tember 22, 2012; the Chair-

man of the Natural Re-

sources Committee will deter-

mine if the bill moves past the

committee stage. Doc Hastings

is the Chairman of the NRC, if

you disagree with HR 3009

please take immediate action

by contacting him and express-

ing your concerns.

The sum of our happiness will

be greatly reduced if Congress

allows the wonder-book of

nature to be burned.

Photo by Jane Able

I recently presented a pro-

gram for the Community Lec-

ture Series sponsored by Co-

lumbia Basin College. The

theme was about Theodore

Roosevelt’s visit to Washing-

ton State in 1903 and the Na-

tional Wildlife Refuge legacy

he left us. We currently have

23 NWR in our state with

Toppenish, Columbia, Saddle

Mountain, Umatilla and

McNary wildlife refuges in

close proximity to the Tri

Cities.

In the course of my research I

came across a quote from

Theodore Roosevelt that

really hit home when defining

the value of the NWR system:

"It is an incalculable added

pleasure to any one's sum of

happiness if he or she grows

to know, even slightly and

imperfectly, how to read and

enjoy the wonder-book of

nature.“

The wonder-book of nature is

not written or read, it is ex-

perienced on trails, at viewing

platforms and in the field at

the 548 National Wildlife

Refuges scattered across the

nation. This incalculable

added pleasure is the result of

a President’s big picture view

of the economic and cultural

value of conserved habitat

and wildlife. Communities

and the citizens of those com-

munities that share space with

a NWR have added value to

their lives. They have added

the opportunity to append to

their sum of happiness.

We have been entrusted with

these NWR gifts by Theodore

Roosevelt and all the other

Presidents of both parties who

have given us these wonder-

books of nature. It is up to us

to protect these gifts and those

dedicated agencies who have

been assigned the duty of

preserving the legacy.

Your call to duty has arrived

with the introduction of HR

3009 in September of 2012.

This bill would make it im-

possible for the President to

establish new wildlife ref-

uges. It would be retroactive

from September 30, 2011,

meaning the newly estab-

lished Everglades Headwaters

National Wildlife Refuge and

Conservation Area would

cease to be a refuge should

this bill pass. The bill was

referred to the Natural Re-

sources Committee on Sep-

The Sum of Happiness

President's Message

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Spotlight,

Eagle project,

Gift Fair

2

By-Law Vote 3

Creature

Feature

4

RROSN

award

5

Water trail,

celebration,

race

6

T A P T E A L

G R E E N W A Y

C O N S E R V A T I O N

E D U C A T I O N

R E C R E A T I O N

Tapteal Talk

H O L I D A Y E D I T I O N S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

Wildlife Leg-

islation alert

RROSN

award

By-Laws vote

P A G E 2

Alternative Gift Fair about a Reason for the Season

An Eagle sighting at W.E. Johnson Park

Tapteal Spotlight Born in Bedford Falls NY George

Bailey became an accidental hero on

more than one occasion. At the age of

12, George saved his younger brother

Harry, who had fallen through the ice

on a frozen pond, later, working in the

local pharmacy, George noticed that

the druggist despondent over his son's

death, had mistakenly filled a child's

prescription with poison, and saved

the druggist from killing the child and

irrevocably ruining his own life.

George repeatedly sacrificed his

dream to travel the world. He waited

for his brother Harry to graduate

from high school and replace him at

the Bailey Building and Loan Associa-

tion, a vital business link for the town

of Bedford Falls.

Slumlord Henry F. Potter, tired to stop

providing home loans for the working

poor in New Bedford. George fought

against Potter's proposal, but is forced

to run the Building and Loan. Giving

his college money to Harry, George

delayed his plans with the understand-

ing that Harry will take over running

the business upon graduation.

When Harry graduated from college,

he was offered of an excellent job.

Although brother Harry vowed to de-

cline the offer out of respect for his

brother, George would not deny Harry

such a fine opportunity.

George then quelled a financial panic

in New Bedford by using the

$2,000 earmarked for his honeymoon

to satisfy the depositors' immediate

needs.

Life just did not seem to be fair and

then Uncle Billy was unfairly accused

of theft by the slumlord Potter. This

nearly pushed George off the bridge

but with the help of the community,

George realized that “no man is a

failure who has friends.” Those with

friends do have a wonderful life.

