Laying the foundation for an extensive environmental effort for 2000 and beyond, King County Executive Ron Sims today planted his first of 200,000 trees to be planted this year. He also dedicated the effort to a volunteer who personified the public’s commitment to working with businesses and governmental environmental programs.
Sims, King County Councilmember David Irons, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, and volunteers from local schools and Boeing gathered at King County’s Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park to launch a new partnership to plant the 200,000 trees this year along the Interstate 90 Mountains to Sound Greenway. This “200,000 Trees in 2000” project is aimed at restoring watershed forests and improving water quality in local rivers and lakes.
“200,000 Trees in 2000 will be an integral part of a year-long effort on the part of King County to improve our environment,” said Sims. “Not only will we be joining with a variety of partners to plant hundreds of thousands of trees this year, we will also be working hard on many other environmental fronts. This includes everything from restoring critical salmon and wildlife habitat, to preserving open space, to promoting our own and other’s environmentally sound business practices,” Sims said.
“Local communities such as ours can do much to reverse environmental degradation, address issues in traditional areas such as water and air quality efforts, as well as increasingly important areas such as energy use, transportation, waste prevention and sprawl,” Sims said. “But this is an effort every individual in King County can help with and will benefit from.”
200,000 Trees in 2000 is a partnership between King County Park System, King County Department of Natural Resources, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, National Tree Trust, American Forests, Eddie Bauer, and the King County World Conservation Corps. Tree plantings will continue throughout the spring planting season, and again in the fall, with as many as 2,500 volunteers expected to take part in the effort.
“As we have worked to preserve a connected green corridor along I-90,” says Nancy Keith, executive director of the Greenway Trust, “we have realized that the forests along the Greenway provide many crucial public benefits beyond scenic beauty. Trees are constantly filtering pollutants from the air and returning oxygen. It is vital we keep healthy forests in our region for future generations.”
“With native salmon now listed as an endangered species, it has never been more important to improve water quality in our rivers and lakes. One of the most effective ways to do this is by planting trees to restore watershed forests. These new trees will also provide habitat for wildlife and salmon. 200,000 Trees in 2000 is a great step forward for our region,” said King County Councilmember David Irons.
The King County WaterWorks grant program has contributed $50,000 toward this 200,000 Trees in 2000 effort. King County Councilmember Larry Phillips initiated the WaterWorks grant program to support grassroots work to improve the environment and the health of our waterways.
King County will be recognizing the 25th anniversary of Earth Day with a variety of year long events and activities. The County has proclaimed 2000 Earth Year, and the National Association of Counties has named King County and Earth Day 2000 County.
Most of the planting sites for 200,000 Trees in 2000 are located in the King County Park System, but other sites include Washington State Department of Natural Resources lands and Interstate 90 right-of-way. Nearly 20 King County Parks have been identified for plantings, including Coal Creek Park, Taylor Mountain Forest, and Grand Ridge Park.
Doug Schindler of the Mountains to Sound Greenway conceptualized 200,000 Trees in 2000 as a way to bring more people out to the parks and forests along the Greenway, a National Scenic Byway that stretches from the Seattle waterfront, along Interstate 90, to Thorp in the eastern Cascades.
“200,000 Trees in 2000 is a great example of a local organization using treeplanting to enhance the local environment,” says Glen Baly, with the National Tree Trust. “Our contribution of over 175,000 trees is part of our mission to support treeplanting on public land by local organizations through seedling, educational and monetary grants. We believe that supporting groups, such as the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, will help improve the environment, as well as communities, for future generations.”
According to Deborah Gangloff, Executive Director of American Forests, 200,000 Trees in 2000 is the 15th and largest environmental restoration project supported by Redmond-based Eddie Bauer and American Forests' partnership to plant one million trees in the Puget Sound region. It is one of the nation’s largest volunteer efforts as well.
