King County benefits from Washington Trails Association's most generous patrons

2005 Archived News

A special group of individuals from the Washington Trails Association (WTA) will be voluntarily clearing ditches, brushing and lopping to remove plants or tree limbs that block trailways, and removing protruding roots and rocks along trails at King County's Grand Ridge Park near Issaquah this Saturday. The event is part of a WTA special annual gathering called the Fireside Circle Work Party.

A tradition started by the WTA, in an effort to recognize and thank their largest contributors, the association invites donors to participate in an annual trail maintenance project. King County's Grand Ridge Park was selected for this year's work party.

'The people who support Washington Trails Association are the sort of people who like to walk the talk,' said Elizabeth Lunney, WTA's Executive Director. 'So asking them to help us build new trails on Grand Ridge seemed the perfect way to say thank you and to show them exactly what their private support of hiking trails can do on the ground. We can get a lot done in one day—and have a good time while we're at it.'

'You'd be amazed at how hard our volunteers work,' she added.

'We are delighted Washington Trails Association picked Grand Ridge for their annual hands-on project. Managing our trails is a year round activity and we are grateful for the assistance provided by the WTA,' said Suzanne Little, King County Parks Director. 'It is support like this that helps us keep our parks open, safe and accessible all year long.'

While this special donor event is not open to the public, WTA offers hundreds of volunteer trail maintenance activities throughout the region to restore and repair the landscape, control human impacts and provide new recreation opportunities close to our communities. . Healthy, accessible and safe trails are a critical piece of the effort to restore natural habitats throughout the County. King County depends heavily on volunteers help to maintain trails. Washington Trails Association volunteers have already put in 3,500 volunteer hours to help maintain county trails in 2005

The Washington Trail Association is a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization working to preserve, enhance and promote hiking opportunities in Washington State through collaboration, education, advocacy and trail maintenance. For more information visit the website at www.wta.org.

If you would like additional information about this event or to learn more about volunteer trail maintenance activities, please contact the program manager at 206-510-5668 or e-mail at david.kimmett@kingcounty.gov