Three Valley Properties Make Conservation Cut

Sat., July 25, 1998

By Marny Lombard marnyl@spokesman.com (509) 927-2166

Three Spokane Valley properties that made the priority list for preservation through the Spokane County conservation futures program would add to already existing conservation areas rather than creating new ones.

Liberty Lake Park, Dishman Hills Natural Area and Camp Sekani on Upriver Drive all would be buttressed by properties that made the priority list.

Those three properties and several others that made the priority list will be considered for purchase by Spokane County commissioners.

No timeline has been set up for that process, said Steve Horobiowski, planner for the Parks and Recreation Dept. Instead county staffers must first look at the logistical side of each possible purchase.

The three properties which are among top priorities for Spokane County’s conservation futures program include these:

A 440-acre parcel just west of Liberty Lake County Park, which would add wildlife habitat and help preserve a corridor for wildlife movement through the hills. It also would secure property that’s historically been used by hikers and horseback riders.

“I was just up there the last two weekends on horseback. I was just amazed at how much use there is up there,” said Craig Volosing, chairman of the county Parks Advisory Committee’s conservation futures subcommittee.

A 60-acre parcel along the western boundary of Camp Sekani on Upriver Drive.

A 160-acre parcel now owned by the state Department of Natural Resources that nestles against Browne Mountain and is also near the Dishman Hills Natural Resource Area. The parcel has been declared excess property by the DNR, said Steve Horobiowski, planner for the Spokane County Parks and Recreation Department, and could be sold to any interested party, including developers.

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