We picked up and dumped the trash from your event. You collected 1,380 pounds of litter. Thank you for your efforts. FLSRV Clean-UP on April 27, 2019 from Pineriver Park to: GLENEDEN COMMUNITY PARK/MOOSE PARK, 15205 N. Columbia St, Spokane 99208
Please consider contributing money to the construction of a trail along Little Spokane Drive that will connect the trail that now ends at Midway Road north to a segment on Colbert Road. Mark Case, a FLSRV board member, has spent hours of volunteer time producing maps that detail this proposed construction and then submitting them to Spokane County for a permit. Other board members, Kirk Neumann, Michael Kennedy and Dave Maccini along with FLSRV member, Greg Heline, have also given hours to assist Mark in this project.
by Matt Wright, PE, District Superintendent Whitworth Water District is excited to announce that they have selected Matt Wright as the new District Superintendent. Matt started in his new position with the District on September 4, 2018 and is training with the District’s current Superintendent, Doug Babin, who will be retiring in the next couple years. Doug has been employed with the District since 1978. Tom Davis, Operations and Maintenance Supervisor retired on December 31, 2018. Tom had been with the district since 1979. The new District Office located at 17401 N. Newport Road is nearing completion and we plan to move into the new facility in February of 2019. This project has been in the works for over 20 years and allows the district to consolidate district opera- tions into a single facility. The District Office has been in the current location on Waikiki Road since 1968. The district’s 10-year Water System Plan has recently been approved by the Department of Health and includes a 10-year Capital Improvement Plan that proposes significant infrastruc- ture improvements through 2027. Included are new distribution and transmission system piping, as well as new source and storage projects that will provide additional system redundancy and […]
by Tina Wynecoop Enlarged membership boundaries on each side of LSR from 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 mile. Met with Barry Greene, Spokane County traffic planner to discuss adding a trail from Colbert Road to Midway Road. Discussed trails/roads in planning stages for “Village At Midway” and learned that road construction at Northside Aquatic Park will continue now that funding to complete the park has been received. Sent letter to WDFW supporting addition of their parcel to the Waikiki Springs natural area north of Mill Road. Invited David Schaub, Director of Inland Northwest Land Conservancy, to speak to our board about efforts to protect open space in the LSRV. Received approval to have a cross walk painted at Pine River Park enabling safe passage when crossing the road from the pedestrian trail to the park. Prepared annual budget for 2018. Pursued grants. Opposed proposed changes to low-density (LDRS) standards for county. Hiked with naturalist/historian/author Jack Nisbet at the confluence of Latah/Hangman Creek and the Spokane River. (Wonderful as usual.) Picked up litter along WSDOT’s Children of the Sun Trail – from Wandermere Frontage Road to Highway 2 – four times. Reported finding a transient camp along Children of the Sun trail near […]
by Tina Wynecoop Interesting people live in the Little Spokane River watershed. Always have. Over the years I have written articles for our newsletters about the river’s indigenous residents, chiefs, early pioneers, water wheel builders, inventors, proprietors, dairy farmers, horse race course owners, fishermen, stewards of the land, pilots (who crashed), and so on.. It has been fun. Now, it is time to focus on the present, and if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading her poetry and essays, or heard her interviewed on the radio, you must to meet neighbor Maya Jewell Zeller! Allow me to introduce her: Two years ago she was invited to read her river-themed poetry at the annual dinner/fundraiser for Spokane Riverkeeper. The other invitees were: author/ naturalist Jack Nisbet, and Spokesman Review columnist Shawn Vestal. They made an eloquent threesome. I knew then that I would write about Maya for our newsletter. She’s our ‘neighbor’ and we are hers. Last November I heard her speak on Montana Public Radio’s program, The Write Question.* She and editor/ author Margot Kahn were interviewed about their new book, This Is The Place. It is a collection of thirty essays by women writing about home. After listening […]
Friday, February 22, 2019, Wandermere Golf Club Annual Meeting and Dinner/Auction Friday, February 22, 2019 Wandermere Golf Club • Todd Dunfield, Community Conservation Manager, for Inland Northwest Land Conservancy will be our speaker. • Detailed maps of the proposed new Trail from Midway to Colbert Road will be on display and a board member will be available to answer any questions you may have. • Fundraising KICK OFF for this new trail along Little Spokane Driver. • Please make your reservations by returning the form at the bottom of the membership form here. If you have items you would like to contribute to the auction please call Harla Jean 951-2084
by Ty Brown Before Wandermere Golf Course was even in existence, the lake on the property was known for its winter pastime of ice skating. As far back as the late 1800s when Francis H. Cook owned the property and continuing through the ownership of Benjamin Laberee, the ice at Wandermere was a destination for wintertime recreation. Eventually with the purchase of the facility by Robert C. Ross and A. L. Doran, the soon to be Wandermere Golf Course, continued the traditions of the past. Ice skating was the first revenue generator of the business as the construction of the clubhouse was ongoing for the newly planned multi-sport activity center north of Spokane. In the fall of 1930 ice skating was all the rage in the Spokane area, as well as nationwide. It was a different era, before other distractions, such as the television and the easy access to the automobile and other forms of recreation. People ventured outside yearround and what a better way to spend an afternoon or an evening than to ice skate in the great outdoors. Recreational skating was not hard to come by during this era. Most all major lakes and ponds in the Spokane […]
As landowners along the Little Spokane River Valley, we have a unique opportunity to help maintain and improve the health of the river and our riparian areas. A riparian area is the area adjacent to a stream, lake, or wetland. Most healthy, natural riparian areas have moist, fertile soils that support many types of moisture loving plants. These plants provide food and shelter to numerous fish and wildlife. Healthy riparian areas include a variety of types and ages of plants, including trees, shrubs, grasses, and ground covers. Plants adapted to local rainfall, climate, insects, and soil conditions tend to be easier to care for and have a better chance to survive than non-native plants. Plants that are removed or damaged in riparian areas can cause harm to the river from an increase in runoff and sediment. A healthy riparian area has the following benefits: • Provide wood to streams, creating fish habitat and slowing the stream current during and after storms. • Shade the stream in the summer. Cool water is healthier for many native fish species. • Help prevent erosion by holding soil in place with their roots. • Filter out sediment laden runoff, keeping it from smothering fish […]
by Kirk Neumann The Spokane County Conservation District is looking for volunteers living along the Little Spokane River to perform water quality testing. If you are interested please contact Dan Ross. Office: (509) 535-7274 Ext. 229 Email: dan-ross@sccd.org
by Landon Eaton Crecelius Changes may be coming to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Waikiki Springs property below the Fairwood neighborhood, often referred to as the “switchbacks.” This 115-plus acre property has long been popular with the north Spokane community for walking, jogging, bicycling, wildlife viewing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and other activity along the old switchback road down to the Little Spokane River. In the last few years WDFW staff have met with neighbors, county officials, and Washington State Parks managers about future management of the property. State Parks has been reviewing properties near Riverside State Park with an eye to increasing land stewardship and public recreational opportunities, including connecting the “switchbacks” property to the park. This July the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission adopted a long- term boundary for Riverside State Park that includes the Waikiki Springs property. The intent of parks including this property is in recognition of the impacts and opportunities the management of these types of neighboring properties have on current State Parks properties. In some cases, Parks may seek to own or manage these lands in conjunction with their recreational objectives in mind. In other cases, management and or ownership may […]