Friends of Rocky Prairie
Action Alerts and Updates

• What will happen to the 745 acres owned by the Port of Tacoma, now that the SSLC is off the table?    The Port of Tacoma intends to sell this property, but to whom and for what purpose??  Friends of Rocky Prairie members have made significant efforts to partner with state and federal agencies and conservation organizations to preserve this unique area and its inhabitants.
  
  Among the groups we're working with:

  • WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

  • The Nature Conservancy

  • Capitol Land Trust 
     

  More to come....   Thanks to everyone for all your encouragement and offers of help. It's difficult to give people specific tasks at this point, but we certainly appreciate the offers. We may need some help with phone trees, research, who knows what else..... and believe us, we'll ask.

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•  July 2008:  Update regarding the citizens' Rezone Request and what's next:    As you know, about 2,000 citizens signed a petition to have the Maytown site rezoned to a lower density in order to protect it while trying to save it permanently. The county hasn't had the staffing to handle the request, so instead, they put the part of the property they felt was in most danger of inappropriate development under a development moratorium (See article in the April 16, 2008, Olympian about the moratorium).
  
  It isn't clear when the county will address this issue again. We may be needing your help later this summer or fall, asking everyone to do some signature gathering door to door in downtown Olympia and Tenino, as well as at shopping centers. It's clear that thousands of people want to protect Millersylvania and the Fish and Wildlife preserve; we might need volunteers to collect their names. We'll keep you posted.

•  June 20, 2008:  Port of Tacoma agreed to let the Interlocal Agreement run out!! 
  This means that a South Sound Logistics Center will NOT be built in Thurston County!  Read more about this in the June 20th Olympian newspaper.
  
  You showed the Port of Olympia Commissioners that we want to preserve the rural treasure that is South Thurston County and protect the peace at Millersylvania State Park.  A rail yard with constant noisy train traffic and air pollution doesn't belong here

THANK-YOU!!!
 

• Update:  Surprise move by Commissioners bans development at Maytown site for 6 months and delays cargo center.   Read the full article in The Olympian (from Wednesday, April 16, 2008).

  County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday for a moratorium at the 745-acre property.

  "This gives everybody some breathing room," Commissioner Diane Oberquell said. She said the move was necessary to freeze development activity because a pending request to rezone the land was so complex that county staff members might not have been able to process it in a timely fashion.

  A public hearing on the ban was supposed to have been set within 60 days.

•  A HUGE THANK YOU   to everyone who came and gave to the Friends of Rocky Prairie Benefit Concert, Saturday, April 5th, 2008, at Traditions Cafe in Olympia.  And another  HUGE THANK YOU to Gaelica  for the concert!.
  
  The group performed a moving rendition of "Song for Rocky Prairie," written by Friends of Rocky Prairie member Diane Sonntag.
  
  We are still selling our Rocky Prairie CD and custom designed Rocky Prairie tee shirts.  Please contact us at FORPrairie@hotmail.com for information about purchasing either of those items.