Earth Day was born out of a movement to improve the lives of people and nature, inspiring sweeping legislative action and investments. Today, federal infrastructure funding and WA Climate Commitment Act are a continuation of this movement, investments making a tangible impact locally. As an example, Washington’s historic funding of the Floodplains by Design program is contributing to nature-based floodplain management across the state to reduce flood risk, protect communities and protect salmon habitat. These state and federal dollars are just the start of local climate action that will improve the daily lives and the future of all Washingtonians.
Meet DeAnne Hamilton: Learn how the general manager of Tacoma’s KBTC Public Television and TNC in Washington trustee, uses the power of storytelling to engage people in conservation and create a better future for the next generation.
Nestled in the cliffs in Moses Coulee is an import desert water sources that every springs attracts thousands of Pacific Tree frogs. I came to Whisper Lake for a night concert. It was anything but quiet. The chorus of frogs was soothing, calming—the quintessential sound of spring.
The Cle Elum Wildlife Project is improving our understanding of how wildlife use and move through protected forest landscapes, providing us with an opportunity to test how forest management practices impact wildlife and building an evidence base for permanent protection.
A game camera on the Moses Coulee Preserve has captured just how much a gate that sits at the intersection of quality shrub-steppe and agricultural fields is used by visitors and residents, even when closed.
Our Moses Coulee-Beezley Hills Preserve is one of the Conservancy’s largest landholdings in Washington and we’ve been working over the last several years to share information and increase engagement with the local community in Central Washington.
Our commitment to community engagement was strengthened when I met a neighboring landowner to the preserve who told me that, at a recent Quincy Chamber of Commerce Event, many people identified the Beezley Hills Preserve as an area they valued, but were interested in knowing more about visitor access and trails in the region.
In alignment with Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision to partially reopen state recreational lands incorporating social distancing guidelines, lands owned or managed by The Nature Conservancy in Washington will reopen May 5 with some important exceptions.
Both the Yellow Island Preserve in the San Juans and the popular Bluff Trail at the Robert Y. Pratt Preserve at Ebey’s Landing on Whidbey Island, will remain closed for the safety of our staff, volunteers and visitors, and for preservation of fragile lands.
By Lane Justus and Emily Crabill, AmeriCorps members serving TNC
Our most recent day working in the field was particularly bittersweet, as our mission for the day was to post temporary closure signs at all major access points of the preserves. Being that this is just the beginning of our service, we are especially sad to see the preserves close, but at the same time, we are truly grateful that The Nature Conservancy is taking serious and thoughtful action during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we both completely understand and support the fact that we must work to protect people just as we protect our lands, we were excited to get out there, observe new places and become more familiar with the preserves.
With only a couple days of Moses Coulee/Beezley Hills field experience under our belts, the preserves are still elusive to us. While receiving our field orientation, and later using ArcGIS to navigate the area to put up closure signs, we’ve gotten to see quite a bit of the preserves from the comfort of our vehicles. However, every time we learn something new about the landscape, we’re struck by how vast these preserves actually are.
Even though our time, thus far, hasn’t encompassed exploring the preserves as much as we would like, we remain totally amazed by the scenery at our lodge. We feel a little lucky to be quarantined in an environment that most others would dream of being in. We’d love to virtually share our front door excursions with you.
Wildflowers push through the rugged landscape at McCartney Creek in Central Washington. Photo by Emily Crabill.
Since beginning our AmeriCorps service about three weeks ago, we’ve seen temperatures drop to the mid 20s and several inches of snowfall, but in contrast, we’ve also experienced warmer temperatures, sunshine and high winds. When out in the field to post closure signs, conditions seemed to change by the hour. It was sunny one minute and then ominous clouds gloomed over us. We even experienced a dense snowfall that quickly turned to rain.
Because spring is arriving, we were on the lookout for wildflowers in bloom throughout the day. Near Cowboy Camp, we spotted woolly-pod locoweed and yellow bell, and at McCartney Creek Falls, we saw sagebrush buttercup nestled between the rocks, along with some desert parsley and woodland star. As the wet snow landed on top of the moss blanketing the soil crust, we stared in awe as the moss’ classic dark green color slowly shifted to that of a bright, vibrant green.
As the day came to its end, we headed back to our lodge. We continued up the driveway, and like always, we were quickly reminded of how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy all the nature that the preserves have to offer, from right outside our doorstep. With a small lake nearby, we are almost always able to hear and see our natural environment at work. Amongst the array of wildlife, we’ve been able to identify a couple of normal visitors: Say’s phoebes, red-winged blackbirds, California quails and American crows, to list a few. By day, the duck calls and bird songs are our working soundtrack, and by night we are reminded that we aren’t alone by the deep croaking of Pacific tree frogs.
Banner photo by Anna Snook
