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Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust 

Description

The Mountains to Sound Greenway encompasses more than 1.5 million acres of connected natural lands and vibrant urban areas surrounding Interstate 90 between Puget Sound and central Washington.  By working collaboratively on sustainable growth, environmental education, and volunteer stewardship, the Greenway Trust conserves a shared heritage of historic towns, spectacular alpine wilderness, working farms and forests, and extensive outdoor recreation and wildlife habitat.   

Mission Statement
The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust leads and inspires action to conserve and enhance the spectacular landscape from Seattle across the Cascade Mountains to Central Washington, ensuring a long-term balance between people and nature.
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Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust
911 Western Ave Ste 203 
Seattle 
WA
98104-1047 
(206) 382-5565 

Cynthia Welti 
Executive Director 

Programs

Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust Programs

Sustainable Growth
The Greenway Trust works with local cities on growth management planning to ensure that local communities are able to absorb population growth and support a vibrant economy while retaining their connection to the landscape and local history.   The Trust also plans for and helps communities link a regional commuter trail system so that a walker or biker may travel on a safe, enjoyable, non-motorized route from Seattle across the Cascades and east across the state—and to many points in between.

Education Program
The Greenway Trust uses the 100-mile Greenway as a living laboratory to teach an inquiry-based science curriculum to local schools, including some of the nation’s most diverse districts.  After sessions both in the classroom and in the field, students work on a volunteer project to make a difference they can see on the ground, while also learning about the complex, real-world decisions that go into balancing thriving local communities with healthy forests and streams.

 

Stewardship Program
Volunteers, conservation corps members and technical experts build and maintain some of the region’s most popular trails, including Mt Si, the Middle Fork Snoqualmie and Twin Falls. Restoration crews remove invasives and plant thousands of trees each year to enhance wildlife habitat and the health of forests, streams and wetlands.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

The Greenway Trust has been instrumental in securing more than 200,000 acres of land for connected public ownership, keeping the forests and natural lands remaining where we live, work and play. By conserving and enhancing the landscape surrounding Interstate 90, we make sure we have places nearby for recreation and wildlife with a sustainable balance between people and nature.

While a majority of funding needs are met with site specific grants, the Greenway Trust is in need of general support funding to cover costs for volunteer recruitment, community education materials, publication production, outreach and research to determine how to preserve key land parcels, and technical support for city leaders throughout the Greenway as they seek to build sustainable communities to accommodate a growing population.

Evaluation


Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust plays a problem-solving, non-regulatory role in the land use arena, promoting dialogue and collaboration among potential adversaries and helping divergent interests develop common, win-win solutions. It provides a unique forum where diverse public and private interests can work toward practical and sustainable solutions to balance conservation with economic prosperity.

Best Practices
The Greenway Trust is often called upon by public agencies and private developers to convene stakeholders and advise on planning and design projects. They work with cities of all size on growth management, and are viewed as a neutral voice that can provide technical expertise and serve as a networking resource for many vested stakeholders.
It is currently working on obtaining a Congressional National Heritage Area designation for the Greenway from the federal government. This would enable the Trust and public land managers to design a more cooperative, efficient framework for managing wilderness areas that are experiencing increased public use and decreased public funding. They conducted an extensive Heritage Study as part of this process, reaching out to more than 700 stakeholders to discuss the future of the Greenway. These conversations directly influenced the new strategic plan for the organization, placing a special emphasis on raising awareness of the Greenway as a special place.

Accessibility
Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust provides educational programming to students in the 5th-10th grades. These programs are aligned to state EALRs and involve classroom visits as well as a field trip to a forest in the Greenway where students are able to explore first-hand how a habitat works. Some programs include a follow-up stewardship activity as well. These programs are highly subsidized to allow for greatest participation among diverse and underserved youth. There is no cost to schools with more than 20% of their students receiving free or reduced-cost school lunch. Additionally, they assist with transportation costs for those schools in need of it.

Leadership
The Greenway Trust has a large oversight and guidance “tent.” With a 40-member Advisory Council and 60-member Board, they benefit from the knowledge and expertise of a wide variety of individuals, organizations and sectors. Their Board is comprised of government officials, environmentalists, and representatives of the business community. A 16-member executive committee handles most governance issues.

Sustainability
Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust is celebrating its 20th year of serving the region in 2011. They were awarded a capacity building grant through Social Venture Partners, and have made many organizational improvements as a result.

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
3/10/2012 $10,000.00support general operating expenses.
3/10/2011 $10,000.00support general operating expenses.
6/10/2010 $15,000.00support general operating expenses.
3/10/2008 $20,000.00support general operating expenses.
6/17/2004 $20,000.00support general operating expenses.

Financials

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