State seeks adults to aid conservation projects
August 16, 2011
The state Department of Ecology needs 245 people between the ages of 18 and 25 to plant native shrubs and trees, restore salmon-bearing streams, respond to emergencies and more.
The agency is seeking applicants to the Washington Conservation Corps, a program to put young adults, including military veterans, on the job at projects in 16 counties statewide.
For the 2011-12 service year, the Department of Ecology intends to hire 150 Washington Conservation Corps AmeriCorps members using a $2 million AmeriCorps grant from the state Commission for National and Community Service.
Issaquah is cougar territory, but big cats still scarce
August 2, 2011
State wildlife biologist Brian Kertson spent five years studying the local cougar population, including this 130-pound, 2-year-old male captured and tagged in the Cedar River Watershed in 2008. Contributed
Now a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, Issaquah native Brian Kertson likes to talk about what he calls the “wildland-urban interface.”
Basically, such an area is where raw, undeveloped nature bumps up against developed, urban areas.
Probably not surprisingly to those who live or work here, sitting as it does in the shadows of the Cascade foothills, Issaquah is just such an interface.
And, of course, such interfaces can contain plenty of wildlife, including larger animals not usually found in urban areas.
“The kind of territory we live in is cougar territory whether we realize it or not,” said Bob McCoy, a local wildlife activist who takes a special interest in cougars and is an admirer of Kertson’s work.
For his part, Kertson clearly agrees with McCoy’s assessment regarding cougars in Issaquah. From 2003-08, Kertson completed a large-scale study of cougars in Issaquah and surrounding areas. The work represented Kertson’s doctoral thesis at the University of Washington.
“Previously, we just didn’t know a lot about the cougars in that area,” Kertson added.
Finished last year, Kertson’s work is attracting some attention and may be published in the near future. Along with similar studies done across the state, it also is being used as the basis for developing a statewide policy on how to deal with Washington’s cougar population.
Hikers map future of mountaineering
August 2, 2011
Janet Wall searches in Issaquah’s Berntsen Park for invasive plants that she can electronically mark. Photo by Tim Pfarr
“Are we there yet? How much farther?”
If you’ve gone hiking with a child, you have surely heard these migraine-inducing questions thousands of times. As you take left and right turns up a mountainside, there is often no good answer to give the tired youngster.
After all, how much farther is it to the top? Where in the world are you on that map you brought?
If only you had a map created with GPS data. Every twist and turn on the trail would be recorded with surgical precision.
20 reasons to ♥ Issaquah
July 2, 2011
The spectacular landscape is a reason to love Issaquah. By Connor Lee
Discover 20 reasons to love Issaquah, from the highest Tiger Mountain peak to the Lake Sammamish shoreline, and much more in between. The community includes icons and traits not found anywhere else, all in a postcard-perfect setting. The unique qualities — Issa-qualities? — start at the city’s name and extend into every nook and neighborhood. (The lineup is not arranged in a particular order, because ranking the city’s pre-eminent qualities seems so unfair.)
Salmon Days
The annual salmon-centric celebration is stitched into the city’s fabric. Salmon Days serves as a last hurrah before autumn, a touchstone for old-timers and a magnet for tourists. The street fair consistently ranks among the top destinations in the Evergreen State and, for a time last year, as the best festival on earth — in the $250,000-to-$749,000 budget category, anyway.
Issaquah Alps
The majestic title for the forested peaks surrounding the city, the Issaquah Alps, is a catchall term for Cougar, Squak and Tiger mountains. (Credit the late mountaineer and conservationist Harvey Manning for the sobriquet.) The setting is a playground for outdoors enthusiasts. Trails — some official and others less so — for hikers, bikers and equestrians crisscross the mountains, like haphazard tic-tac-toe patterns.
Cougar Mountain is ‘gnarliest’ for trail running novices
June 22, 2011
NEW — 5 p.m. June 22, 2011
Outdoors NW magazine named the popular Cougar Mountain Trail Running Series as No. 1 for novice runners in the inaugural Gnarliest Trail Running Event Awards.
The magazine announced the awards Wednesday. Magazine staffers combed through information about dozens of trail races in the Pacific Northwest to determine the nastiest, gnarliest, toughest and best races.
The magazine ranked the Orcas Island 25K/50K, due to the event’s stunning views of the San Juan Islands, Olympic and Cascade mountains; a heart-pounding single-track course up and down Mount Constitution and the all-weekend race party on the island, including a post-race keg and live music.
