HyleBlog - Friends of the Hylebos

Early Morning in the Hylebos

I started the day with the Sunrise Rotary, bright and early at 7 a.m. I had an opportunity to speak with the group about 3 years ago and they were polite enough to invite me back to talk about our work conserving the Hylebos, as well as updates on the boardwalk and upcoming environmental projects.

The Sunrise group is doing great work in the community and in recognition of my getting there at 7 in the morning, they donated 300 pounds of food to First Harvest in the name of the Friends of the Hylebos.

Gunner of the Month: Abou Diaby

I'm bringing back one of the HyleBlog's most popular features (hey, read that any way you want): The Gunner of the Month. This exciting feature brings my Arsenal FC wall calendar, that is hanging on my actual office wall, to life for you, the HyleBlog reader.

Before we run out of March, here is Abou Diaby, Arsenal FC midfielder and March poster boy. The lanky  Frenchman has often been compared to his countrymen and fellow tall midfielder, former Arsenal great Patrick Vieira. However, while Diaby has shown flashes of promise he has yet to live up to the stature of Vieira. Could this be the season he proves his potential? With 8 games left, all I can say is that he'd better get working on that.

Winning us a few crucial games in the home stretch would be a great place to start!

Rollin' VIP in Da Hylebos...

Fun day for those with short attention spans! It's a bit like trying to juggle 10 plates at the same time without breaking any.In fact, this commercial captures my day completely (without the topless neighbor!).

Oh, shoot....now I can't help but also post the K-Fed Rollin' VIP clip. Whatever happened to this guy?!

Anyways, started out with a meeting of the Green Ribbon Commission, a group I've been working to start with Tom Pierson (FW Chamber) and Brett Thomas (Mountain Construction). The idea is to promote sustainability in Federal Way. It's a great collaboration of business and conservationists...which I think is basic, because sustainability is all about intertwining good environmental actions with strong, sustainable local economies.

After that, it was a blur of juggling different projects, phone calls and conversations...and taking the dog to the vet during lunch. Alright, I know it's not like I'm a firefighter battling fires, but hey, the Hylebos is a complicated job!

In the Here's Something I Did Not Know Dept., there are Orcas in the Gulf of Mexico!

Thinking Locally: Remembering John Metcalf

Today's Mirror features a Thinking Locallly tribute to founding board member John Metcalf, who recently passed away.

John Metcalf, Founding Board Member Passes Away

I just finished writing a Thinking Locally column for the Federal Way Mirror about founding board member John Metcalf, who passed away two weeks ago at the golden age of 87 years. The column should run Wednesday.

I've known John practically all of my life, as he was a family friend since the mid-1960s. He also became a friend and mentor to me over the years, as well as my high school French and History teacher. John and I served together on the board of the Friends in the late 1990s, before he moved to Seattle.

There is so much I could say about him, much more than was to fit in my column. He lived a long, good life and fit so much living in those 87 years that, though I am saddened by his passing, I am cheered by his having lived a good life.

John always had a great sense of humor and so I laughed when I saw in his obit that he had wanted his last words to be "never mind, I'm biodegradeable." Very green. Very funny. And very John.

Monday Sifting the Coffee Grounds for News

For some reason, this Monday feels pretty excellent to me. Maybe its the new pants I'm wearing. Anyhow, tonight we have our monthly board meeting, so I'm getting ready for that.

In the meantime, some of the articles that caught my attention this weekend:

Irvine Mayor Pro Tem Larry Agran, writing in the LA TImes suggests that federal stimulus money is missing a huge opportunity by not including an element focusing on metropolitan parks. Tru dat, Larry. Tru dat. Also of interest, is his description of the Orange County Great Park. Cool Stuff:

In Orange County, we are beginning development of the Orange County Great Park. This project is the centerpiece of the redevelopment of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Spanning more than 1,300 acres, the park will be nearly twice the size of Central Park and includes cutting-edge environmental design features that will set a new standard for sustainable park design, renewable energy, water conservation and habitat restoration.

