SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — A popular park in Spokane Valley is getting bigger.
Mirabeau Point Park will expand by nearly 100 acres by opening a neighboring nature preserve to the public. The Pinecroft Natural Preserve is tucked behind a business park along Mirabeau Parkway and has been difficult to spot for drivers.
“There’s marmots, bunnies, all sorts of birds, hawks,” Nikkola said.
Along with the animals, visitors will see the unique plants and ecosystems they live in. The preserve represents one of the region’s last remaining examples of a unique ecosystem, according to Courtney James with the Department of Natural Resources.
“It’s one of the few remaining examples of a Ponderosa pine grassland ecosystem,” James said. “So this used to be a lot more prominent within the Spokane Valley.”
In order to protect the preserve, all of this has been closed to the public. But just because the Pinecroft Natural Area Preserve is blocked off to the public, it doesn’t mean that people haven’t been coming through.
“What we’ve found is that the more we close down an area, sometimes the more folks are likely to trespass and find their way into it,” James said.
The Department of Natural Resources says in the past three years, more than 50,000 pounds of garbage have been cleaned up from this area.
“We’ve seen people build usable trails that go through sensitive ecosystems,” James said. “We’ve seen illegal camping, and we’ve even seen trash dumping in the area.”
In order to prevent further damage to the preserve, the Department of Natural Resources and the City of Spokane Valley are opening it up to the public. Department of Natural Resources officials believe opening the area to the public will actually reduce illegal camping.
“I know the area. And just like with the Apple Way trail, when you get a lot of eyeballs on things and you can have some people patrolling it, some of the problems that are created by people hiding in the dark go away,” said a man at the city council meeting when this was presented. “So opening that area up, I think would be a net benefit.”
Starting from Mirabeau Point Park, several trails will wrap through the preserve. Along the way, visitors will get to stop and read educational signs.
“To just really understand the conservation goals that we’re working towards and, conserving important ecosystems like this for the next generations,” James said.
The Department of Natural Resources says once the City of Spokane Valley signs this agreement, work on this project can begin.
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