The Mountains to Sound Greenway was recently was designated as a National Heritage area. (Mountains to Sound Greenway)

The Mountains to Sound Greenway was recently was designated as a National Heritage area. (Mountains to Sound Greenway)

Mountains to Sound Greenway becomes national treasure

The 1.5-million-acre landscape stretches from Ellensburg to Seattle.

A coordinated eight-year effort from local nonprofits, citizens, businesses, politicians and government agencies came to fruition when the Mountains to Sound Greenway was designated as a National Heritage Area (NHA) by Congress on March 12.

The Mountains to Sound Greenway is supported by The Greenway Trust, a Washington state based nonprofit, and encompasses a dynamic 1.5-million-acre landscape that stretches from Ellensburg to Seattle, including areas on Mercer Island. It connects urban centers, vast forests, meadow-strewn mountain peaks, small farms and rural communities.

The Greenway is now one of 55 heritage areas in the country, joining the likes of New York’s Niagara Falls, Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, North Carolina’s Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. It is the first NHA designated in the Pacific Northwest, along with the new Maritime Washington NHA.

The designation brings opportunities to “conserve natural resources, protect our cultural heritage, and contribute to the economic vitality of the region” as the communities in the area undergo massive growth.

Jon Hoekstra, executive director of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, said the designation could expand tourism opportunities. For example, Snoqualmie Falls is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state, but having it be surrounded by a National Heritage Area could encourage visitors to explore other nearby areas.

“It says, ‘Hey, this is a place that’s really special,’” he said. “It’s a real boon for helping draw people to this region.”

The view of the Mountains to Sound Greenway is seen from Mt. Defiance. (Mountains to Sound Greenway)

The view of the Mountains to Sound Greenway is seen from Mt. Defiance. (Mountains to Sound Greenway)

Many of the parks, open spaces and recreation in the Greenway are supported by public-private partnerships, such as Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, where the Trust has worked to help restore fish habitat, Hoekstra said.

“[The] park is a crown jewel, and is what it is because of partnerships,” he said. “[It’s] undergoing a renaissance of cooperative investment.”

With cities, counties, businesses and citizens, the trust works to promote public land acquisitions, connect a continuous regional trail system, preserve rural lifestyles, teach people of all ages about forests and wildlife and mobilize thousands of volunteers to care for the landscape.

Federal elected officials who worked to secure the designation said it will also help the economy.

“Washington state’s recreation economy generates $26 billion in annual spending and supports more than 200,000 direct jobs,” Sen. Maria Cantwell said in a press release. “Continuing to protect our most scenic and historic landscapes, like the Mountains to Sound Greenway, will help boost tourism and preserve our natural landscape for future generations.”

Hoekstra said the first effort to designate the region as a National Heritage Area started 15 years ago, and legislation was originally introduced in 2013.

The Mercer Slough in Bellevue is part of the Mountains to Sound Greenway. 9Mountains to Sound Greenway0

The Mercer Slough in Bellevue is part of the Mountains to Sound Greenway. 9Mountains to Sound Greenway0

It has been backed by bipartisan political support from Cantwell and Sen. Patty Murray, U.S. Representatives Adam Smith, Suzan DelBene, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier and former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert. It finally passed as a result of Cantwell’s bipartisan work on a public lands package, which contained more than 100 bills.

“To get a local issue to pass Congress requires broad support,” Hoekstra said. “And people love their public lands.”

Abundant trails, parks and public lands make the Greenway a place everyone can experience. On Mercer Island, that includes the Mountains to Sound Trail, previously known to many residents as the I-90 Trail, used by thousands of walkers and cyclists year-round.

The city of Mercer Island partners with the trust to plan and implement a wide range of volunteer planting and restoration events in natural areas. They co-hosted Mercer Island’s first Arbor Day event last October.

Other cities on the Eastside also partner with the trust to improve access to public lands and environmental protection, education and stewardship, as well as regional trail connections, such as the Eastside Rail Corridor in Bellevue.

