We still seek public donations to keep our project design budget alive. We are anticipating that the next opportunity will require more financial effort on our part to design and implement the project such as survey work, environmental documentation and acquisition fund raising. The land could go up for sale at any time given the progress on Steptoe Street and the current development closing in on the east side of Amon Basin. The Trust for Public Land was our partner on the last Amon Basin Phase 3 effort; they picked up the tab on most of the project design costs. It will be tough to bring them back to the same table however they have expressed interest if we can establish the community's commitment to the project.
A recent community funding study designed around Amon Basin and its past fund raising documentation indicates that the potential to raise $1 million on our end does indeed exist. That is a very important element in the revival of the Phase 3 project. With the past price tag of $2 million for the Phase 3 target of 119 acres it is essential that community matching funds equal 50% of the possible grants that could be available. It will cost money to raise money and one of the strategies being discussed is teaming with a professional fund raising team to reach our goal.
So, with all of this in front of us we have launched the Amon Basin Legacy Squad (ABLS) to move us through the process. (See the separate note on the ABLS). Please consider joining the ABLS for a short term commitment to leave a legacy.
If you have ideas we would love to hear them, contact Scott at 627-3621 or e-mail him. We have to keep the Central Park at Amon Basin dream alive.
The City of Richland plans roads and bridges to support a 438 housing unit development in the heart of Amon Basin that will destroy the entire wildlife community and reduce the natural habitat to an isolated crumbling island, dying a slow death.
The sounds of destruction surround Amon Basin as Little Badger Mountain is demolished and the surrounding sage is ground up for mulch. In a matter of hours what was once a vibrant living wild land is gone forever.
2012 is the year that your legacy has to happen. Join the Amon Basin Legacy Squad.
Can you...
The largest tributary to the Lower Yakima River is Amon Creek. It is located in south Richland in the Meadow Springs area. Amon Creek drains the Badger Canyon area and runs through a golf course as well as several housing developments. The wetlands on the West Fork have been identified as the highest rated "value" wetlands in southeastern Washington. It is the only natural connection between the basalt ridges that border the Tri-Cites and the three rivers that join in the immediate area. It is a crucial wildlife corridor that allows for movement of large mammals as well as hundreds of birds throughout the increasingly developed area. Because of the endangered state of this urban wilderness the Tapteal Greenway is working to protect it. The connectivity to the Yakima River makes it a natural for our conservation work as well as the educational potential of the surrounding habitat. The wetlands are encircled by one of the last remaining shrub steppe parcels in the Tri-City area. Plans for this area include a muscle powered open space park with interpretive signs and educational opportunities. The vision is that of a Natural Central Park for the Mid-Columbia region, the only one of it's kind in Eastern Washington.
The land along Amon Creek is a patchwork of private, state and Federal property. Our current effort is the Amon Basin Community Project Phase 3. The goal is to secure the remaining 125 acres in Amon Basin as a conservation easement to complete the Regional Central Park theme. The current development plan for the remaining Amon Basin acres is a 438 housing unit known as Springwater. The city of Richland is planning two roads and two bridges to service this development. The roads and the bridges will cut through the heart of the Amon Creek Natural Preserve and destroy the remaining habitat buffer that adjoins the Preserve. The targeted habitat is home to the Black-tailed jackrabbit and the American Badger; both are listed as species of concern in Washington State. Amon Creek and the Amon Basin buffer are interlocked as one habitat supporting over 100 species of birds, river otters, beavers, raptors and unique reptiles. The proposed Springwater development will devastate the Amon Basin ecosystem forever.
This rare urban wilderness needs your help NOW. Development pressures on the Tri-Cities are intense. Preserving land in Amon Basin is a complex and costly effort. This will be our last chance to preserve this very unique ecosystem. Please consider giving this great gift to your community, a legacy you can be very proud of. The moment has arrived for us to take a stand, if we hesitate we will lose this ecosystem forever.
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The following Phase 2 goals have been completed:
The following Phase 2 goals are still in progress:
So, do we consider it? Can we pull this off again and save the rest of Amon Basin? The Tapteal Greenway Board of Directors has given their blessing to pursue this. Has the community given their blessing? The city prefers that rooftops replace the sage. They prefer that a bridge cross Amon Creek at Rachel road and connect with Steptoe and all the new neighborhoods in-between. The skinny Amon Creek Natural Preserve corridor will be surrounded by pavement and people. Will the community give their blessing to the development or will the community commit to an effort to save this last piece of wildlands we have left in the Tri Cites?
Please consider joining our effort to preserve and protect this last stand of wetland, riparian, shrub steppe in the Tri Cites area, the Central Natural Park of the Mid-Columbia. Contact us via this web site or call 627-3621 to join the effort.
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