The Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, Wyoming, is attempting to contact as many people as possible who have an interest in the outdoors. The organization’s goal is to increase awareness of a little-known problem: Outdoor toilets can entrap cavity-nesting owls. Other birds that nest or shelter in tree cavities are also at risk. The problem […]
parks
Posted inPeople & Places
The Belfair Community Trail System
The Belfair community might soon be recognized as one of the best places in the state to take a nature hike. A trail system currently runs through the Theler Wetlands on a 5-mile loop connecting the wetlands to the Belfair State Park, and now there is a new plan to extend the trail. It would […]
Posted inPeople & Places
An Oasis in the Middle of an Urban Development
When people think of Silverdale, many immediately see it as a large shopping center, massive parking areas and lots and lots of traffic. It’s hard to believe that in 1841, Capt. Wilkes sailed into a bay from Puget Sound and named it Dyes Inlet. Emptying into that bay was a productive salmon stream we now […]
Posted inPeople & Places
Harbor Family Park — Land Saved for Future Generations
Through efforts led by Gig Harbor citizen-activist Vern Young and a few other community visionaries, a 19-acre forested site was saved from becoming a housing development so that the community, as well as future generations, will have a wonderful park. Young, who died in 2014, was taking a walk in the wooded area in 2005 […]
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
Fort Worden Becomes Lifelong Learning Center
Fort Worden State Park has been a longtime destination for both recreation and events. Among the many favorite parts of the park are the historic officers’ row homes, a wonderful place for overnight stays. Even Richard Gere got to enjoy the park when he made the popular movie “Officer and a Gentleman” on the campus […]
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
Poulsbo’s Fish Park — A Study in Community Leadership
In my 25 years of public life, I have come to believe that community leadership is the key to a good community. Leaders create positive change. This was proven true again in 2002, when a very small group of civic leaders decided to work with the city to save a 13-acre site near downtown Poulsbo. […]
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
Port Gamble’s Kitsap Forest and Bay Project
Historic Port Gamble, a quaint New England-style village perched above Port Gamble Bay and Hood Canal, has become a lynchpin for an exciting, innovative and collaborative trail and open space initiative. A rare, visionary opportunity has been presented to existing and future generations of Kitsap County residents, one that has been warmly embraced by a […]
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
The Waypoint on Bainbridge Island
Welcome to a series of articles we will write on unique, innovative and creative park and public space projects in West Puget Sound that contribute to our community in terms of quality of life. We hope to identify the community leadership, the project’s funding, the partnerships that were created in order to build it, the […]
Posted inBlog, Community News
Help Decide the Future of Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park
Planning for the stewardship of Kitsap County’s shoreline block of 535 acres in Port Gamble will be discussed in public workshops that get underway at the end of March. The county’s Parks Department acquired the property, named the Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park, in February 2014 and was awarded a $175,000 grant from the state […]