Issaquah Named LNT Spotlight Site

Kira Telgen is the Program & Volunteer Coordinator for the Issaquah Alps Trails Club.

This year, Issaquah was selected as one of Leave No Trace’s twelve Spotlight locations. This initiative encourages responsible recreation through education programs and restoration projects. Over 50 sites applied to receive tailored education and interactive workshops, highlighting the growing needs of local land managers and community organizations.

Graphic courtesy of Leave No Trace.

Through the program, Leave No Trace, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting our natural areas, provides mentorship and resources to local land managers, facilitating long-term stewardship within communities that are experiencing booms in visitation. The ultimate aim of the initiative is to provide these recreation hotspots with the tools to protect their public lands long after their time as a Spotlight location has ended. “By bringing people together for hands-on education and conservation action, we ensure that the host communities are well equipped to protect their outdoor spaces for years to come,” states Dana Watts, the executive director of Leave No Trace.

This work is especially crucial within Issaquah’s “Creeks to Peaks” park system, as pointed out by Jeff Watling, Issaquah’s Parks and Community Services Director. “[Issaquah] is both a traditional city park system and is also a gateway to the natural public lands that surround us. The system includes salmon-bearing streams on the valley floor and a number of forested foothills of the Cascade Mountains." Community stewardship is important in any ecosystem, but in the city of Issaquah, resident and visitor impacts on the environment are amplified given the interconnectedness of the watershed.

Issaquah’s programming will take place April 9-11 and features a trivia night, a tabling event at High Point Trailhead, and a restoration event at Confluence Park to remove invasives on the 11th. Join local land managers and community organizers as we turn awareness into action this Earth Month!

April 9th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM
Trivia Night at Formula One Brewing with Leave No Trace

April 10th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Leave No Trace Tabling at High Point Trailhead

April 11th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Restoration Event with Leave No Trace

Photo courtesy of Leave No Trace.