Places Protected

For 40 years the Washington Environmental Council has been the leading voice for environmental protection in Washington. Check out a sampling of places protected to get a sense of our great legacy.  The state would be a very different place to live if WEC hadn’t been doing our work. WEC worked closely with many groups and individuals to accomplish these protections.

1. Columbia River. Stopped the construction of a five-mile long runway development to be built out into the river for the Portland Airport. (1971-1973)
2. South Nemah River. Saved 1500 acres of old growth forest by gaining its transfer to the state’s Natural Resource Conservation Area program. (1988 - ongoing)
3. Skating Lake. Protected migratory bird habitat from development, eventually leading to the lake’s assignment as a state park. (1981-1983)
4. Clearwater River. Protected old growth trees and two miles of shoreline with outstanding salmon and elk habitat from clear-cut logging. (1981)
5. Olympic National Park. In one of many battles to protect the park, marshaled public support and prevented an incursion of logging along the western fringes of the park by the Department of Natural Resources. (1984)
6. Strait of Juan de Fuca. Prevented an oil port in Port Angeles and two pipelines from crossing the bottom of Puget Sound from Port Angeles to Cherry Point. (1975-1983, 1991-1992)
7. Dungeness Spit. Protected the integrity of the Dungeness Spit Wildlife Refuge by opposing the construction of a 120-foot dock for tour boats near the Lighthouse. (1995-1997)
8. Jefferson County. Gained the proper designation of the county’s extensive forest land base and enhanced protections for shorelines, wetlands and other wildlife habitat areas. (1994-1997, 2001-2002)
9. Devil’s Lake. Saved this pristine forested wetland system from logging by having it designated as a Natural Resource Conservation Area. (1992-2002)
10. Olympia Cascade Pole Site. Served as the catalyst for one of the largest excavations of polluted marine sediments in state history. (1988 - present)
11. Nisqually Delta. Derailed plans for a gravel and lumber export facility near the National Wildlife refuge. (1990-1994)
12. Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. Protected the recreational opportunities and open space of eastern King County by stopping a proposed flood control dam on the river. (1972)
13. Tiger Mountain State Forest. Helped develop a Forest Management Plan for 13,500 acres that stopped wholesale suburban development of the forest, and turned the area into one of King County’s favorite outdoor recreation spots. (1982-1985)
14. Hobart Creek. Prevented 1700 acres of forestland near Issaquah from being converted into a 340 home subdivision. Eventually King County purchased the area as open space. (1996-1998)
15. Seattle. Persuaded the City to not participate in WPPSS 4 and 5 nuclear power plants planned for the region and instead aggressively pursue energy conservation. (1975-76)
16. North Creek. Saved a major tributary of the Sammamish River and 50 acres of wetlands by preventing the development of a large regional shopping mall. (1973-1978)
17. Everett & Commencement Bay Asarco Sites. Lobbied the Department of Ecology to force clean-up of two highly toxic closed smelter sites with funding from the Model Toxics Control Act, a law which WEC helped to write and pass. (1991-1992)
18. Lake Roesiger. Through a legal challenge, improved the evaluation of the cumulative effects of multiple logging operations in a watershed. 48 basins were analyzed and greater protections were established in all. (1991)
19. South Whidbey State Park. Established that logging on state and private lands was subject to environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act and added 300 acres of old growth to the park through the “Classic U” case. (1978-1981)
20. Keystone Spit/Crockett Lake. Protected important migratory bird habitat and demonstrated the power of the State Environmental Policy Act by stopping a proposed development. (1974-1976)
21. Deception Pass State Park. Provided leadership resulting in the passage of a bill to severely limit logging in all state parks. (1984)
22. Cherry Point. Stopped construction of offshore oil drilling rigs and two industrial piers that would have destroyed critical beach and intertidal habitats. (1977-1982, 1992-1996, 1997-1999)
23. Padilla Bay. Prevented a developer’s effort to receive money from the state as compensation for not building the “Venice of the North” along this designated shoreline of statewide significance. (1987)
24. Skagit Valley. Worked to defeat a proposed nuclear power plant on the Skagit River (1977 - 1979)
25. Grandy Creek. Protected native steelhead from the impact of hatchery fish by stopping the construction of a politically driven hatchery near the Skagit River. (1994-1998)
26. Noisy Creek. Using public review of timber sales, began the effort that transferred 600 acres of old growth into wilderness status. (1990)
27. Skagit River. Stopped the expansion of a small resort into a much larger destination resort to be built within 50 feet of the river in a stretch designated as “scenic” under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. (1998-2000)
28. Methow Valley. Defeated Early Winters ski resort, a huge destination resort proposed for the Valley. (1986-1989)
29. Buckhorn Mountain. Stopped the construction of what would have been the state’s largest open-pit cyanide leach gold mine. (1990-2000) Signed an agreement on a revised mine proposal that will allow for an underground mine and at the same time work to prevent harm to the environment. (2008)
30. Columbia River. Prevented a highway along the undeveloped eastern shoreline from East Wenatchee to Rocky Reach, enabling it to be preserved for recreational use. (1988)
31. Spokane County. Established what many consider the best critical areas ordinance in the state, protecting important natural areas and wildlife habitat throughout the county. (1996-2001)
32. Eastern Washington. Improved air quality for thousands of people in eastern Washington by significantly reducing agricultural field burning. (1995-1999)
33. Ben Franklin Dam. Stopped the construction of this dam proposed for the Hanford Reach section of the Columbia River, which is now a National Monument. (1968-1970)
34. Klickitat County. Stopped the spraying of carbaryl, a persistent and highly toxic insecticide, on 60,000 acres of forests, and established B.t., a non-toxic natural insecticide, as the standard. (1989, 1993)
35. All State Owned Forests. The “2.1 Million Acres of Trees” case forced the rewriting of the State Forest Management Plan, limiting the size of clear cuts and establishing stream protection buffers. (1980-1982)