Hylebos Day Then Veering Off-Topic

West Hylebos Wetlands
I was down at the West Hylebos for a brief time yesterday in the guise of planning for Hylebos Day. It was during one of our sun breaks. It was quite beautiful; it actualy felt like spring, even. It was sunny, with a slight breeze that brought a dilute flurry of white flowers from the trees hanging over the entrance trail. Song sparrows were plying their trade (which I assume is singing, but they may have other business I'm not aware of; let's just agree they were singing). If I could just get the darn crows to shut up it would've been near perfect!

Hylebos Day This Saturday
Don't forget Hylebos Day, this Saturday, May 3rd at the West Hylebos Wetlands. The ribbon cutting ceremony is from 2 to 2:30. After that we'll have a boardwalk open house for the public until 5 p.m. There is, of course, limited onsite parking, so the fine folks over at city hall are providing a shuttle service from the S. 348th ST. Park and Ride. Questions? Call us at 253.874.2005.

Margo Hoffman at the Mirror has a nice article about the history of the West Hylebos and the Friends.

Veering Off Course
Regular readers of the HyleBlog - all 6 of you (readership jumped since I made it mandatory staff reading!) - will know that I'm not afraid to (or talented enough to keep from) veer off-topic from time to time. So, in that vein I present an article about the haircut I've wanted ever since The Clash's 1985 Combat Rock album: The Mohawk.

But, its not only hairstyles, where what's old is new. In a throwback to 80s political fortitude, The House of Representatives passed the Wild Sky Wilderness Bill getting us one step closer to the (guess?) Wild Sky Wilderness in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (The first national forest - you may remember her as Mt. Baker - to keep her maiden name when getting married), the first new Wilderness Area since I was in high school...and should've had a mohawk.

The Washington Wilderness Coalition mentioned in the article was the first group I worked for as an Executive Director. I think the fact that they were able to achieve this, nearly 14 years after I left, shows you just how well I set them up for exactly this kind of success! People laughed at me when I proposed a 15-year strategic plan. It'll pay off one day! I said. And so it has. So it has.

Seriously, though, well done to the WWC and all the other groups that are working on this. Although the urban watersheds are of primary importance these days, it's important that we not forget the natural areas we haven't completely messed up. They need love too...