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Pierce County Awards Lunch draws 600 friends of CLC

Murray calls for a return to basic values at Pierce County CLC event

Murray calls for a return to basic values at the Cascade Land Conservancy's Pierce County Conservation Awards Luncheon

More than 600 people joined together at the Tacoma Convention and Trade Center Monday at the Cascade Land Conservancy’s Conservation Awards luncheon to honor five heroes of conservation in the South Sound area and to hear a call to action from Sen. Patty Murray.

The event was the largest gathering of conservations this year in the Tacoma area and raised a record of more than $120,000 to further the work of the conservancy, which links conservation with the necessity to have livable cities and a vibrant economy.

“We are especially thankful to George Russell,” said Maryanne Tagney Jones, Chair of the Conservancy’s Board of Directors.  “Not only did we honor him with our Lifetime Achievement Award but he also honored us with a $10,000 gift.”

Senator Murray, first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992, said the country must return to its basic values of sacrifice, cooperation, community, democracy and hard work, and move away from the short-term “what’s in it for me” philosophy

“We must return to these values,” said Senator Murray, “and that is what the Cascade Land Conservancy does.  It has to courage to look at the long plan. While everyone is planting annuals you’re planting trees.”

The conservancy’s most honored award -- the Helen Engle Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Russell by Helen Engle herself. The award was named after Engle when it was first presented in 2004 to her for her many years of work in the Pierce County region.

After growing one of our country’s most successful businesses that today directly manages $181 billion in assets and advises/consults on $2.4 trillion dollars in assets worldwide, George and his late wife, Jane, founded the Russell Family Foundation in 1999.  The stated purpose of the foundation is “to make a quiet, positive impact in the community.”

“What a positive difference their generosity has made,” Engle said in presenting the award.  “A major focus of the Russell Family Foundation is environmental sustainability right here in the Puget Sound Region. Locally, they support grassroots leadership and a selected number of nonprofit organizations in Tacoma and Pierce County. Regionally, they make grants in Western Washington related to Environmental Sustainability. Globally, they fund a select group of nonprofits working on issues of peace and security.” Engle said in presenting the award.

In other awards presented at the luncheon:

The Conservation through Innovation Award, which celebrates creative new approaches to a project that achieves conservation goals while establishing new models for future work, was presented to Joe Mayer and Mayer Built Homes.  Mayer had planned to build 800 apartment units and houses on 13 acres of pristine open space in the middle of the Tacoma, adjacent to the east side of Snake Lake near the popular Nature Center.

Community concern culminated in a request to the Cascade Land Conservancy to help find a way for the public to buy the property and add it to the Nature Center.  CLC worked tirelessly and closely with the neighbors, Metro Parks Tacoma and Joe Mayer to create a solution that would benefit all.  Mayer demonstrated innovation, creativity and flexibility - at the end of the day, nearby residents, park enthusiasts and everyone involved worked together to protect an urban jewel in the center of Tacoma.  This was the best possible outcome for all parties involved.

Forevermore, kids and families can say they went for a walk in the forest in middle of this great city.  This could not have happened without the partnership with Joe Mayer.

The Conservation Partnership Award was presented to the Foothills Rails to Trails Coalition – an organization who has partnered successfully with many over the past two decades to see their dream a reality. The vision of this coalition is ambitious, elegant and powerful: turning the abandoned Northern Pacific Rail line into a trail system from Mt. Rainier to Puget Sound.

This award was accepted by Coalition President Buzz Grant, Ernie Bay, the founding charter member of the Coalition, and Donna Tait, the wife of Doug Tait who first envisioned this treasure for all of us.

The Cascade Agenda Leadership Award was presented to Pierce County Conservation Futures

The Cascade Agenda, the Cascade Land Conservancy’s vision for how our region will grow in the next 100 years as our population doubles, calls for the conservation of 1.3 million acres of working forests and agricultural lands and urban parks and greenways.

The award was created to acknowledge leadership, vision and creative action that advance The Agenda.

The Pierce County Council is receiving the 2006 Cascade Agenda Leadership Award for their political courage in bonding against the Conservation Futures Fund to fund over 1,000 acres of acquisition of farm, forest and open space in Pierce County.

Accepting the award on behalf of the County Council were Council members Shawn Bunney and Calvin Goings.

The Conservation Heritage Award was presented to the memory of Dennis (Denny) Seinfeld, a long-time committed friend of the environment, social justice and many other worthy causes in Pierce County.

Denny, along with his wife Karen, were charter members of The Tahoma Land Conservancy from its formation in 1992.  In 2000 the TLC merged with the combined Land conservancies of Snohomish and King Counties to form the Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC).

Karen Seinfeld accepted the award on behalf of her late husband.  She said the Cascade Land Conservancy touched his life in many ways and he had been looking forward to working more with the conservancy.

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