Upon arriving in Issaquah, the first thing most people notice is its mountains—the hulking shapes of green gently framing its iconic train station and the trees that interlace themselves within our suburban landscape.
It’s easy to assume this is how it has always been, and how it will always be—to take for granted the sanctity of the open green spaces and the trails that run rampant between the pines. But one need only look back several years to see hillsides shorn by loggers or proposed development plans that would have decimated the landscape and devastated local wildlife.
The Issaquah Alps Trails Club rose to the challenge of protecting these lands with their inaugural meeting on May 25, 1979, led by the infamously opinionated Harvey Manning. In the past 45 years, our mission has focused on conservation, education and advocacy for the land, wildlife and trails of the Issaquah Alps for present and future generations.
These past 45 years have seen a number of major wins. We have successfully conserved 13,000 acres on Tiger Mountain and more than 5,000 on Cougar and Squak mountains, helped save and create more than 125 miles of trails throughout the Issaquah Alps, and even organized the 1990 march that spurred the creation of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.
In Issaquah Highlands, our advocacy efforts helped shape the landscape of development to carve out Grand Ridge Park, a critical green space for wildlife and outdoor recreation alike. Our work in Talus and Grand Ridge ultimately contributed to saving 80% of 2,223 acres from development.
Beyond our advocacy efforts, we have always been proponents of getting people outside to help them fall in love with our beautiful natural spaces. Almost every week, you can find us leading guided educational hikes for participants of all ages.
The next major project for our forests is maintaining their health and vitality by engaging in restoration activities. Our natural spaces are rife with invasive species such as Himalayan blackberry, English holly and ivy, which displace beneficial native plants and cause destruction to our trees.
IATC’s projects are aimed at responsible stewardship of the lands we fought so hard to protect, and we need your help! Join one of our various restoration projects created in partnership with Green Issaquah, Washington State Parks and King County to help preserve the resilience of our green spaces. See our events page for more details.
We hope to see you out on the trails, helping to build the next 45 years of our legacy!
Nicole Assumpcao is the outgoing executive director of Issaquah Alps Trails Club (IATC).
