The Spokane Parks Department has developed a master plan for Finch Arboretum.
The plan is a wish list for improvements that could be carried out at the site over the next 20 years.
The Parks Department held several meetings, and took public input on priorities for improvements at Finch Arboretum, and its 65 acres of land in southwest Spokane.
Among the list of things to be improved, reducing the amount of noise that comes from nearby Interstate 90.
City landscape architect Nick Hamad says the actual fix for that issue may take some time, as it would be the most costly of the proposed improvements.
"We're just starting to engage DOT (the Department of Transportation) about whether a sound wall or sound attenuation is feasible or whether it’s affordable, so that’s our next step. And outside of that we take this master plan and feedback and start to apply for grants. And those grants are typically administered for us at the state level, with the Recreation and Conservation office, so we’ll be looking to put together grants in this next cycle on pathways and planting, that sort of thing,” he said.
Another potential project is to establish several new habitat exhibits for native plants and trees from our region. The idea would be much like the varied terrain you would see driving to central Washington from Montana.
“If someone came from out of the area, from somewhere else they might be able to see and experience what Fourth of July Pass looks like. Or in our case, it might be what does Walla Walla and the riparian woodland look like? Or what does the Palouse Steppe or Washtucna look like? What does Spokane’s ponderosa pine woodland look like? And we would organize it in a way you could walk though it in a linear manner,” Hamad said.
You can find the master plan for the Finch Arboretum online.
