The Woodland Trail Greenway Association is dedicated to the creation of a linear park and trail along the Olympia Woodland Trail corridor from the Chehalis-Western Trail in Lacey to the shores of Capitol Lake. The WTGA, formerly the East-West Greenway Association, is a non-profit coalition of active, interested citizens and organizations which serve as a public voice to promote the funding and development of the Olympia Woodland Trail corridor for recreation and natural open space preservation.

We will accomplish our goals through advocacy, political action, education, and fundraising; by developing partnerships with citizens, neighborhood associations, service groups, and business organizations, and by maintaining a volunteer workforce to engage in interim construction and maintenance of this public trail.

Association Goals and Objectives:

• Maintain partnership with the City of Olympia and Olympia Parks and Recreation staff to advise, advocate, and oversee progress toward corridor access and development.
• Assure the funding and construction of the Olympia Woodland Trail as designed by 2010.
• Assist with the acquisition and preservation of key adjacent lands and natural enhancements and advocate for the importance of the area as a wildlife corridor and site for environmental preservation and education.
• Facilitate and promote the responsible interim use of the corridor by the public via walking paths and interpretive signage to educate and promote interest toward permanent project development.
• Serve as volunteer workforce to help in interim pathway activities and permanent trail and lands upkeep and development.
• Partner with key groups and agencies in the creation of a countywide trail system to facilitate sharing of resources and promote public interest.

©WTGA  2003-7

The Woodland Trail Greenway Association updated it's bylaws in 2006.  The current version is here.

The WTGA will have bi-monthly board meetings or as scheduled. The board will also plan to meet on a regular basis with city parks staff and city leaders on the progress of the OWT project. An annual membership meeting will be held in accordance with the bylaws. Association members are encouraged to communicate with the board at any time and are welcome to attend board meetings if facilities allow.

Notification of the membership will occur announcing any event significant to the goals of the WTGA such as important city council meetings, volunteer projects, significant use of funds, etc. Notification will be by mail, phone tree, or email list.

The WTGA Newsletter will be published twice a year to update the membership and the community at large as to city project progress and activities of the association.

Assigned members will serve as contacts to the media to promote the agenda of the association to educate and create public interest toward the completion of the project. A Speakers Bureau will be available to present a slide show overview of the Greenway project to community leaders, service groups, donors and other interested parties.

The WTGA began in 1992 as the East-West Greenway Association under the inspired leadership of Jim Rainwood. In discussion with individuals and neighborhood groups, interest was raised in preserving an undeveloped, environmentally significant corridor of land that stretched from Lacey to Capitol Lake. This wooded ‘greenway’ was deemed essential to preserve as a natural and esthetic enhancement and a most important component of the long-proposed network of trails in the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater area.

By identifying lands and raising match money, the East-West Greenway group was key to obtaining the federal transportation grant for the work needed to acquire the properties along the abandoned Burlington Northern rail line and other properties in the corridor. As the City of Olympia moved ahead with the complicated task of recovering the corridor lands, City Parks authorized staff to proceed with a master plan for trail and area development.

The Olympia Woodland Trail Master Plan was published in 1999 and endorsed by the city council as the number one parks priority in the comprehensive plan. The development costs of over $12 million is the last barrier to be addressed. After many years, the city will have title on all the properties with the exception of the pending abandonment of the remaining Burlington Northern tracks in Lacey.

In the ten years since the dream began, our association has followed the city’s process, advised on the master plan, maintained voluntary contributions for efforts in support of the Woodland Trail Greenway, and purchased key adjacent lands for preservation in partnership with private donors and the Capitol Land Trust. We have changed the association name to best reflect our mission and focus to the community and potential interest groups and donors.

The WTGA, as a proactive group of interested citizens, is committed to urging and supporting city government in the process of obtaining the funds and commitment to complete the Olympia Woodland Trail Project. The following are the areas of activity of the WTGA:

• Cooperate with the City of Olympia to Provide Interim Trail Access
• Public Education
• Project Promotion
• Political Action
• Media Relations/Communications
• Speakers Bureau
• Grant Research
• Partnerships: Citizens, Neighborhoods, Business, Community Organizations
• Membership and Volunteer Workforce
• Fundraising and Trail Sponsorship
• Maintain Responsible Association Management

Many of the documents on this site are in Portable Document Format (PDF). To view those documents you will need the Adobe Acrobat(R) Reader which is available for free from the Adobe web site.

This page last updated: January 2, 2007.            For additional information, please contact  info@woodlandtrail.org                              

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