Trail
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“I think it’s really important to a city and a city parks department that there’s a constant and even growing public support, or we’re just not going to have these treasures that make our communities a great place.”
Another issue for the bluff is a potential loss of what Keegan calls “probably the most popular access point onto the bluff trails.” Tuscan Ridge, near 57th and Hatch road, is a property that’s going to be sold for a real estate development, but during construction it will be fenced off, stopping hikers, mountain bikers and dog walkers from accessing the bluff. Keegan said after construction, the development will reopen some access to the bluff. “It’s a key [access point] because so many people live right near that section and that’s going to really decrease usage of the bluff if people can’t go down that trail,” Keegan said. Keegan discovered the trails after moving back to Spokane. He quickly became a fan. "I just thought it was such a spectacular area,” he said. “I couldn’t believe there were 20 miles of trails right in town.” The bluff’s proximity to the city and its scale are Keegan points to when describing his affinity for the area. “This is 500 acres where the northern end is half a mile from downtown,” he said. “It stretches for three or four miles along the southwest quadrant of the city. I don’t know of any city that has something like that.” “The variety of natural beauty” is another area of emphasis for Keegan. “You’ve got this creek at the bottom, you’ve got the amazing geologic formation, the sand cliffs that were deposits from the Missoula flood. You’ve got the little draw that’s really pretty with all this fir and aspen. Most of it is a pine forest with tremendous views,” Keegan said. Keegan became a member of Friends of the Bluff shortly after, but it took him some time to accept the invitation to join the board. “I found a sign in the bluff [Friends of the Bluff] had put up that said they were doing this fire suppression and then I contacted them and then started attending the meetings,” he said. “Within a year or two they kind of won me over and I was on the board,” Friends of the Bluff relies on volunteers and has about 75 to 80 on its list, but Keegan said they see about 20 regularly. “It’s a lot easier to get people to say they’ll volunteer than to actually get them to do the volunteering,” he said. “People have good intentions, but unless you come up with a compelling activity that’s really well organized and that they can fit into their schedule, it’s not easy to pull the volunteers in.” An example of a successful volunteer draw, according to Vorderbrueggen occurred last fall when over "over 50 people who donated over 10 hours each" to help build trash and remove litter. The group consists of seven board members and since its conception in 2010, is on its third generation of board members. Keegan called this iteration a “more active group.” “Each time you bring in a board member you’re trying to get them all introduced to it and figuring out what they can do, getting board meetings organized and coming up with a clear direction coming out of that,” Keegan said. For a trail map, click below
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