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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

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