Alleviating Our Growing Pains Sprawl, Forests And Wildlife

Urban sprawl in Spokane County over the past quarter-century means fewer forests and farms - and more pressure on wild creatures.

Since Expo ‘74, the county has grown from 304,000 to 431,000 people. Population density has increased from 173 people per square mile to 245.

Sprawl into rural areas “has a direct impact on our fish and wildlife resources,” said Madonna Luers of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

More people are coming. Spokane County is expected to be home to nearly 550,000 people in 20 years.

During Expo, the federal Endangered Species Act was new. A similar state law soon followed.

Today, the state and federal governments have listed 49 fish and wildlife species as endangered or threatened in Washington.

“The news is mostly bad, frankly, and mostly tied to population growth,” Luers said. But she sees a glimmer of hope in the trends.

In 1974, there was only one known nesting pair of peregrine falcons left in Washington. The birds had succumbed to the effects of DDT, a pesticide that caused them to lay thin-shelled eggs.

Today, with DDT banned since the early ‘70s, there are at least 40 pairs of peregrine falcons in Washington. One pair nests at High Bridge Park in Spokane.

In 1990, the state Legislature passed the Growth Management Act in an effort to preserve open spaces and put the brakes on urban sprawl.

This sidebar appeared with the story: BY THE NUMBERS Then & Now Then: Spokane County population - 304,000. 173 people per square mile. Washington state population - 3,567,900, or 53.5 people per square mile. Now: Spokane County population - 431,569, or 245 people per square mile (42 percent growth) Washington state population - 5,827,014, or 87.5 people per square mile (63 percent growth). Then: 23.1 million forested acres in Washington. Now: Fewer than 20 million forested acres in Washington.