Legislators preserve dollars for trail projects
May 31, 2011
Plans to acquire land for a Cougar Mountain trail and upgrade trail bridges in the Tiger Mountain State Forest received a last-minute boost from state lawmakers before a special legislative session ended late May 25.
Before sending the $32 billion state budget to Gov. Chris Gregoire, legislators allocated $42 million to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. The slice for the Issaquah area amounts to more than $1.5 million.
In addition to the Issaquah Alps projects, lawmakers directed funds to Duthie Hill Park and the East Lake Sammamish Trail.
The proposed budget recommends $500,000 for King County to acquire land for Precipice Trail near Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park and $247,870 to upgrade Tiger Mountain trail bridges. In addition, the proposal recommends $500,000 for the East Lake Sammamish Trail project and $317,477 for Duthie Hill Park.
Legislators preserve dollars for Issaquah outdoor recreation projects
May 26, 2011
NEW — 10:30 a.m. May 26, 2011
Plans to acquire land for a Cougar Mountain trail and upgrade trail bridges in Tiger Mountain State Forest received a last-minute boost from state lawmakers before a special legislative session ended Wednesday night.
Before sending the $32 billion budget to Gov. Chris Gregoire, legislators allocated $42 million to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program for more than 50 projects statewide. In addition to the Issaquah Alps projects, lawmakers directed funds to Duthie Hill Park and the East Lake Sammamish Trail.
The proposed budget recommends $500,000 for King County to acquire land for Precipice Trail near Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park and $247,870 to upgrade Tiger Mountain trail bridges. In addition, the proposal recommends $500,000 for the county’s East Lake Sammamish Trail project and $317,477 for county-run Duthie Hill Park.
City plants trees for Arbor Day, honors top environmentalists
April 26, 2011
Issaquah leaders gathered on a less-than-springlike day April 16 to observe Arbor Day and plant a grove to honor Ruth Kees and the community’s other top environmentalists.
Like the top environmental honor in the city, the grove is named for the late Kees. The bespectacled environmentalist fought for decades to protect Issaquah Creek, Tiger Mountain and the Lower Issaquah Valley Aquifer from development-related threats.
The grove is set amid hundreds of other saplings in city parkland along Issaquah Creek.
Former Councilman David Kappler plants a tree at the Ruth Kees Grove on April 16. By Margaret Macleod
Former Councilman David Kappler, plus environmentalists, Joanna Buehler, Ken Konigsmark and Janet Wall — all past Ruth Kees Environmental Award for a Sustainable Community recipients — participated in the planting. Overall, about 20 people joined Mayor Ava Frisinger and the honorees for the ceremony.
Together, city leaders and residents planted conifers to symbolize the 10 Ruth Kees award recipients on a gray morning at Squak Valley Park North south of downtown Issaquah.
Join city leaders to plant Ruth Kees Grove
April 12, 2011
Ruth Kees
Help city and state leaders dedicate the Ruth Kees Grove, and commemorate Arbor Day and the 20th anniversary of the state Department of Natural Resource Urban Forestry Program, at Squak Valley Park South.
Join city officials April 16 to plant 10 native conifers to honor the 10 recipients of the Ruth Kees Environmental Award for a Sustainable Community. The city has invited past recipients to the celebration.
Plans also call for the grove to include a trail, decorative rock features and a small patio or courtyard, featuring recipients’ names engraved on paver stones.
Past recipients received the honor for efforts to establish the Mountains to Sound Greenway, blaze trails in the Issaquah Alps and protect Issaquah waterways.
Ruth Kees, a longtime environmental activist, fought for decades to protect Issaquah Creek, Tiger Mountain and the Lower Issaquah Valley Aquifer. The award namesake received the inaugural honor in 2003.
Surprising spring snowfall dusts Issaquah in white
April 7, 2011
Snowfall blanketed the Overdale Park neighborhood in Issaquah late Wednesday night. By Larry Lohrman
NEW — 8 a.m. April 7, 2011
Sure, spring started last month, but Old Man Winter is back.
Snowfall blanketed Issaquah and surrounding areas — especially neighborhoods in the Issaquah Highlands and on Cougar, Squak and Tiger mountains — late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. Residents reported about 1 inch of snow accumulation in some places.
