for children learning about the<br />
cultural, ecological and community history<br />
of this place. It will continue to be a living<br />
monument of tradition available to schools,<br />
nonprofit organizations and clubs to tell that<br />
story of the “Epic of the Winds”. Maybe it will<br />
be the catalyst for a young student standing at<br />
the highest point of the Hill to be inspired by<br />
leadership and to find the courage to reclaim<br />
another site.<br />
This is just one of many projects that need to<br />
occur if we are going to meet the challenges<br />
of climate change and ongoing development.<br />
Without a functioning ecosystem we will<br />
continue to lose what so many take for<br />
granted. It’s why we must pass meaningful<br />
shoreline regulations, address urban<br />
stormwater and promote green infrastructure<br />
solutions throughout the region as well<br />
as promote renewable energy. Through<br />
leadership and creative partnerships we<br />
can live up to the standard of the seventh<br />
generation. I want to always have the<br />
opportunity to look my son in the eye and tell<br />
him confidently that “I am doing all I can to<br />
support his future environment”<br />
“How a community<br />
treats its<br />
environment defines<br />
our moral and<br />
ethical commitment<br />
to social and<br />
environmental<br />
justice.”<br />
15<br />
Councilmember Quinn and his family volunteered at this year’s Duwamish Alive! Photo by Larisa Lumba<br />
FALL 2012
keeping the farm<br />
in the family<br />
KITTITAS COUNTY’S TRIPLE CREEK RANCH<br />
By Josh Cohen, Media Associate<br />
16<br />
oma and Vernon Stokes are life-long farmers in<br />
R Kittitas County. Their farm, Triple Creek Ranch, has<br />
been in the family for over 80 years, at various times<br />
working as a cattle ranch and growing crops such as<br />
alfalfa, hay and grain. Now, thanks to a longtime effort to<br />
conserve their land, Triple Creek Ranch can continue as a<br />
working farm for generations to come.<br />
“Bringing this project together took longer than we<br />
expected,” said Vernon Stokes. “But we stuck with<br />
Forterra and the process and were ultimately able to<br />
make sure that the farm we love will stay a farm for our<br />
kids, grandkids and great-grandkids.”<br />
In 2007, the Stokes approached Forterra with a<br />
request to help them stave off the constant offers<br />
from developers wanting to subdivide their property<br />
for rural residential development. Forterra agreed to<br />
help, recognizing the importance of Triple Creek Ranch<br />
as a working farm with high quality riparian habitat,<br />
uninterruptible water rights, high water quality, important<br />
wildlife corridors and historic family ownership.<br />
Farms all around Washington face similar struggles as<br />
Triple Creek Ranch. As our population grows, developers<br />
look to build new residential and commercial properties<br />
and farms are often the land on which they aim to build.<br />
Farmers, facing our tough economy, often have little<br />
choice but to sell their land for development. Before<br />
the purchase of the conservation easement, Triple<br />
Creek Ranch was zoned for thirteen 20-acre residential<br />
parcels and it seemed like a very real possibility that land<br />
conversion would have to take place. With the easement<br />
in place, however, development is prohibited on all but<br />
five acres that already have homes built on them.<br />
Conservation easements allow farmers to realize<br />
the development value of their land while retaining<br />
ownership for continued agricultural production. Kitittas<br />
County and Forterra will co-hold the conservation<br />
easement on Triple Creek Ranch and the Stokes family<br />
will continue to be the underlying fee holder.<br />
Roma Stokes said, “We want our family to be able to<br />
enjoy the farm forever. It means the world to us that we<br />
are able to leave this legacy for them.”<br />
As with most successful Forterra projects, the<br />
conservation of this farm took a lot of persistent, hard<br />
work with a variety of partners and stakeholders.<br />
“We are very excited about the successful conservation of<br />
Triple Creek,” said Jill Scheffer, Forterra Senior Managing<br />
Conservation Director. “It was a long process, but we<br />
kept at it and were able to help the Stokes family fulfill<br />
their dream to protect their family farm.”<br />
Triple Creek’s acquisition was completed with grants<br />
from the Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm<br />
and Ranchland Preservation Program and the State<br />
of Washington Recreation and Conservation Office’s<br />
Farmland Preservation program. Both programs are<br />
