The Bluff below High Drive is a treasure.  Over 500 acres of forested hillside above a meandering creek.  Over 20 miles of trails that are popular with runners, hikers, mountain bikers, and nature lovers.

 

Treasures must be protected.  But the Bluff faces threats:

 

• Development.  Most of the Bluff is Spokane Parks Department land, but several large private parcels could be developed.  If that happens, forest becomes subdivision, access becomes more difficult, trails are eliminated and the Bluff is separated into disconnected sections.

• Fire is a destructive force that has grown in the Northwest in recent years.  A fire on the bluff would also threaten homes as far as a mile away.

 

Friends of the Bluff is a community effort to protect High Drive Bluff Park.  We are still a new organization and have no professional staff but we have a volunteer board of 7 active people, a group of great volunteers and a growing list of accomplishments:

 

• Organized hikes with naturalists

• Planted trees and organized trail work parties

• Thinned parts of the bluff as a fire suppression measure

• Reduced invasive weeds and removed litter and dog waste

• Removed a barrier to access from 44th and Scott

• Led the advocacy effort to repair damage from the illegal mile-long road

• Recruited volunteers to water 1000 seedlings so they could survive the dry summer

 

But there's more that needs to be done, and you can help make it happen.

 

To prevent development on the bluff we need to buy land and encourage purchases by the City or the County’s Conservation Future program.  We need more effort to protect the bluff from wildfire by organizing volunteers and seeking support from local, state and federal agencies.  We need to improve access and ensure safe trails.  We need to expand our outreach and education efforts, which will strengthen support for our Bluff.

 

We will continue to do all we can with volunteers, but we can do much more if we have sufficient financial resources.  We could engage professional help when needed, and conduct more outreach.  We also have expenses for outreach, trail work, website, and insurance. 

 

Please help us by becoming a Friends of the Bluff supporter! You can mail a check to us at PO Box 30771, Spokane, WA  99223. Or you can donate online on our donation page.

 

Consider a $100 donation, but feel free to send any amount you can.  No donation is too small (or too large). We are a 501(c)3 non-profit, so your charitable donation is tax deductible. Also, we hope you will consider being a volunteer in some capacity.

 

Thanks and see you on the Bluff!

 

Pat Keegan

President of the Friends of the Bluff Board

​