To spend time outdoors as a volunteer on public lands and trails is a healthy, family-friendly activity for all.

Recently, while hiking at the Waikiki Springs Nature Preserve, located northwest Spokane County, my son asked, “Can I lead the way today?” My family was starting down the Waikiki Trail towards the first switchback. I noticed the darkened Oregon grapes on the trailside and the browning of the once-gorgeous oceanspray bushes as I followed behind.

Rounding the second switchback, we could hear the sound of the water and the trail began to open up a bit. We said hello to the few walkers we saw out for evening strolls with their dogs and took in the view at the next switchback that stretches out beyond the river to Rattlesnake Ridge. I love to hike in the evening.

Land Stewards

My family recently became volunteer land stewards for the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy (INLC). In this new role, we are able to spend time together as a family, exercising and breathing fresh air as we look after a place we love, Waikiki Springs Nature Preserve. As land stewards for the INLC, we help to design and complete habitat enhancement projects, monitor trails, educate public land users and note wildlife vegetation and hydrologic trends on the land.

We have always spent time hiking at Waikiki Springs, but since becoming stewards we are spending time learning more about the area—the plants, the animals, the Little Spokane River that runs through it, and how we can take better care of it all.

We are getting better at using maps, observing and taking notes, using a compass and basic first aid practices. We are learning and practicing good trail etiquette, the effects of not following these rules, and sharing it with others. We are experiencing what it feels like to be active in our community and to think and act beyond ourselves and see the bigger picture.

A lesson we didn’t expect but I have grown increasingly appreciative of is to be intentional with our time. Now we schedule our busy lives around our commitment to this place. In a fast-paced world where we tend to put self care and mental health on the back burner, I am happy to have found something that checks so many boxes on the health and fitness list.

If you are anything like me, when someone says “health and fitness” images of gym memberships, health magazines, and the latest diet fad runs through your mind. I say let the outdoors be your gym and allow your time exercising to be for more than just your body. As a parent, I am happy to have the opportunity to model all of these life lessons by exploring an amazing place with my kids.

Volunteer Opportunities in the Inland NW

In the Inland Northwest, there are a number of organizations with volunteer opportunities to shape your outdoor fitness regime. Groups include: The Lands Council, The Spokane Riverkeeper, Dishman Hills Conservancy, Friends of The Little Spokane River Valley, Washington Trails Association, Friends of the Bluff, Evergreen East, Idaho Trails Association, and Pend Oreille Pedalers.

Many parks also have “friends of” groups with more opportunities. All of these organizations offer events such as clean ups, plantings, trail work, and more. Spokane Humane Society and PAWS need dog walkers, and Habitat for Humanity offers several construction and labor opportunities.

Whether you’re looking for just yourself or your whole family, for occasional events or a bigger commitment, there is something for everyone. Look for volunteer opportunities with organizations you are interested in and redefine what health and fitness mean to you.

Alana Livingston gets to hike as part of her work as the owner of Wander Spokane, a downtown tour business. She wrote about wandering Spokane’s urban wilds in the May/June 2022 issue.

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Participants can choose from a variety of activities—a birding hike with local author and historian Jack Nisbet, stewardship projects like removing trash and barbed wire to make the area safer for humans and wildlife, or a guided bike ride.

Wrap up your afternoon of adventure with a status update on INLC efforts to raise $500,000 to purchase additional recreation and conservation lands in the area and to learn about plans for the future of this important land.

Register for the event at Inlandnwland.org and share your images from the Saltese area using #MoreSaltesePlease to help us tell this story.

Visit the OTO archives to learn more and read stories about the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy or recreation and stewardship efforts at Saltese Uplands Conservation Area.

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When your boots crunch through the dirt, or your tires race over a technical section of trail, or you catch a glimpse of an eagle in the trees, do you wonder how that land is available for your enjoyment? As recreationists, it’s all too common that we take land for granted—thinking it has always been, and always will be, available for our use. 

Think of areas like the Little Spokane River, Beacon Hill, Liberty Lake Regional Park, Palisades Park, Iller Creek, and Saltese Uplands. What do these local areas have in common?

Besides providing beautiful destinations for enjoyment of the outdoors, they are all home to pieces of land that experienced widespread use before they were open to the public. In recent years, securing public access in commonly used but privately owned areas has gotten a lot of attention with projects like “Make Beacon Public.” 

Organizations like Evergreen East, Spokane County, Washington State Parks, and other entities work hard to protect places that have become meaningful to our recreation community. One of the unsung heroes of this work is Inland Northwest Land Conservancy. INLC has worked to bring about land deals that protect things like the cedar forest on the Liberty Lake Loop, the kiosk area at the head of the Iller Creek Trail, access to Avista-owned property on Beacon Hill, and most recently, Waikiki Springs Nature Preserve on the Little Spokane River. 

INLC needs your help to raise $500,000 to protect more land that is currently (illegally) being trafficked by well-meaning but likely oblivious recreational users. These fifty-five acres (about 42 football fields) are adjacent to the Saltese Uplands Conservation Area, where usage has increased 48% over the past two years, reflecting rapid residential growth in Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake.

Located on Henry Road, the Uplands are home to dozens of species of birds and native plants. Across the street, Spokane County Environmental Services is restoring the historic wetlands of the Saltese Flats and working on a proposed nature education center nearby. The land to be purchased by INLC and retained for public enjoyment is prime for residential development.

If you’ve ever watched the sunset from the water tower at the top of the hill, or gazed down into the valley at Liberty Lake or at Mica Peak in the distance, you know how that view would change with houses butted up against the hillside. 

Protecting land and water for the health and future of our community, the natural world, and the climate is at the center of INLC’s work. Ensuring that the Inland Northwest remains a beautiful, adventurous, and easily accessible place should be at the center for all of us who love to play outside. 

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Since its founding, the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy has protected more than 22,000 acres in public and private areas throughout Spokane and Kootenai counties. Today, more than 90% of households in these counties are within view of an INLC project area. The organization’s mission, connecting people to nature by conserving lands and waters essential to life in the Inland Northwest, drives the group’s passion to continually improve this region’s quality of life.

Back in February of 1991, founding board members of the Inland Northwest Land Trust (later renamed the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy) filed incorporation papers with the state of Washington. Thirty years later, more than a third of the organization’s expenses are funded through individual giving. Hundreds of engaged members make this critical protection of local lands and waters possible. From humble beginnings of concerned citizens around a kitchen table, the Conservancy now partners with businesses, landowners and managers, government agencies, and community members to preserve the natural beauty of our home.

Recent successful projects include the acquisition of Waikiki Springs Nature Preserve in north Spokane. INLC also collaborates with the Restoration Partnership to protect land along the highly polluted Coeur d’Alene River corridor. Last but not least, INLC purchased land between Palisades Park and Riverside State Park, in the Rimrock to Riverside project area, until it can move into public ownership, creating a protected 11-mile wildlife and recreation corridor on Spokane’s west side.

“The Conservancy holds and monitors 62 permanent conservation easements in partnership with private landowners, has completed 40 projects with partnering agencies, and manages three nature preserves,” says executive director Dave Schaub. “Our plates are full with more than a dozen new projects to complete in the coming years. Together these individual narratives weave together to form an evolving tapestry of protected habitat and lasting community benefit, making a difference you can see.”

Learn more and consider becoming a member at InlandNWLand.org

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