critical to the future of farming in Washington.<br />
The conservation of Triple Creek Ranch is an important<br />
step forward in Forterra’s mission to conserve 200,000<br />
acres of working farmland in Kittitas County. The work is<br />
guided by The <strong>Cascade</strong> Agenda, a 100-year vision for the<br />
Central <strong>Cascade</strong> region’s economies, communities and<br />
lands.<br />
FORTERRA.ORG<br />
Roma and Vernon Stokes. Photo by Jill Arango
in our backyard ////////////////////////////////////////////////////<br />
Forterra’s Washington Conservation Corps Crew<br />
By Cary Hofmann, WCC Crew Supervisor<br />
Many people know that Forterra does restoration<br />
work around the region, but far fewer know that<br />
we sponsor a crew of Washington Conservation<br />
Corps service volunteers. Cary Hofman has led<br />
Forterra’s WCC crew for over three years now. In<br />
this article he shares his experience with field<br />
work, leadership and Forterra’s impact on the<br />
communities in which he works.<br />
My name is Cary Hofmann. I am supervisor<br />
for the Forterra sponsored Washington<br />
Conservation Corps Crew. I’ve been leading WCC<br />
crews for three years and October will mark the start<br />
of my fourth. My crew consists of five 18–25 year<br />
olds on a one year contract with Forterra. Our work<br />
primarily consists of restoration and maintenance on<br />
Forterra properties and Green City sites. We plant<br />
native plants and trees, remove invasive species and<br />
mulch. Because the vast majority of our work takes<br />
place in the community, we are the face of Forterra<br />
out in the field every day.<br />
I enjoy our work because of the sincere appreciation<br />
the Forterra staff has for what we do, from the<br />
smallest projects to major undertakings. It is really<br />
nice to work with people that not only enjoy their<br />
jobs but also choose to be at Forterra because they<br />
believe in its goals. It encourages my crew and<br />
me to strive to do better every day. I get the most<br />
enjoyment out of watching my crew develop and<br />
grow and seeing them push themselves out in the<br />
worst conditions doing hard work.<br />
Another fun aspect of our job is helping Forterra<br />
with their annual Conservation Awards Breakfast.<br />
While the Forterra staff tackles every small detail to<br />
plan the event, we get the fun assignment of turning<br />
the Convention Center into a forest. It is a great<br />
experience for the crew to see how big Forterra is<br />
and to get to know the people involved who support<br />
us. It is also the one time of year the crew and I are<br />
not covered in dirt for most of the day.<br />
The annual Awards Breakfast always shows the<br />
impact Forterra is making in the community, but<br />
the Crew and I also often see that impact working<br />
in the field. People who knew us as <strong>Cascade</strong> <strong>Land</strong><br />
<strong>Conservancy</strong> have approached us at work wanting<br />
to know about the name change. Initially this didn’t<br />
seem like a big deal, but I realized these people<br />
were making an effort to ask about a name change<br />
because they cared about the organization.<br />
The WCC work is certainly difficult at times, but it’s<br />
very important. We have something really special<br />
with this region’s natural spaces and I want to make<br />
sure future generations get to enjoy it the way I<br />
do. It doesn’t matter to me that we are out there<br />
every day in all weather conditions, because we are<br />
doing this for our world and its future. I feel proud<br />
when my crew come to work every day and at the<br />
end of the year tell me that despite all they have<br />
been through—the ups and downs—that they really<br />
enjoyed their experience.<br />
17<br />
Cary and his WCC crew battling knotweed at the Cedar River. Photo by Judy Blanco<br />
FALL 2012
volunteer with Forterra! //////<br />
Board of Directors<br />
OFFICERS<br />
Peter Orser, Chair<br />
Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company<br />
Jim Greenfield, Vice Chair<br />
Davis Wright Tremaine<br />
Bruce Williams, Treasurer and Immediate Past Chair<br />
HomeStreet Bank<br />
Patti Case, Secretary<br />
Green Diamond Resource Company<br />
AT-LARGE MEMBERS<br />
Rob Bernard, Microsoft Corporation<br />
JJ Collins, Freestone Real Estate LLC<br />
Gene Duvernoy, President<br />
Nicole Faghin, Washington Sea Grant<br />
Daniel Friedman, UW, Dean, College of Built Environments<br />
Bert Gregory, AIA, Mithun Architects, Designers, Planners<br />
Bob Hart, Enpro Consulting<br />
John Howell, Cedar River Group<br />
A-P Hurd, Touchstone Corporation<br />
