Contact us

Dr. Jane Moore
Executive Director

By Phone:
(253)  307-9873

By E-mail
janemoore.jm@gmail.com

Office hours

Monday-Friday
8 a.m. to 4:30  p.m.

Board  Meetings
Our noon meetings are
held on the second
Thursday of each month, except in August.
 

Join us in Olympia for Transportation Advocacy  Day  on Tuesday January 31. _____________________________________ Trails Association & Hiker Lobby Day Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Photos by Gregg Erickson Ask legislators for Complete Streets Funding Bicycle and trail advocates will have a chance to meet their local state legislators in Olympia.  Forevergreen Council is cooperating with Transportation Choices Coalition for Advocacy Day, on January 31 ,2012 Complete Streets legislation before this session of the legislature will improve non-motorized transportation in our urban areas.  Learn more about how this will effect Pierce County. At Advocacy Day events you can learn more about this legislation and other transportation issues, then meet with legislators, and attend hearings. Join with other advocates to increase funding for  transportation choices, safer streets for bicyclists and pedestrians, creating transit-oriented communities, and healthier transportation solutions. Register on line at: http://transportationchoices.org/events/transportation-advocacy-day When: January 31, 2012 Where: United Churches 110 11th Ave SE, Olympia _____________________________________________ Washington Trails Lobby Day Make your voice heard in Olympia.  Learn the skills to hlp you be an even better advocate for trails.  Our elected officials need to hear from you. Learn about recreation funding on Washington's Public lands.  Meet with your legislators. Register on line at: www.wta.org/trail-news/action/ hiker-lobby-day-2012/view When: February 1, 2012  8:30 - 4:00 Where: Olympia, Washington

City and County agencies to plan together   In September ForeverGreen board members presented a feasibility study of Fife’s trail and bike lane options to the planners from several cities and the county.  The study listed options to connect the end of the River Walk Trail in Puyallup to Fife and ultimately to Tacoma’s Freighthouse Square Limitations along the Puyallup River combined with industrial development in Fife create several obstacles.  Add to this new surface water facilities and several railroad crossings.  It leaves trail planners with a puzzle. The study includes information from the Fife Park Department and examines the current and future street improvements in the City of Fife.  To connect Fife to Puyallup, a bicycle bridge might be the best option as the existing historical bridge has no pedestrian approaches and other structural limitations. Did anyone say this was going to be easy?   The cities along Interstate 5 and the Puyallup River are the hub in connecting east-west and north-south trail systems in the county.  The difficult part has been saved for last.      As the mountain trails slowly fill in with snow, the Foothills Trail along the Carbon River remains a quiet retreat any time of the year. ___________________________________________ “Phelps joins ForeverGreen Board. Shawn Phelps, Senior Transportation Planner with the County’s Public Works and Utilities Department joined the board in October. Phelps is the county’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. He recently worked to update the Pierce County Bike Map which shows current bicycle lanes, trails, and other features. Shawn also was instrumental in forming a committee of officials from cities and other agencies to work together to improve non-motorized transportation and coordinate better communications between jurisdictions.

Photo by Kirk Kirkland

In this issue:

Lobby Day set for January

Trail awards prensented at Conference

Task Forces examines new countywide funding  for  parks and trails

New Executive Director at ForeverGreen

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Task Force examines new countywide new funding for parks and trails.

The Pierce County Council appointed a task force to review new funding for Pierce County parks, open space and trails.  Funds were appropriated for public workshops to involve the public in prioritizing parks, trails and open space plans in the county.

The Leadership Task Force began meeting in December 2011. Representatives from park districts, ForeverGreen board, bicycle organizations, businesses and other interest groups are included on the task force.

The task force meets monthly at the Lakewood Community Center at the park department office in Lakewood.  The public is invited  to  attend.

Several sources of new funding will be considered including the possibility of sharing the regional funding with cities, towns and existing MetroPark Districts in the county.

Trail awards presented at Conference 

n 2008, the ForeverGreen Council established an annual recognition of a project, place, person, or organization that most embodies the vision of the ForeverGreen Council: to connect Pierce County communities with a network of trails.  The awards are presented each year at the Pierce County Trails Conference. Two to three awards are presented in the following general areas: a place or project; lifetime achievement for an individual; individual with a particularly outstanding year; organization in government; or non-government organization.

There are several basic criteria for the awards. The activity must make a significant contribution toward building missing trail links or filling gaps in the trail network. The place must be in Pierce County and the person’s actions must most directly impact trail development in Pierce County. A high degree of inter-jurisdictional activity is highly desired. The recognition will cover current activity (within the last year) but may be part of a longer term project or effort. The recognition should acknowledge tangible achievements: completed projects, new funding available, completion of a plan, beginning of construction, etc. The activity must have some degree of risk or leadership involved in its completion. Repeat recognition is not specifically forbidden, but should be carefully considered.

The 2011 Trail Leadership Awards were presented at the trails conference on November 9. Bob and Diane Kastama received recognition for their ongoing work on the Riverwalk Trail in Puyallup.

Bob and Diane have been instrumental in establishing the Friends of the Riverwalk group. They helped plan and host the first Families in Motion on the Riverwalk event in April 2010.

This has become an annual event, and the Kastamas are now working on the third annual Families in Motion on the Riverwalk to be held April 28, 2012. Bob and Diane walk the trail daily, picking up trash, feeding feral cats, and welcoming others to the trail.

With the Friends of the Riverwalk group, they are working to beautify the trail, add maps and signage, and complete the missing links in the middle of the trail and between the Riverwalk and the Foothills Trails.

The second 2011 Trail Leadership Award was presented to the City of Tacoma for development, adoption, and implementation of the Mobility Master Plan which creates a connected network of safe bicycle and pedestrian routes throughout the city.

The first bicycle boulevards in the county will be created under this plan in the near future. The award was presented to Diane Wiatr, Mobility Coordinator, Planning Department for the City of Tacoma. Liz Kaster, Commute Trip Reduction Coordinator for the City of Tacoma was also recognized during the presentation.

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New Executive Director at ForeverGreen

Dr. Jane Moore became the executive director in July after Jayme Gordon resigned to have a child. Dr. Moore previously served as president of ForeverGreen for two years and was the Executive Director of Healthy Communities of Pierce County.

We are very fortunate that Moore was available as few people have the experience with conference planning and other activities to step into the position at a critical period.

Crashing through fallen leaves on Foothills Trail near Orting

Copyright 2012, by ForeverGreen Council