Hey tweets, I second Mark Ahlness's request for all of us to sign the petition to Seattle Parks asking them to keep natural areas and green belts preserved for wildlife, not for "active recreation." Seattle Parks is in the process of revising its "Supplemental Use Guidelines," which spells out how parks can be used. Active recreation means things like zip lines, mountain bike trails, obstacle courses, and sports I probably have never heard of, dating back to the Cretaceous as I do.

I don't know about you, but I've been to wildlife areas that allow such activities, and I find them incompatible with wildlife needs, for the most part. Some of these activities actually degrade the environment (mountain bike trails, for example), especially in steep areas. All degrade the peace and serenity of the wild, affecting both birds and people who seek refuge from urban life.

Seattle, by all accounts, is going to grow substantially in the next several years. Some say we'll get anywhere from 100,00 to 200,000 more people within the city limits. That will inevitably mean much denser levels of occupation than we currently have, putting enormous pressure on unused spaces, especially unused spaces that are city-owned and passively enjoyed. Wildlife almost always suffers when people's needs override theirs, but this is surely an instance of people's needs too: the need to experience forest and forest life near to us, without the necessity of driving long distances to get to state or national parks. Seattle has such spaces now. I think we should keep them. if you agree, now is the time to speak up. The advocates for active recreation surely will. - Connie, Seattle (constancesidles at gmail.com <mailto:constancesidles at gmail.com>)

Here is the link to the petition:

https://www.change.org/p/preserve-seattle-parks-natural-areas-and-greenspaces <https://www.change.org/p/preserve-seattle-parks-natural-areas-and-greenspaces>

or http://chn.ge/1JS0JL0 <http://chn.ge/1JS0JL0>