Terry Mutter, The Boeing Company<br />
Ken Myer, Vantage Point<br />
Greg Nickels, Former Seattle Mayor<br />
Dan Nordstrom, Outdoor Research<br />
Thomas O’Keefe, River Advocate<br />
Frank Pritchard, Emeritus Board Member<br />
Natalie Quick, Natalie Quick Consulting<br />
Floyd Rogers, Open Space Advocate<br />
Joe Sambataro, Labor Ready Inc., Retired<br />
Broderick Smith, Urban Visions<br />
Marilyn Strickland, Mayor, City of Tacoma<br />
Bill Taylor, Taylor Shellfish<br />
Aaron Toso, Gallatin Public Affairs<br />
Dave Towne, Towne Planning Services<br />
Ruth True, NuBe Green<br />
Doug Walker, WRQ, Founding Partner<br />
Andy Wappler, Puget Sound Energy<br />
Ron Whitener, UW School of Law<br />
Council of Advisors<br />
Gerry Johnson, Chair, Pacifica Law Group<br />
Ken Alhadeff, Eltteas Enterprises<br />
Phil Barrett, Private Investor<br />
Bob Drewel, Puget Sound Regional Council<br />
Bruce Hosford, Hosford Ventures<br />
Mike Garvey, Saltchuk<br />
John Howell, Cedar River Group<br />
Nick Hanauer, Second Avenue Partners<br />
Carol James, Open Space Advocate<br />
Judd Kirk, Port Blakely Communities<br />
Brian Janssen, Onyx Founder<br />
Martha Kongsgaard, Kongsgaard Goldman Foundation<br />
John McCoy, Tulalip Tribes<br />
Denny Miller, Denny Miller Associates Inc.<br />
Dan Nordstrom, Outdoor Research<br />
Bill Pope, Mazama Country Inn<br />
Ron Sher, Terranomics Development<br />
Herb Simon, Simon Johnson LLC<br />
David Skinner, ShadowCatcher Entertainment<br />
Greg Smith, Urban Visons<br />
Craig Ueland<br />
Maryann Tagney Jones<br />
Bob Wallace, Wallace Properties<br />
Volunteers are an integral part of Forterra’s mission. Many<br />
of you are probably aware that Forterra and the Green City<br />
Partnerships host restoration events at parks and green<br />
spaces all around the region. Volunteers join us to remove<br />
invasive plant species, plant native species, mulch, build<br />
and maintain trails and have a great time doing it! But<br />
did you know there are many other ways to engage with<br />
Forterra and help advance our mission to create great<br />
communities and conserve great lands?<br />
Some volunteers lend their expertise in our office, bringing<br />
their skills in graphic design, photography, writing, GIS and<br />
much more. Others lend their time supporting important<br />
issues in their community by advocating to their elected<br />
leaders and organizing their fellow citizens to do the<br />
same. Others still serve as land stewards, monitoring<br />
and restoring properties Forterra has conserved around<br />
the region.<br />
If you’re interested in learning more about volunteering,<br />
visit us online at forterra.org/get_involved/volunteer or<br />
contact us at volunteer@forterra.org.<br />
FORTERRA EVENTS<br />
Forterra events are a great way to volunteer and engage<br />
with our organization. Check out these great events<br />
coming up this fall. More information and events online at<br />
forterra.org/events.<br />
Celebrate the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway -<br />
Ellensburg, 9/29/2012, 4 - 7pm<br />
Flavors of Conservation - Ellensburg, 10/11/2012, 7 - 9pm<br />
Youth Environmental Summit - Tacoma, 10/12/12, TBD<br />
Cedar River Restoration Planting Event - Maple Valley<br />
10/13/2012, 10am – 2 pm<br />
Open Trails at Morse Wildlife Preserve - Graham,<br />
10/14/2012, 12 - 4pm<br />
Green Tacoma Day - Various Parks, 10/20/2012, 10am - 1pm<br />
Green Kent Day! - Morrill Meadows Park, 10/27/2012,<br />
9am - 12pm<br />
Green Seattle Day - Various parks, 11/3/2012, 10am - 2pm<br />
Holiday Open House - Seattle, 12/5/12, 5:30 - 9pm<br />
FORTERRA.ORG
FORTERRA ENTERPRISES BOARD<br />
/// chair’s perspective /////////////////////////////////////////////////////<br />
As Board Chair, I fill many roles<br />
at Forterra. Often that role<br />
is to provide strategic guidance<br />
for the organization’s business<br />
operations. Other times it is to help<br />
raise funds. One of my favorite<br />
roles I get to fill is supporting<br />
Forterra’s programmatic work<br />
through outreach. Recently, I’ve had<br />
the opportunity to gather support<br />
from a broad group of stakeholders<br />
around the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway project.<br />
The Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway is Washington’s first<br />
designated scenic byway. For those of you who haven’t had the<br />
opportunity to visit, it is truly one of the State’s natural treasures.<br />
The river winds through steep canyon walls, surrounded by<br />
central Washington’s famous shrub-steppe grasslands. Outdoor<br />
enthusiasts come from all around to experience the Canyon’s<br />
world-class blue ribbon fishing, as well as river rafting, biking,<br />
