Hello fellow tweeters,

You all know by now that Washington Park Arboretum is of significant
interest to me, and I have followed the planning process carefully. I see
Washington Park Arboretum as critical urban habitat for birds, bats,
raccoons, possum, and I see it as critical urban respite for the citizens
of Seattle. One can't deny that green spaces become ever more important to
wildlife and citizens in a city such as ours, a city of growth phenomenal
and boundless. Might I quote Friends of Olmsted to you?

"A reflection on the past reinforces the need to be vigilant about the uses
of our parks and open spaces. Over time the tendency to fill the open
spaces of our parks with buildings and other single-purpose uses constantly
threatens to diminish the valuable and irreplaceable open spaces that make
our cities livable."

Might I quote from the 1972 Master Plan for Discovery Park?

"In the years to come there will be almost irresistible pressure to carve
out areas of the park in order to provide sites for various civic
structures or space for special activities. There will in the future be
structures and activities without number for which, it will be contended,
this park can provide an "ideal site" at no cost. The pressures for those
sites may constitute the greatest single threat to the park. They must be
resisted with resolution. It they are not, the park will be so fragmented
that it can no longer serve its central purpose...There must be a deep
commitment to the belief that there is no more valuable use of this site
than as an open space."

Because I was concerned that the proposed Master Plan for Washington Park
Arboretum might irrevocably destroy critical wildlife habitat, because I
was concerned that the proposed Master Plan might withdraw from public use
a much-loved park, I looked for citizens who shared my concern and found
the Arboretum Park Preservation Coalition. This Coalition has devoted
itself to making the citizens of Seattle aware of the proposed Master Plan
for WPA and its implications. Our efforts have thus far wrought the
following:

1) The Arboretum Foundation, vis a vis the Master Plan, proposed to fence
the Arboretum and institute an admission fee ($5). We spoke publicly (many
times) of our objection to fences and fees in a public park, and the
Foundation has stated on the record that fences and fees will be struck
from the Master Plan. (Note that I am not opposed to parking fees.)
2) The Seattle Board of Park Commissioners has decided an expanded scoping
process is necessary.

I believe all Seattle birders concerned with habitat shrinkage within
Seattle have a duty to attend this public meeting and participate in the
half-day workshops that will follow this meeting. I am not suggesting you
agree with me on all points, but I am suggesting that this is an excellent
opportunity to become acquainted with and involved in an issue of great
import to Seattle: how we manage our parks.

Bear with me.

The public meeting is Wednesday, October 21, 7-9 pm, in the McGilvra
Elementary School Gym. McGilvra is in Madison Park, "north on 38th, off E.
Madison St.; gym is behind school." Here is some pertinent text from the
invitation:

"The Seattle Board of Park Commissioners would like to invite you to a
general public meeting to discuss the proposed Arboretum Plan: A Greenprint
for the Future. The Plan presents proposed changes that will take the
Washington Park Arboretum into the 21st century...Since the Plan was issued
in October 1997, the Committee has been considering modifications to the
Plan in response to community concerns about fences, fees, buildings,
parking and other issues. The meeting on October 21 is the kickoff of an
intensive public process this fall with the goal of soliciting the broadest
public comment on the Plan and the future of the Arboretum. The public
meeting will be followed by several half-day workshops with representatives
of community groups and interested organizations...A limited number of
copies of the Plan are available at the Arboretum's Graham Visitor Center
for a fee of $15. The Plan is also available on the web at
www.ci.seattle.wa.us/parks/arboretum/cover.htm. For more information...call
233-7929."

I have copies of a New York Times Magazine article (9/27/98) that will give
you a very good idea of what a 21st-century Arboretum looks like. If you
would like a copy of the article and the Parks Department flyer, send me
your address, and I'll put both items in the mail. If you'd like to chat
about the issue, send me an email.

Thanks.
Wallis
Gadfly on the body politic