Sen. McAuliffe secures funding for Wayne land preservation
Published 4:47 pm Wednesday, April 15, 2015
During a busy floor debate at the Washington State Senate on Tuesday, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, amended the proposed Capital Budget to include $300,000 for the preservation of the land currently occupied by the Wayne Golf Course in Bothell.
“It is vital that we protect this land,” McAuliffe said. “Wayne land is uniquely situated along the Sammamish River, which is critical to the restoration and preservation of the state’s salmon population. The river is especially important because it serves as a migratory corridor for adult and juvenile salmon as they return to the watershed to spawn and leave as juveniles to grow in the ocean. Developing a large housing development here could be devastating to the salmon that live in the river.”
The House Capital Budget proposal included funding for Wayne land preservation. However, the Senate proposal did not. In response, McAuliffe was able to strike a deal with Senate budget writers to transfer a small amount of funding from another project to ensure the Wayne preservation project received some assistance from the state.
“I believe that we can work collectively at the state, city, county and private-sector levels to protect Wayne land as a recreational corridor,” McAuliffe said. “The Wayne land has the potential to be transformed into a beautiful park and tourist attraction, which could be a boost to the local economy.”
With the budget having passed both the House and the Senate in different forms, negotiations will now begin between the two bodies to reconcile the differences.
“I am going to work with budget writers in both bodies to make sure this funding remains in the final deal,” McAuliffe said. “I am going to do everything in my power to make certain Wayne land remains an open space and is transformed into a place for education and environmental stewardship for generations to come.
“As the House and Senate negotiate a final budget, my goal will be to secure around $1 million to preserve and protect Wayne land.”