In true stolid Midwest fashion, Minnesota is not waiting for someone else to bail them out, they've recently approved a percentage of state sales tax to environmental and arts needs. The $69 million in Minne-monies is going toward purchase of 6,000 acres, and restoration of more than 22,000 acres. Ya sure, ya betcha!

In the What Are Invasive Species Doing Department, monk parakeets are causing problems for utility companies in Connecticut. Note the aptronym of the woman quoted at the end of the article.

But, when it comes to the birds we do like (i.e. the native birds), they're in serious trouble. Here's news of the latest report to warn us that we're killing our birds off.

Dire as that is, the good news is that here in the Hylebos, we are doing something significant that should help birds. Protecting and restoring more than 745 acres of habitat and open space provides an important habitat area of native resident and migratory birds. When you see reports like the one above, remember that you're helping provide a local solution to part of this environmental challenge!

(....and yes, Skip, there are birds in the Hylebos!)

Growth and Smart Growth

Here at Hylebos HQ, we are starting to look increasingly at the issue of smart growth to find ways we can work with growing development (we are in the Urban Growth Area, so growth will happen whether we like it or not). This article reminds us that, despite the economy, population growth is still well, growing in our region. King County grew

King County had 1.875 million residents as of July 1, 2008. That's up 1.3 percent from a year earlier and 8 percent from 2000. The county remained the nation's 14th largest.

All the more reason to find ways to funnel growth into forms that are best for community quality of life and the Hylebos.

Baptized at Hidden Lake

Well, Hyle-Baptized, I guess. On a site visit to Hidden Lake, where we are developing what could be a really cool restoration project, we got drenched. Not once, but twice.

And this comes after Hillary had noted that it looked like we weren't going to be rained on! You've doomed us, I said. This ones on her. I think she's got to buy everyone in the office chocolates, or some such treat.

Nonetheless, I actually kind of enjoyed the rain. There's something special about the water. I guess I've always been one of those people who doesn't mind being rained on...while tromping in the muck of a wetland. Talk about ending up in the right job!

I'm Back (again) Part Deux-Electric Boogaleux

Two extra free visits to the West Hylebos Wetlands for readers who got the double movie title entendre from the header. But, yes, after a thrilling 4.2 mile MPH drive through Snoqualmie Pass last night (the speed due to heavy traffic not the road conditions) I am, indeed back.

I have four observations from my visit to the Lilac City:

1. stormwater management: It rained a lot while I was there. Everywhere I drove there were thick streams of water flowing through deeply rutted roads. It really appears that Spokane has some work to do to improve its stormwater infrastructure.
2. The college kids like to drink on St. Patricks Day (or at least the last Friday Before St. Paddy's Day). I know college kids like to drink just about anywhere, but dang me, dang me, take a rope and hang me, there were a lot of tipsy young people roaming Riverfront Park and mall Saturday Night. Shane MacGowan would be Proud.
3. It's better to leave Spokane with a victory (3-1). That would be a hard drive to make if the kids lost. Seriously, that's a long way to drive in a day, even for a win.
4. and finally, Spokane may have the coolest mayor in the state...

Speaking of mayors, down at Seattle, Mayor Nickels has stirred up controversy over Durham Creek restoration plans.

Transmitting From Spokane...

Breakfast in Federal Way...Dinner in Spokane. Youth soccer has brought me east of the mountains for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. Feel the excitement!

On the upside, I'm staying right on the riverfront. On the downside, we have what may be the smallest hotel room permissible under Geneva Conventions. Also on the downside...I'm in Spokane!

That being said, Andy over at the Mirror spruced my latest column up very nicely (despite all the shots I took at him in my last column - what a guy!). The theme is habitat connectivity and the importance of efforts like the Hylebos Creek Conservation Initiative.

Over at the Times, there's an article on the effort to have the Salish Sea name officially recognized, a move I will go on the record as endorsing. There's a whole ecosystem there we have to think about, and naming it is critical to recognizing its existence.