By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Pierce County wanted to add seven acres to Frontier Park in Graham but wasn't going to have the money in time to keep the additional property from falling into the hands of private developers. That's when a land-conservation organization stepped in and essentially fronted the county the money. Now the county can develop new public trails that were the vision all along for park officials. Frontier Park, which fronts Meridian (State Route 161), spans 71 acres and is the host of equestrian shows, Scouting events, car shows, quarter-midget car racing and a rustic lodge that's rented out for private parties. The park also is the home of the Pierce County Fair each August. It is "a gem in the county's parks system," said Tony Tipton, director of the county Parks and Recreation Department. For the better part of three years, parks officials wanted to buy an adjoining seven-acre site for Frontier Park's use for trails. The county was awaiting grant funding in order to make the purchase. The problem was that the owner of the land coveted by the county wanted to sell it before the grant would become available. Forterra (formerly Cascade Land Conversvancy), a non-profit land conservation and stewardship organization based in Seattle, offered to purchase the property before it could be developed in a manner that would have been inconsistent with the neighboring park use. The land, located at the northeast corner of the park, "had a vested development plan for a commercial project GÇô i.e., strip mall," said Jordan Rash, Forterra's conservation director. The parks department accepted Forterra's offer to buy the property, hold it for up to 21 months, and then sell it to the county once the grant funds were available. The latter came through and the county acquired the land from Forterra last September. "Thanks to the help of Forterra, we now have the space we need to develop a trail network that families can enjoy walking through and observing nature close to home. This is a real win for Pierce County and the Graham community,GÇ¥ Tipton said. "We are fortunate we were in a position to step in,GÇ¥ said Rash. "By being nimble, Forterra and the county were able to make sure that this opportunity was not lost. We are very happy to support the county and the community in this effort.GÇ¥ According to Rash, Forterra has helped conserve more than 238,000 acres of land to the benefit of people in about 80 Washington communities in the past 25 years. He said the organization is committed to helping ecosystems, communities and economies. Forterra and the county have teamed in other land preservation projects, including the purchase of Puyallup Valley farmland. Money for such projects comes from the county's Conservation Futures program, which is funded by a County Council-approved assessment of 6 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation on property taxes.
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