The trust’s partners have included Puget Sound Energy, Waste Management, REI, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Starbucks and Carter Subaru, which has helped plant 175,000 trees in the past 10 years.

See www.mtsgreenway.org for more.

This story originally appeared in the Snoqualmie Valley Record, a sibling paper of The Daily Herald.

Talk to us

More in Northwest

Breadson John, 8, was found safe in Missouri on Wednesday, Feb. 21, after going missing from Vancouver in June 2022. (FBI)
Vancouver boy, 8, missing since June, found in Missouri

Breadson John was found safe in Jasper County Missouri after being missing for 8 months.

In this image provided by John Odegard, firefighters in Seattle douse flames at a marina on Lake Union, near the city's University District, early on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. The fire burned 30 boats on a dry-rack storage facility, and a man found hiding in one vessel was arrested for investigation of arson, authorities said. (John Odegard via AP)
Fire at Seattle marina burns 30 boats on dry rack storage

A man found hiding in one vessel was arrested for investigation of arson, authorities said.

NO CAPTION. Logo to accompany news of Seattle.
Deputy shot, wounded in Seattle during eviction, 1 dead

A King County Sheriff’s deputy was shot Monday and a person inside the residence was later found dead.

NO CAPTION. Logo to accompany news of Washington state.
Man pleads guilty to stalking Washington state lawmaker

Isaiah Long, 34, of Bremerton, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony stalking Rep. Michelle Caldier.

X
Amtrak restores full daily train service to Vancouver, B.C.

Amtrak has restarted direct trips between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Leonard Cobb, co-founder of state’s first Medic One, dies at 96

An incident more than 60 years ago helped prompt creation of the groundbreaking emergency medical service.

A Value Village store is seen Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, in Edmonds, Wash. The company that operates 300 Value Village, Savers and other thrift stores in the U.S., Canada and Australia is suing Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, saying his office has violated its rights by demanding $3.2 million to settle a three-year investigation. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Court rejects deception charges against Savers Value Village

The Washington state Supreme Court handed the thrift store chain Savers Value Village a unanimous win Thursday.

Seattle Council Member Kshama Sawant speaks to supporters and opponents of a proposed ordinance to add caste to Seattle's anti-discrimination laws at a rally at Seattle City Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Seattle. Sawant proposed the ordinance. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Seattle becomes first U.S. city to ban caste discrimination

The Seattle City Council on Tuesday added caste to the city’s anti-discrimination laws, becoming the first city to pass such a law outside South Asia.

Clay Siegall, cofounder and former CEO of Seagen. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)
Why prosecutors say former Seagen CEO wasn’t charged after arrest

Edmonds prosecutors said there were contradictory statements on the night Seagen ex-CEO Clay Siegall was accused of domestic violence.

New Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant speaks during an inauguration ceremony for city officials on Jan. 6, 2014, in Seattle. One of Sawant’s earliest memories of the caste system was hearing her grandfather – a man she “otherwise loved very much” – utter a slur to summon their lower-caste maid. Now an elected official in a city thousands of miles from India, she has proposed an ordinance to add caste to Seattle’s anti-discrimination laws. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson, File)
Seattle considers historic law barring caste discrimination

Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant wants to add caste to the city’s anti-discrimination laws

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, March 11, 2019, rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  The number of deaths in major air crashes around the globe fell by more than half in 2019 according to a report released Wednesday Jan. 1, 2020, by the aviation consultancy To70, revealing the worst crash for the year was an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX on March 10 that lost 157 lives. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, FILE)
Judge rejects bid to nullify Boeing deal over Max crashes

District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth said federal law doesn’t give courts the power to oversee agreements that prosecutors make with defendants.

FILE - The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Boeing is reporting a money-losing quarter as both its civilian-airplane division and the defense business are struggling. Boeing said Wednesday, April 27, 2022,  that it lost $1.24 billion in the first quarter and took large write-downs for several programs.  (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
Boeing plans to cut about 2,000 finance and HR jobs in 2023

Boeing plans to outsource about a third of the eliminated positions to Tata Consulting Services in Bengaluru, India.