hunting and more.<br />
Forterra has been working with partners to update the corridor<br />
management plan, a blueprint for the Byway that was never<br />
implemented. Currently, we are working to conserve the Bighorn<br />
Umtanum property, 700 acres in the heart of the Canyon. The<br />
Umtanum property is critical for securing public access and<br />
preserving the Canyon’s natural habitat.<br />
Over the summer I hosted a convening of stakeholders<br />
interested in advancing our Scenic Byway efforts. We discussed<br />
strategies for raising the funds necessary to conserve property<br />
around the Byway as well as ways to build on the energy of fly<br />
fisherman and other recreationalists who already treasure the<br />
River Canyon.<br />
The effort to conserve and improve the Yakima River Canyon<br />
Scenic Byway is an impressive undertaking by Forterra. But—<br />
and this is one of things that’s always attracted me to Forterra—<br />
it is just one of many important and potentially transformative<br />
projects underway at this organization. As you read in this issue,<br />
Forterra’s Communities Policy Team is working with several<br />
communities on the Olympic Peninsula and around the Puget<br />
Sound Region to improve economies, walkability, quality of life<br />
and more. Forterra successfully conserved a working farm in<br />
Kittitas County that’s been in the same family for over 80 years.<br />
They’re doing cutting-edge research on the value and impact of<br />
urban forestland. Even that is just a glimpse at Forterra’s total<br />
body of work. And that’s exciting.<br />
Looking ahead, there will still be plenty of challenges and<br />
hurdles for the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway project and<br />
others. But I’m confident that Forterra will prevail and I, along<br />
with my fellow board members, will continue providing the<br />
support necessary to help get that work done.<br />
Steve Ohlenkamp, President, The Communications Group<br />
Rod Brown, Cascadia Law Group PLLC<br />
Jim Greenfield, Davis Wright Tremaine<br />
Jim Reinhardsen, Heartland LLC<br />
Gary Young, Polygon Northwest Company<br />
Trustees<br />
KING COUNTY<br />
Thomas O’Keefe, Chair<br />
Brooke Alford<br />
Mark Boyar<br />
Crystal Carter<br />
Wally Costello<br />
Nona Ganz<br />
Jim Greenfield<br />
Carolyn Hope<br />
Craig Krueger<br />
Doug McClelland<br />
Harry Morgan<br />
Dave Russell<br />
Chuck Wolfe<br />
Janet Wall<br />
KITTITAS COUNTY<br />
Jim Armstrong<br />
Jim Briggs<br />
Deborah Essman<br />
Kirk Holmes<br />
Jim Huckabay<br />
Jeff Jones<br />
Kelly Larimer<br />
Jason Smith<br />
Tami Walton<br />
PIERCE COUNTY<br />
Aaron Toso, Chair<br />
Bruce Beckett<br />
Katrina Bloemsma<br />
Ione Clagett<br />
Tom Galdabini<br />
Ron Hendry<br />
Lara Herrmann<br />
Kris Kauffman<br />
Nancy Pearson<br />
Monty Smith<br />
Herb Stumpf<br />
Derek Young<br />
Allen Zulauf<br />
SNOHOMISH COUNTY<br />
Nicole Faghin, Chair<br />
Jay Goodwin<br />
Stephanie Hansen<br />
Linda Neunzig<br />
Allison Raduziner<br />
Scott Schreffler<br />
Reid Shockey<br />
DJ Wilson<br />
Allen Zulauf<br />
MASON COUNTY<br />
Patti Case, Chair<br />
Jean Farmer<br />
Emily Garlich<br />
Bob Hager<br />
Tom Hamilton<br />
Terri Jeffreys<br />
Brian McGinnis<br />
Dan O’Neal<br />
David Overton<br />
Dawn Pannell<br />
Bob Simmons<br />
Bill Taylor<br />
Peter Orser<br />
WINTER 2011
formerly CASCADE LAND CONSERVANCY<br />
901 Fifth Ave, Suite 2200<br />
Seattle, WA 98164<br />
Non profit Org<br />
U.S. Postage<br />
PAID<br />
Permit No. 106<br />
Blaine, WA<br />
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED<br />
we MOVED!<br />
Our new address is:<br />
901 Fifth Ave, Suite 2200<br />
Seattle WA 98164<br />
20<br />
After over 14 years in the historic Broderick Building of Pioneer Square, we capitalized<br />
on the downswing in the commercial real estate market and moved our main office. On<br />
Monday, August 27th, we settled in to our new home at 901 5th Avenue in downtown<br />
Seattle. The new location was designed from the ground up to reflect Forterra’s values<br />
and mission as well as create an efficient and collaborative work environment for our<br />
employees. We are thrilled that our new building is silver LEED certified and the furniture<br />
is made with recycled materials and wood by-products from local milling operations.<br />
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////<br />
please save the date<br />
ANNUAL HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE on DECEMBER 5th!<br />
We look forward to sharing this new space with our supporters and partners to continue to<br />
create great communities and conserve great lands.<br />
FORTERRA.ORG