Washington

One of TPL's smallest Northwest projects, the Blaine Street Steps climb two solid blocks up to Seattle's North Capitol Hill neighborhood.

The only true fjord in the lower 48 states is located just 20 miles from downtown Seattle. Hood Canal, Washington is punctuated by mountains, rivers, streams, and vast evergreen forests. The Hood Canal area draws visitors from all over the world, yet access to the pristine forests and waters is limited.

Stretching 85 miles along the border between Oregon and Washington, the Columbia River Gorge encompasses more than 290,000 acres of ecologically and culturally significant terrain. The Columbia River Gorge is home to towering waterfalls and 800 species of wildflowers, 15 of which are found nowhere else in the world. The Nez Pierce, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakama tribes hold sacred cultural and spiritual connections to the Columbia River Gorge. Every year, residents and visitors from near and far find quiet adventure along hundreds of miles of trails in the Gorge.

The Trust for Public Land has partnered with Readiness Environmental Protection Integration (REPI)-a program to buffer critical military installations-to help purchase land on the Olympic Peninsula to add to Dosewallips State Park.

Together, we can turn the Eastside Rail Corridor into a trail that serves walkers, bikers, families and promotes the economic, social, and environmental vitality of our region

Over the years TPL has worked hard with the Chelan Douglas Land Trust and the Icicle Fund to save the natural beauty of this free-flowing river.

TPL was able to help the Swinomish tribe and the state of Washington craft a conservation solution that shared ownership and operating costs, managed the land jointly and regulated visitation. Today Kiket Island is both part of an Indian Reservation and a state park—a national first.

With support from community members and city officials, The Trust for Public Land helped protect 100 acres of Mercer Slough for the parks department as an addition to an urban wetland park.

Protecting the land and livelihood of the Nelson family, fifth generation ranchers in rural Washington.

The Trust for Public Land is working with Okonogan County to prevent productive farms, ranches, and forests from being fragmented or developed.

The Trust for Public Land has worked for more than a decade to protect several thousand acres along the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington State.

Offering spectacular views of Puget Sound, Seattle, and Mt. Rainier this new state park provides new public access to the shoreline as well as space for the memorial's visitor center and contemplative garden.

The Trust for Public Land has worked for several years to secure critical lands at Snoqualmie Point and along Rattlesnake Ridge—important components of the Mountains to Sound Greenway.

When the last piece of private property bordering the Seattle Arboretum's Japanese Garden was put on the market for residential development, TPL was asked for help protect it.

TPL managed the purchase of over 17,500 acres of land, creating a link between two existing wildlife areas and keeping the land safe for wildlife to roam and people to enjoy hiking, birding, fishing and hunting.

TPL bought this land at the headwaters of Phelps Creek in 1996, holding it for some years while federal funds were marshaled to add the property to the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

In Spring 2007, Chelan County established the Stemilt Partnership — a broad coalition of agriculture, wildlife, recreation, development, and conservation interests working together to prevent privatization of 2,500 acres of public land in the Stemilt basin.

For nearly 50 years, Tall Timber Ranch has been the home
of a Presbyterian Church wilderness camp, reaching out to
children and adults alike with a powerful combination of social
and environmental messages, establishing and nurturing a love
for nature in a theological context.

For more than 100 years, Thorndyke Forest has delivered clean, cool water to Hood Canal, sequestered carbon from the atmosphere, and expanded public access to the Olympic Peninsula. Managed by Pope Resources as a working forest, Thorndyke has sustained important rural jobs and supported local mills. Despite the multitude of benefits to the local economy and environment, working forests like Thorndyke face increasing pressure from development. As nearby urban centers grow and land values increase, developers look to the forests of the Olympic Peninsula as the next frontier for development.

Visible from throughout the San Juan Islands, Turtleback Mountain served as a landmark for the Salish people of the Northern Straits as they traveled across their villages and fishing grounds.

The Chimacum Valley in Jefferson County is experiencing a resurgence of agricultural production and is quickly becoming a hub of community-based food production in Washington State. At the same time, rapid development in this fertile valley is making it difficult for young farmers to buy land.