City of Olympia: Conserve nature trails and forest next to LBA Park

We, the citizens of Olympia and Thurston County, take pride in protecting our environment and the green spaces that make our community livable and beautiful. The upland forest in the Chambers Lake Basin can be best used to increase the size and improve the quality of the adjacent LBA Park.

For years,we, the residents of SE Olympia and beyond, have been walking with friends and dogs the decades-old established trails in the woods behind LBA Park, known as LBA Woods. It is a lovely setting with a forest canopy, winding trails, modest hills, solitude, and varied habitats supporting a diversity of birds, plants and other wildlife. The trails are also used for running, training, mountain biking, and occasionally horseback riding.

The trails are within roughly 150 acres of woods in two parcels referred to as the Trillium and Bentridge parcels. These parcels are the largest remaining, privately owned, undeveloped parcels in the City of Olympia. Owners of both parcels are open to selling the land. We now have a window of opportunity, through community support, to persuade the City Council to broker a deal to acquire this land for a community park.

The City's parks and recreation planning process has identified the need to provide opportunities to enjoy "nearby nature". Additionally, as Olympia's population grows, the City has recognized the need to acquire property for sports fields, dog parks and other recreational pursuits, such as BMX bike parks. Trillium and Bentridge also contain non-forested spaces ideally suited for such purposes. Thus, by virtue of their location, size, terrain and configuration, these parcels are well suited to meet those needs while preserving upland forest habitat.

The LBA Woods are an asset to SE Olympia shaping its identity, providing habitat, shade, stormwater retention, flood prevention and more. Before these last large remaining tracts of forest are cleared, let's work to save them. In doing so, we can provide a nature park with recreational trails plus adjacent sports facilities readily available for thousands to enjoy while, at the same time, conserving important wildlife habitat.

We owe it to our children and all future residents to provide local areas for healthy recreation and access to nature. Let's conserve LBA Woods. It will be a source of inspiration for generations to come.

[Modified for clarity-4/22/2014]