Coupled with the City of Rich-

land’s recently passed WEJ

master plan and an REI grant

award Tapteal is moving for-

ward with an upgrade of WEJ

in 2013. Two informational

panels will be designed to go on

the front and back of the Eagle

project and a third panel will be

developed to be part of a three

sided kiosk at the north entrance

Our first Eagle Project for the 2013

Volunteer season was recently

completed in W.E. Johnson Park in

Richland. Chris Older chose to

design, construct and install an

information kiosk at the south en-

trance to W.E. Johnson Park

(WEJ). This project is the first of

many tasks scheduled for the park

in 2013.

to the park.

Part of the Eagle project was to de-

velop a template blue print that can be

used on other Tapteal projects such as

the Tapteal Water Trail informational

kiosks. We hope you will consider

joining us as a volunteer as WEJ is

upgraded. Please sign up as a volun-

teer at our web site.

model by the Center for a New

American Dream. All the gifts

go to the charity of choice and

are tax deductible. The Center

for the New American Dream

advocates for cultivating a new

American dream—one that em-

phasizes community, ecological

sustainability, and a celebration

of non-material values.

The church was energized all day

with enthusiastic participants and

dialed in shoppers. Tapteal is hon-

ored to be included in this wonder-

ful rendition of the Holiday spirit.

Gifts that reflect the true spirit of the holi-

day season were on display at the Alterna-

tive Gift Fair on December 1, where you

could donate to participating local, national,

and international non-profit organizations.

Hand-lettered holiday cards featuring local

artists described the gifts you made in the

names of your friends and family.

The Alternative Gift Fair is a charity fund-

raising event sponsored by Community Uni-

tarian Universalist Church and is based on a

T A P T E A L T A L K

Please Vote

P A G E 3 H O L I D A Y E D I T I O N 2 0 1 2

The Board of Directors has been

working hard to update and revise the

By-Laws. We are now asking the

membership to vote on these

changes. Note the red line strike out

as the old language to be removed.

Red no strike out is new language

including two new articles on finance

and rules. Please send your yes or no

votes to Scott at wood-

fish24@charter.net. Unless you have

a specific objection we are assuming

that you are accepting or rejecting all

of the proposed changes. If you have

comments please include those.

Are you in favor of the by-laws

changes proposed by the 2012 Tap-

teal Greenway Association Board of

Directors?

BY-LAWS OF THE

TAPTEAL GREENWAY ASSO-

CIATION

ARTICLE I - NAME & AFFILIA-

TION

Section 1. The name of this non-

profit corporation shall be the Tapteal

Greenway Association.

ARTICLE II – PURPOSE

Section 2. The objectives of the Tap-

teal Greenway Association are to:

B. Protect wildlife and habitats

through passive use where appropri-

ate and through public education and

exposure to resources.

ARTICLE IV - BOARD OF DIREC-

TORS

Section 5. The president and vice-

president shall not serve more than

three consecutive terms in the same

office.(Tapteal policy revision indi-

cates no term limits) There is no limit on

the number of terms all other Board mem-

bers may serve.

Section 6. Vacancies on the Board may

occur by death or incapacity; resignation; or

removal of a board member by an affirma-

tive vote of two-thirds of the voting Board

of Directors for cause. In the case of a va-

cancy in the office of President the Vice

President will assume the duties of the

President until the next meeting of the

Board of Directors at which time the Presi-

dent will be selected to fill out the remain-

der of the former President’s term.

ARTICLE IX - RATIFICATION

Section 1. These Bylaws have been

amended by a majority vote of those Tapteal

Greenway Association Board members pre-

sent on September 9, 2002. February 1,

2012.

ARTICLE X – FINANCE

Section 1. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of

the Corporation shall begin on the first day

and end on the last day of the calendar year.

Section 2. Contracts. The Board of Direc-

tors may authorize any officer or officers,

agent or agents, to enter into any contract or

execute and deliver any instrument on be-

half of the Corporation, and that authority

may be general or confined to specific in-

stances and shall be authorized by a resolu-

tion of the Board of Directors.

Section 3. Loans. No loans shall be con-

tracted on behalf of the Corporation and no

evidences of indebtedness shall be issued in

its name unless authorized by a resolution of

the Board of Directors. That authority may

be general or confined to specific instances.

