Acquiring land on Enumclaw Plateau’s Mt. Peak protects open space, enhances public access

Looming over the tabletop-flat Enumclaw Plateau, Mount Peak has long been a popular place for a peaceful – and aerobically invigorating – hike to the top.

King County Parks has acquired 82 acres of land on Mount Peak for $2.3 million, with an eye toward protecting the property from future development and improving public access for lovers of the outdoors.

The acquisition is on the mountain's southern flank, and the property has been used as an informal public access route to the top of Mount Peak for years. An established trail and small parking area are already located along the mountain's northern flank.

"Just as Mount Si serves as the iconic backdrop for North Bend and is a popular place for recreation, Mount Peak plays a similarly prominent role on the Enumclaw Plateau," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "I'm thrilled that we can preserve more of Mount Peak as open space for everyone's enjoyment."

"We heard from many southeast King County community members who asked for our help in securing additional public lands that could be preserved as open space and used for a variety of recreational uses," Sims said. "Acquiring this land on Mount Peak means residents from across the Plateau – and from throughout King County – can enjoy this wonderful natural resource."

"This open space acquisition is part of our vision of preserving our community's natural beauty," said Crystal Carter, founder and vice president of the Enumclaw Forested Foothills Recreation Association, which advocates conserving forested foothills, wetlands and wildlife habitat of southeast King County for multiple recreational uses by future generations.

"Our goal is to ensure that our community retains its rural character and offers a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities. Preservation of Mount Peak for public use perfectly fits our mission," Carter said, adding that EFRA steering committee members Debbie Vanous, Pat Traub, joan burlingame, Mary Fiala and Gretchen McCallum have been instrumental in advancing the group's efforts.

Hikers interested in geology will be rewarded for their sweat with close-up views of columnar basalt, formed when flowing lava quickly cooled into hexagonal pillars. The geologic feature is adjacent the hiking trail near Mt. Peak's 1,800-foot summit.

While much of the mountain is heavily forested with evergreen and deciduous trees, openings in the canopy of trees offer peek-a-boo views of Mt. Rainier and the White River, plus farmland and neighborhoods of nearby Enumclaw.

Acquisition funding came from King County Real Estate Excise Tax funds and Conservation Futures Tax.

More information on King County's open space program is available at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/lands/. More information about the Enumclaw Forested Foothills Recreation Association is available at http://www.effra.info/index.html.

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Editor's note: joan burlingame does not use upper-case letters in her name.