Where would we be in the Northwest without parks, trails, and wild lands? What kind of businesses would want to move to a location where the quality of life was compromised by the lack of outdoor opportunities and the support for wildlife simply wasn’t there? Not only is conserving our open spaces an important issue for environmentalists, but businesses leaders as well.

Businesses moving to the Pacific Northwest move for a variety of reasons, one of which is the quality of life that the Northwest brings to the business’s employees. The creation of parks and open space protects our current and future livability in the Northwest. The open space is all part of the plan for successful urban villages, with parks and playgrounds playing an integral part.

Last issue, I talked briefly about the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, and its origins. Now I want to give you a more concrete view of the good this organization is doing to help us save our open spaces. Public recognition of the good deeds of this organization is important, because while WWRC has faded from the press attention, the work and the need for these efforts continue to grow.

Conserving the wild lands of Washington State is too an important duty to let this organization do it without legislative and popular support. With over 400 projects either completed or underway, the funding arm of WWRC — the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) has been very busy balancing these divergent interests.

Have you ever been to Iron Horse State Park, near North Bend and noticed the trail? The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition bought the abandoned rail bed with matching funds from state and local government for the public use. Without the $400,000 in funds, the railway trestles that make up this trail would have simply rusted, and the trail would have fallen into oblivion.

Add this trail and other trails to the long list of the many successes of this group. Also add water access on many of the state’s rivers and beaches, the addition of more natural areas on Mount Si and 20 other areas statewide. Count the urban wildlife habitat areas in several counties around the state, and include the numerous playgrounds, parks and green spaces, all of which add up to a very impressive record for this coalition.

The Silverdale Waterfront Park is yet another example of buying land for public use, and revitalizing a downtown area. The conservation efforts are not just limited to urban areas, but urban, and not just limited to the Puget Sound Area, but almost every county in the State of Washington has been affected by the WWRC’s efforts to rebuild parks, buy land for public use or create wildlife refuges.

The current political situation for conserving these open spaces is tenuous. Thank the current legislators who have been supportive of the plans to buy land for public use. Many serve on the WWRC’s board and rally for legislative funding to complement the local funding, but an election year is coming up. You can continue the progress this group has made by electing the legislators who have been supportive of the WWRP in the past. The Growth Management Act is moving housing into urban villages. Parks and playgrounds are a major component of making this plan work.

But whomever is in office, the environment still needs our protection. Your children and grandchildren will have the opportunity to truly enjoy the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, if we save the open space now.

The WWRC is effective because of the diversity of the various interests of the group. We need a balance of growth and open space. To assist efforts in this balance, elect officials who have been or are supportive of saving open space for public use, and who pledge state, local and federal money to help the nonprofit conservation efforts to buy land and preserve it for all of us.