One of the bright spots in Spokane’s November 6 election was the passage of the Conservation Futures program, which establishes funding for purchase of important open space and natural areas across the County.

Even more gratifying was the margin by which the measure passed - a whopping 61% to 39% as of the time of this writing - which is a great sign of the widespread and continued support for the program.

We say continued because although the tax could be made permanent, in 1997 Commissioners chose to put the program up for public vote every five years, and at each opportunity since, residents have shown firm support in renewing the six-cent per $1000 property tax. About 6,800 acres have been purchased and protected since 1994.

Parks and open space are vitally important to Spokane County residents, and for the relatively small per-household investment, many critical and important landscapes have been saved for future generations to enjoy. Friends of the Falls is excited to see programs like Conservation Futures thrive.

For more information, visit the Conservation Futures website by clicking here.

A few weeks ago, we were contacted by West Hills’ neighborhood leader Karen Jurasin and others regarding the possiblility of WSU design students tackling a site-specific plan for the area near Government Way and Sunset Highway - one of 15 priority projects in the Gorge Master Plan. Now, it seems the student work is well underway, and they’ve announced an exhibit and presentation for Saturday, December 8 on the Spokane campus.

Karen, who’s been involved in periodic reviews said in her e-mail about the student work: “It will complement the Great Gorge plan and enhance the area for cycling with nearby connections to the Centennial Trail, Fish Lake Trail, and from there to the Columbia Plateau Trail.” She urged any and all - especially potential developers - to attend and gather ideas for this largely underutilized but strategically-located area.

The students’ mid-term work has been completed as of this writing, and as a whole, represents a much more abstract way of presenting the dynamics of urban and natural relationships than will be on display in December. We’ve uploaded images of the work of the four teams, available here.

For more, check out the flyer linked below, and mark your calendars for Saturday, December 8 from 10:00 to noon at the WSU Spokane Phase One building. It’s free of course, and we’re excited to see what’s envisioned!

Exhibit Flyer (650 Kb, Acrobat® file)
WSU student work (Flash™ gallery)

The message sent out to Board members Monday night, September 24th simply read: YAY!

The notice concerned a big win for the Gorge plan and for the community’s efforts to promote the river as a civic centerpiece - specifically, it was notice that the 2004 plan had received the City’s highest honor for urban design, a 2007 “Mayor’s Choice” category Urban Design Award.

Accepting the award from the Mayor before TV cameras and a full City Council, Dr. John Moyer thanked Mayor Hession, spotlighted recent progress on the proposed whitewater park and on the north shore, and pledged the group’s efforts to continue to bring progress to the City.

It was the inagural run for the awards, conceived as a way to recognize and promote positive urban design in the City, or as the certificate stated: “outstanding design that is consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan and contributes to the City of Spokane’s Quality of Life.” Winners were selected from 17 entries by a committee of members of Spokane’s Design Review Committee with input from the Mayor. Other winners included the Native Project’s new facilities, the Moore-Turner Gardens restoration project, and downtown arts and housing pioneer Jim Kolva.

The program is expected to occur every other year.

The Gorge plan, initially inspired by the Olmsted Brothers’ 1908 report to Spokane’s first parks board, envisions a number of priority projects between the Lower Falls and the Hangman Creek confluence, ranging from informal trails, to habitat restoration, to a naturalistic whitewater park for boaters just downstream of the recently-completed Sandifur Memorial pedestrian bridge. It was prepared by Moore, Iacofano Goltsman, Inc. (MIG) of Berkely, California with input from hundreds of citizen volunteers, groups and organizations. The plan references a similarly expansive public process that developed a conceptual plan in 2002.

The nomination was prepared by Friends of the Falls and credits MIG, Michael Terrell, ASLA, Jones and Jones Ltd., Economic Research Associates, Thomas Dean and Hoskins, Mayor James E. West, the Spokane Parks Board, Sen. Lisa Brown and Fmr. Sen. Brad Benson, Rep. Timm Ormsby, Rep. Hans Dunshee, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the Peaceful Valley, Browne’s Addition, West Central and West Hills Neighborhood Councils, the Downtown Spokane Partnership, Avista Utilities, the City of Spokane, and “numerous other stakeholder groups and hudreds of citizen participants.”

An image of the certificate is linked in the site gallery, and linked below. Information about the project and about the award will be posted on the City of Spokane website by October 1.

Award Certificate (Gallery image)

It’s been a long time coming - nearly 100 years, to be exact - but the Olmsted Brothers parks plan for the City is finally receiving its due.

In honor of the plan’s centennial, Spokane’s Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, known as the MAC, has prepared a major exhibit on the Olmsted Brothers’ parks plan for the City, which will open to the public on October 6th. In addition, members of the National Association for Olmsted Parks will hold their annual meeting in Spokane in honor of the event.

Entitled ”Olmsted Brothers: Designing Spokane Landscapes,” the exhibit will outline the work of Fredrick Law Jr. and John Olmsted, heirs to the legacy of their father Fredrick Law Olmsted, designer of such works as New York’s Central Park, and who has been widely recognized as having pioneered the field of Landscape Architecture. Together, the brothers helped transform much of the Western United States in the same way their father had done back East. Intrigued by our region’s “strikingly picturesque” basalt outcroppings, the Olmsted firm designed parks, residential landscapes and public projects in Spokane over the course of 45 years. This exhibition features their correspondence, photographs, and planting plans and offers a personalized local story, set into the broader context of western city planning. The exhibit will be on display through August 17, 2008.

Hope you made our special members-only event that took place on September 29th - it was a great opportunity to meet and discuss the Olmsted legacy with NAOP members during a sneak preview of the exhibit. Of course, we had nice discussions on the Olmsted “Large Park” concept as expressed in Spokane’s legacy parks plan.

The Olmsted vision of Spokane’s centerpiece large park - called the “Gorge Park” by the Brothers - helped set many things in motion, from the Parks Department aquisition of much of the land prescribed for the area, to initiating the 1974 World’s Fair, to Friends of the Falls’ own recent work promoting the Spokane River Gorge Strategic Master Plan - essentially an articulated version of the Olmsted dream.

“We think people will come away amazed at how many of Spokane’s most beloved parks, neighborhoods and streetscapes were designed or influenced by the Olmsteds,” said Steve Faust, FOF Executive Director. “They may be equally amazed at how much land is already in public hands as a result of this 1907 plan, and like the Gorge area, awaits discovery and greater appreciation,” he added.