| Bill Longwell Nomination Letter |
| William K. Longwell Jr. passed away on November 28th, 2007 at the age of 71. He was a teacher of English and History for 30 years,
first at McKnight Middle School and then at Hazen High School, both in Renton. For all of his adult life Bill was an avid hiker,
naturalist and trail builder, - perhaps his greatest legacy will be the trails and natural lands surrounding Issaquah. Nearly every
afternoon after school, and for most of his summers, Bill was out on Squak Mountain or Tiger Mountain surveying, building or maintaining
trails. Often he took students with him, introducing them to hiking and to public service, and instilling in them a love of history and
of nature. Together they built most of the trails that exist today on Squak and Tiger Mountains. Many of them still remember Bill
carrying large loads of lumber uphill to build bridges, and they speak with pride of working with him in all kinds of weather, and of
finishing projects that looked impossible when they started. Bill was a co-founder of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club along with Harvey Manning, and served on the club’s Board of Directors for over 25 years. Harvey designated Longwell as the club’s "Chief Ranger," and Bill responded by recruiting and training a group of volunteers so dedicated that they still do weekly trail-work, in spite of now averaging 75 years of age. During the 1970’s Bill laid out and supervised construction of the 16 mile end to end Tiger Mountain Trail. He also created a signage system for the whole mountain and routed the trail signs by hand at home in his garage. It was largely through Bill’s negotiating that Weyerhaeuser agreed to trails and public use through their lands on Tiger Mountain. Bill was also a key member of the citizen’s advisory committee to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and instrumental in DNR’s eventual designation of west Tiger as a public recreation area. It is safe to say that Bill played a major role in the acquisition of public lands, and in public trail access to both Squak and Tiger Mountains. It is a certainty that the trail systems on both mountains are the result of his 40+ years of volunteer effort and leadership. Bill authored the IATC publication, "Guide to the Trails of Tiger Mountain," which is now in its tenth edition. Because of that guide book and numerous hikes led by Bill and the Trails Club, Tiger Mt. became the state’s most popular trailhead, and the "Issaquah Alps" gained national recognition. That, in turn, led directly to the "Mountains To Sound Greenway" concept, with Bill’s Tiger Mountain serving as the model and cornerstone. It is difficult to quantify, but the significance of those green mountains for our quality of life, and for the protection of our watersheds, and for the survival of our fish and wildlife is immense. William K. Longwell Jr. helped create the wildlands and ‘next door’ hiking trails that sustain our Issaquah community. In short, Issaquah as the "Trailhead City" will be forever indebted to Bill Longwell, the man who for over 40 years quietly built trails, and introduced us to nature and history, and taught and lived daily "environmental education" before it even had a name. City of Issaquah Resource Conservation Office P.O. Box 1307 1775 12th Ave. NW Issaquah, WA 98027 March 7, 2008 Please accept the attached nomination of Bill Longwell (William K. Longwell Jr.) for the 2008 Ruth Kees Environmental Award for a Sustainable Community. Bill passed away just four months ago in November of 2007, but he gave a lifetime of volunteer public service that gives to all of us the trails and environmental legacy of Cougar, Squak, and Tiger Mountains, the "Issaquah Alps." Thank You for your kind attention, Steven R. Williams, President, Issaquah Alps Trails Club |
| IATC Webmaster | Updated: 04/21/8 |
