This is so true.  When I started to promote conservation of the Green River Gorge I found that its rugged remoteness was part of its uniqueness but also a roadblock to conservation.  Because people passed over its sandstone depths along the highway 169 but very rarely ventured into its twisting remote 12 mile long gorge it was often overlooked.  Forgotten in the conservation land rush as the development pressures in King County grew. 

The solution.  Take the Green River Gorge to the decision makers and community.  Introduce this incredibly unique river carved wilderness to them and hopefully inspire them to push the conservation efforts forward.  So with computer and digital projector in tow I made my rounds to local city halls, community groups, civic groups, conservation groups, elected officials desks, and the halls of the King County Council.  Everywhere I went the comments were the similar. I heard comments like:  “I’ve lived here all my life and I never knew there was such a place here”,  “What an incredible Place,  “It should be preserved” and   “I can’t believe its not being preserved!”.  The result was the endorsement of the Green River Gorge Greenway by our local cities and the King County council.  This will hopefully help make the preservation of the Green River Gorge and uplands a priority.

I continue to introduce this and other areas to the public through photography.  My most recent project is to photo document the changing Enumclaw Plateau.  When I first started working in south King County I commuted from Seattle to east hill or Kent and the farm lands of Auburn. I watched owls hunt in the meadow behind our medic station.  Now all those areas have been replaced by housing developments and big box stores.  The plateau represents one of the last rural places left in King County.  I want to document the pastures and farms, the fields of vegetables and flowers, and the walkable downtown filled with small businesses and historic buildings.  I have two reasons for doing this. One is that it may be gone one day and the other is that by reminding us of what we have to loose maybe it will compel us to work to preserve it and with it our quality of life.

E-mail: Lisa Parsons