As the design and permitting phase of Spokane’s proposed whitewater park continues to progress, one step involves hosting “open-house” style meetings to give folks an opportunity to see the work first-hand - and to give FOF and its design consultants feedback.

Just such an event is coming up soon: Spokane Parks, acting as lead in this case, is hosting a public meeting on the whitewater park on Thursday, August 14 at the West Central Community Center from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Per State requirements, the Department recently sent notice by mail to those who live near the project area, and has posted notice in “People’s Park” near the Sandifur Bridge.

Again, the purpose of the meeting is to receive comments and input from the community on the preliminary design of the feature, and will serve as the initial public meeting for the project’s conditional use permit application under State shoreline regulations.

Please help us out by attending this important meeting, and by letting anyone who wishes to express their support for and/or concerns about the project know about it, too!

The guys at the Spokesman-Review’s Down to Earth blog have done it again, this time producing a nice slideshow about the proposed whitewater park.

Right up front (it’s the title of the post) moderators Bart Mihailovich and Paul Dillon admit it’s no Michael Moore production, but the images and narration they’ve put together covers some of the key attributes of the proposal - and if you haven’t visited the confluence area yourself, offers some great shots of conditions where the park is to be located.

Check it out at Down to Earth, and thanks, guys!

DTE Whitewater Park slideshow (Weblink)

Like most, we’ve been tidying things up a bit as the year draws to a close - hopefully, you’ve seen our Year-in-Review report already - but one item that came to our attention was a broken link to the full list of folks that have generously provided support to the whitewater park project. While that’s a MAJOR issue we’ve since fixed, we figured it gives us a chance to re-thank and give recognition to those groups, corporations and folks as 2007 draws to a close.

So, here’s the list, tiered according to support level, from $7,500 on down - each and every contributor - plus another link to the same list of valued, generous supporters in a downloadable, Acrobat® format. Thanks to all once more, and let’s make this important project happen soon!

Whitewater park supporter list

Over the past few years, Spokane’s Spokesman-Review has been promoting, underwriting and generally supporting a huge number of alternative press endeavors - including a blog we’d frankly never heard of called ”Down to Earth.”

Fortunately, that all changed when an e-mail arrived today with a link to a great story about Friends of the Falls’ work forwarding the proposed whitewater park, including comments from FOF boardmember Travis Nichols.

“The whitewater park will be a vehicle to transport people to The Great Spokane River Gorge,” Nichols told DTE. “We will provide a connection between the people and the river - the river is the reason the city is here. Once people feel connected to the river they will appreciate it and want to care for it and protect it.”

The article notes one of the design criteria that’s been clear from the beginning of the design process, namely that fisheries are protected in the area where the park is proposed. In response to recent press quoting Sam Mace of Trout Unlimited, Nichols underscored FOF’s committment to the issue, and pointed out the project could actually improve conditions for fish and humans alike by removing existing rail debris and the unused concrete abutments left over from the former High Bridge, demolished in the early 1970’s. For his part, Mace indicates TU’s desire to stay involved in the design process, “to create a park that we can all support.”

It’s been years since the Gorge Plan first began to take shape - when then-Cultural Director for the Spokane Tribe Louie Wynn stood up in front of scores of influential Spokane participants and stated flatly that all planning should support the long-range vision local tribes hold: that our day-to-day actions must uphold and foster the eventual return of salmon to the Spokane river. The scope and implications of Louie’s words that day were almost shocking to those in attendance, but they became a touchstone for the conceptual plan and the Strategic Master Plan that FOF is working to enact today.

We may not see Spokane river salmon in our lifetimes, but FOF won’t forget the importance of planning for their return - and for letting the river enchant more to its cause.

Check out Down to Earth’s article at the link below!

DTE Whitewater Park Article (Weblink)