The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust (MTSGT) has been working for eight years to have the Greenway – a 100-mile corridor along I-90 from Seattle to Ellensburg – designated as a National Heritage area… and on Tuesday, March 12, 2019 history was made when President Trump signed into law a major public lands bill.
According to MTSGT, that land bill makes Washington’s Mountain to Sounds Greenway the country’s newest National Heritage Area, joining “54 other NHA sites in 32 states, including iconic and historic landscapes such as New York’s Niagara Falls, Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, and North Carolina’s Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. National Heritage Areas are places designated by Congress where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes.”
The Greenway National Heritage Area legislation was originally introduced in 2013 as a bipartisan effort from Representatives Dave Reichert and Adam Smith and Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.
The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust announcement said, “In this era of partisanship, we are especially proud that the Greenway NHA designation resulted from strong bipartisan collaboration and the endorsement of more than 6,500 individuals, and public and private partners including Governor Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Microsoft, Expedia, REI Co-op, the Trust for Public Land, and the Mountaineers.”
MTSGT said the NHA designation will help them:
- Amplify rich history and natural heritage on a national stage
- Increase visibility for the Greenway’s communities through an enhanced sense of place and importance
- Encourage ecological restoration across multiple jurisdictions and watersheds
- Grow funding opportunities through private and public partnerships
- Promote regional tourism and attract new economic opportunities
