The link below downloads a copy of a Spokesman-Review article entitled “Olmsteds’ legacy as close as nearest city park,” covering the legacy of the Olmsted brothers’ parks plan delivered in 1908, as well as plans being made to commemorate the centennial. Published May 27, 2007, Jim Kershner, Staff Writer. A map showing boundaries of the Olmsteds’ proposal versus those of today’s parks system, which ran with the article, is also linked below.

SR Kershner article (152 Kb, Acrobat® file)
Olmsteds’ parks map (168 Kb, Acrobat® file)

On a sunny Saturday in February, FOF’s Exective Director Steve Faust visited the Peaceful Valley Community Center and gave a presentation on the overall vision and projects of the Gorge Strategic Master Plan (SMP). The presentation seems to have sparked interest in implementing one of the projects from the SMP: the restoration of riparian habitat - in this case along the edge of the Peaceful Valley Neighborhood from Glover Field downstream along Water Street.

Matt Phillipy, a West Valley City School teacher who moved to the Peaceful Valley neighborhood in 2006, has volunteered to help move the project forward. Including a light duty walking trail along the south bank of river, the SMP estimates the project cost at about $500,000. Neighborhood residents have begun discussions with Spokane Parks & Recreation and the Lands Council about the project, and are considering devoting some neighborhood Community Development money as seed funding. Once the necessary planning and permitting is in place, volunteer labor could be coordinated as part of the annual Spokane River Clean Up.

There’s much more in the SMP document, but here’s some of the descriptive text from Chapter 4:

“The riverfront along the edge of the Peaceful Valley Neighborhood should be restored to native riparian habitat and even some riparian wetlands...public and private lands could be improved by removing non-native species over time and establishing more native species such as Black Cottonwood, River Birch, Scouler Willow, Pacific Willow, Swamp Gooseberry, Red Osier Dogwood, and Elderberry. These species would provide cover for wildlife as well as shade and nutrients for the river ecosystem. Bank retention should favor living, flexible materials rather than riprap or concrete.”

The plan identifies six general areas within the Gorge in particular need of non-native plant species removal, including the area of interest to the neighborhood.

We’ll keep posting updates as things develop!

SMP Map, Figure 4.7 (520 Kb Acrobat® file)

Spokane loves its spring and summer community events, and none are more memorable than the Bloomsday run. This year’s 31st annual event was one of the best, in part because this year’s finisher’s t-shirt was so much about the Falls. 

We could go on about how Bloomsday - reportedly the nation’s largest timed road race, attracting between 40-50 thousand participants each year - builds our town’s civic identity and community like no other event, how it’s come to mark the beginning of the outdoor season for Spokane, or how cool it is to watch some of those world-class atheletes blaze past, seemingly without effort.

But as Friends of the Falls, we’re particularly keen on the course itself, laid out to circumnavigate the Spokane River Gorge, with much of the 7.46-mile course offering views of the river - and with its finish line crossing the Monroe Street Bridge, just downstream of the Falls. (We even felt a little mist from the Falls at the finish line!)

Then there’s this year’s t-shirt. Here’s a design that renders the Falls and the people of Spokane as one and the same. There have been a few shirts or official event posters featuring the Falls over the years, but none come close to this shirt in capturing the essense of what our organization hopes for our town - a community that truly identifies itself with its river.

Enough. Time to rest up, look for race results in tomorrow’s Spokesman-Review, and bask in the glory of having finished another Bloomsday run in beautiful Spokane, Washington!

Course Map (3.3 Mb, Acrobat® file)
About Bloomsday (Wikipedia link)

Great news for whitewater park backers - the City of Spokane is slated to receive a $530,000 grant this summer to aid in construction of the whitewater project. The grant, approved through the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP), comes to the project contingent on a 50% local match; happily, State and private funds already raised by Friends of the Falls can be used to meet these requirements.

This story started in February, 2006 when FOF Executive Director Steve Faust attended a State Interagency Committee (IAC) grant workshop and identified opportunities to fund needed on-shore items including guest facilities, improved parking, and landscaping for the whitewater park project. The only catch: WWRP grants are only made to municipalities. Steve thought a little collaboration might leverage a lot of help from the State, so he pitched the idea to Spokane’s Parks & Recreation Department. With the go-ahead from the City, Steve and Parks officials Mike Stone and Taylor Bressler began working together on the grant.

In August of last year, Steve and Taylor traveled to Olympia to present the grant to the IAC review panel. Note: the joint application was strengthened by the project information Friends of the Falls had already developed, including many of the maps and graphics from the Strategic Master Plan. The review process is always competitive, but the whitewater park ranked fifth out of twelve grants in its category - a great showing, but still contingent on a full State allocation to the IAC’s budget.

Recognizing this, Friends of the Falls worked with Spokane’s local legislators including Lisa Brown, Chris Marr and Timm Ormsby as well as the Governor’s Eastern Washington Representative Sheila Collins to make sure the project was on everyone’s radar. In January, FOF sent Steve to Olympia with the Spokane Regional Chamber delegation to reinforce the message.

With the support of Governor Gregoire and each of our area legislators, we’re happy to report that the WWRP received funding in the Governor’s budget, the House budget, and the Senate budget at levels that will assure the full $530,000 grant for the whitewater park. Now it’s time to make sure the funding survives final budget negotiations for this year’s legislative session.

What can you do? Please call 1-800-562-600 to leave a message for your legislators, Senate and House leadership, and the Budget Committee chairs, and Thank them for funding the WWRP at a level that allows funding for the $530,000 grant for the Spokane Whitewater Park!