Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Partnership with Urban Communities

Seattle Parks and Recreation O2 Youth pulling non-native weeds in a campground.

In 2006, over 45 youth participants from the WILD (Wilderness Inner-city Leadership Development), Environmental Justice Youth Advocates (EJYA) and Seattle Parks and Recreation Outdoor Opportunity (O2) Programs have committed to another season of stewardship projects on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest within the Puget Sound region of Washington State.

The WILD, EJYA, and O2 programs are three successful environmental justice and stewardship programs effectively serving Seattle high school age inner-city youth. The WILD program of Seattle’s International District Housing Alliance serves primarily immigrant and refugee Asian Pacific Island teens, interweaving environmental justice and health programming with leadership development in a culturally appropriate manner. The EJYA program (housed in the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice) operates a similar program, focusing primarily on youth of East African, African American, and Latino descent. The O2 program (Seattle Parks and Recreation) works with a broad spectrum of diverse teens in outdoor recreation, education, conservation, and service.

The WILD youth program has successfully partnered with the Forest Service to provide education to limited-English speaking communities in the areas of watershed health, wildlife habitat, and forestry; and to complete restoration projects that rehabilitate sensitive ecological areas that have been damaged by recreational usage of National Forests. Through partnership efforts with other partners including the North Cascades Institute (providing education and restoration supervision) and Washington Trails Association (WTA - providing training on trail restoration, tool safety, and native and invasive plant species), the Forest Service has provided WILD these opportunities for the past five years.

Seattle Parks and Recreation O2 Youth removing a stubborn log from a Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest trail.

This year the Forest Service will strengthen our ongoing stewardship projects with WILD while expanding collaboration to include the EJYA and O2 youth programs. By expanding the breadth of this partnership, we will strengthen diverse community support for responsible natural resource management, thereby supporting the sustainability of National Forest lands. By emphasizing responsible practices with younger generations (particularly those from immigrant communities), efforts to conserve and manage natural resources become more sustainable and reach a greater number of individuals, particularly with communities that do not usually receive the education they need (in their language) prior to engaging in activities on National Forest land.

For more information contact on the story, interested readers should contact Aleta Eng, Partnership Specialist, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, 360-677-2414.