No loans shall be made by the Corporation

to a director nor shall the Corporation guar-

antee the obligation of a director.

Section 4. Checks, Drafts, Etc. All checks,

drafts, or other orders for the payment of

money, notes or other evidences of indebt-

edness issued in the name of Tapteal

Greenway Association shall be signed by

the officer or officers, agent or agents of

the Corporation and in the manner as

shall from time to time be determined by

resolution of the Board of Directors.

Section 5. Deposits. All funds of the

Corporation shall be deposited in a

timely manner to the credit of the Corpo-

ration in such banks, trust companies, or

other depositories as the Board of Direc-

tors may select.

Section 6. Remuneration. No salary

shall be paid directors or officers for

their service, provided, that nothing

herein contained shall be construed to

preclude any director from serving the

Corporation in any other capacity and

receiving compensation there for. Direc-

tors may be reimbursed for expenses

incurred during conduct of official busi-

ness of the Corporation, e.g. travel, lodg-

ing and meal expenses, duplicating, etc.

at the discretion of the Board of Direc-

tors.

Section 7. Funds. There shall be created

by the Board of Directors a general fund

of the Corporation. Said funds shall be

administered by the Board of Directors.

This fund shall be utilized for the pay-

ment of general operating expenses.

Any non-budgeted expenditure in excess

of an amount determined by the Board of

Directors shall require approval by the

Board of Directors.

ARTICLE XI. RULES OF ORDER

“Robert’s rule of Order” shall

be the parliamentary authority for all

matters of procedure not specifically

covered by the by-laws.

P A G E 4

The mule deer's

tail is black-tipped,

the whitetail's is

not.

Creature Feature The mule deer or black-tailed deer is

a deer indigenous to western North Amer-

ica, named for its large mule-like ears. The

most noticeable differences between white-

tails and mule deer are the color of their

tails, size of their ears, and the configuration

of their antlers. The mule deer's tail is black-

tipped, the whitetail's is not. A white-tailed

deer will raise its tail like a flag when

alarmed.

Mule deer antlers "fork" as they grow,

rather than branching from a single main

beam, as is the case with whitetails. Each

spring, a buck's antlers start to regrow al-

most immediately after the old antlers are

shed.

The "rut" or mating season usually begins in

the fall as does go into estrus for a period of

a few days and males become more aggres-

sive, competing for mates. Does may mate

with more than one buck. The gestation

period is about 190–200 days, with fawns

born in the spring, staying with their moth-

ers during the summer and being weaned in

the fall after about 60–75 days.

Mule deer utilize a wide variety of plant

foods, but they are primarily browsers on

woody vegetation and eat relatively little

grass. They readily adapt to agricultural

products and landscape plantings. In sum-

mer, you can find deer along the Yakima

River wherever Mulberry trees are fruiting

and in late summer near the blackberry

bushes. In the early fall look for Black

Chestnut trees and you will catch a glimpse

of feeding deer chomping on the fat rich

nuts. During winter they will browse on new

grasses and munch on Russian Olives.

Mule deer rarely travel far from water or for-

age, and often bed down within easy walking

distance of both. They use the Lower Yakima

River and the connective trails of the Greenway

as a corridor to move back and forth from Bate-

man Island up stream to Tapteal Bend and Fox

Island. The Washington Department of Trans-

portation installed a wildlife tunnel underneath

Highways 240 connecting the Yakima Delta

with the rest of the Lower Yakima River corri-

dor. Young mule deer generally forage together

in family groups; older bucks tend to travel

alone or with other bucks. Most actively forag-

ing around dawn and dusk, they usually bed

down in protected areas mid-day. This is an-

other good reason to keep pets on a leash espe-

cially when walking on Bateman Island, in the

Chamna Natural Preserve and W.E. Johnson

Park.

If you are fortunate to come upon a deer, stop

where you are and remain still. You may end

up in a stare down until the deer processes you

and your odor; enjoy the moment.

T A P T E A L T A L K

Ridges to Rivers Scores Big

P A G E 5 H O L I D A Y E D I T I O N 2 0 1 2

The American Planning Asso-

ciation Washington Chapter

(APAWC), and The Planning

Association of Washington

(PAW) 2012 Award Honoring

Outstanding Contributions to

the Field of Planning in the

Category of Citizen Involve-

ment was given to Ridges to

Rivers Open Space Network of

the Mid-Columbia for Ridges to

Rivers Open Space Network

Vision Plan in October.

