Thanks to conservation fund, Washington members of Congress

Editor, The Times:

Good news keeps coming in for Bothell’s North Creek Forest. [“Bothell gets a forest for Christmas,” NWFriday, Dec. 16.]

With a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), we will be able to conserve another six acres of North Creek Forest. Forty-one acres conserved, 23 acres left to go!

This old-growth conifer forest forms a mile-long natural water filter above North Creek, a stream supporting six salmon species including chinook salmon. It will someday be a giant outdoor laboratory and recreation destination for the 9,000 students attending classes within walking distance.

Congress established the LWCF in 1965 as a bipartisan commitment to invest in our natural areas, wildlife habitat and working lands and to increase access to recreational opportunities for all Americans.

Our congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., deserves a big thank you for standing up for Washington’s special places through the LWCF. Our own Rep. Jay Inslee has been a strong leader to protect LWCF, as have Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. I hope they’ll continue to recognize the importance of close-to-home natural areas, wildlife habitat and clean water for Washington’s quality of life, jobs and economy.

— Jeanie Robinson, president of Friends of North Creek Forest, Bothell

A reindeer for Christmas

Recently, my husband and I took our dog out for a late-night walk.

Something moved under the apple tree in the yard across the street. It was a buck with a huge rack of antlers. Startled by our presence, he ran down the sidewalk and across the street into the woods behind our house.

After 10 years of work, nonprofits Friends of North Creek Forest and Help Our Woods have saved part of this forest from development by finding grants enabling Bothell to buy 35 acres from the Boy Scouts of America. Saving this portion of Bothell’s last great forest creates a nearly unbroken wildlife corridor from Juanita Bay in Kenmore to North Creek Forest in Bothell.

Friends of North Creek Forest is planning to negotiate with owners and seek grants to purchase the remaining portion of the forested property. In your story, “Bothell gets a forest for Christmas,” Jim Freese calls the land purchase “a big Christmas gift” for the citizens of Bothell. I remember telling my husband that the buck looked like Prancer.

And you know what? Maybe there is a Santa. I think we just saw one of his reindeer.

— Linda L. Dodge, Bothell