Kelly Larimer representing

APAWC/PAW handed the

award to RROSN President

Scott Woodward at an event in

the Tri Cities on November 9.

Ms. Larimer commented that:

“The plan submitted by the

Ridges to Rivers Open Space

Network was enthusiastically

received by our Awards Jury,

who were impressed that the

project was entirely citizen

driven, which is a very positive

aspect, and that the project tied

recreation to economic develop-

ment and quality of life.

Regional Planning can only suc-

ceed if all the entities coopera-

tively move along similar trails,

and this plan provides that trail.

Stick with your vision and upon

successful implementation of this

plan, we will be happy to see you

submit to our Joint Planning

Awards Committee under the

success of our Implementation

Award category.”

Mr. Woodward closed off the

event with a few remarks includ-

ing:

“This document is the work and

the voice of constituents from

throughout the Mid-Columbia

who have produced a tool for

regional planning funded pri-

marily by those same volunteer

citizens and is currently recog-

nized for its excellence by the

American Association of Plan-

ners Washington Chapter and

the Planners Association of

Washington.

Now the plan needs to be recog-

nized for its excellence and value

by our local planners and jurisdic-

tions that represent the very same

constituents who worked so hard

to create it.”

It is unfortunate that only NPR

chose to cover this story so spread

the word about the good work of

our friends at RROSN.

“Now the plan

needs to be

recognized for its

excellence and

value by our local

planners and

jurisdictions that

represent the very

same constituents

who worked so

hard to create it.”

Happy HolidaysHappy Holidays

and Many Salmon Returnsand Many Salmon Returns

Screaming and Scramming

The Howl ‘ Scream Scram Tapteal Greenway benefit

race was held on October 20. Greenway member John

Freese and his family are the primary organizers sup-

ported by the 3 Rivers Road Runners and Runners

Soul. There were three kids’ heats along with Hallow-

een costume contests for each heat and big kids 5k

and 10k races.

John and Shannon Freese go out of their way to make

this a fun event. Several Tapteal volunteers helped out

and a few Tapteal runners participated. Last year’s

race raised $1400 for Tapteal. We hope you will con-

sider either participating or volunteering for next

year’s race. Go ahead and mark it on your calendar,

October 19, 2013.

Tapteal Water Trail now Floating

As reported in the Fall edition of Tapteal Talk our Tapteal Water

Trail committee was in the process of reorganization. Well a large

portion of the loose ends have been tightened up and we are once

again going with the flow.

It looks like there will be twelve put ins and take outs (PITO)

along the water trail. Six spots will have an anchored security

shuttle rack for securing your kayak/canoe or bicycle as you put in

or take out. “ALERT” signs will give the floaters a heads up that a

PITO site is up ahead and at each site there will be a sign with a

corresponding number from the water trail map and a distance

traveled figure. Brochures will be available at local water sports

stores and online at the Tapteal web site. The brochures have a

water trail map and descriptions of each PITO site as well as in-

formation about using the water trail. We hope to have this avail-

able sometime next summer if not sooner.

We will need volunteers to get this done, please sign up online

and check the 2013 Tapteal calendar for work party dates.

Something to Celebrate

The Tapteal Celebration was held in October at beautiful

Kiona Vineyards Winery. A near capacity crowd was

greeted by wonderful treats prepared and arranged by

Jim and Doris Kelly, award winning wines by Kiona and

a wonderfully orchestrated silent auction coordinated by

Kami Lowry and Debbie Loehding.

There was lots of energy in the building with friends

catching up, auction bidding and raffle ticket buying.

The Tri City Conservationist of the Year award was pre-

sented followed by a program detailing the 2012 Tapteal

activities.

The proceeds from the auction and the raffle will allow

Tapteal to keep leaning forward to accomplish our goals

of enhancing recreation, education and conservation

along the Lower Yakima River and its tributaries.

Following the event the Celebration committee met to

evaluate the program and begin planning for next year.

If you have suggestions or would like to be part of the

Tapteal Celebration Committee please contact Scott at

627-3621

Page 6

Tapteal Talk