Hazel Wolf’s contributions to conservation are innumerable. By the time she passed in 2000 at the age of 101, she had helped establish 21 chapters of the state’s Audubon Society, revitalized the Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs, built lasting relationships between state Tribal representatives and environmentalists, and stood up for low-income and minority groups in neighborhoods experiencing excessive pollution. Just to name a few things.

Today, her legacy lives on in a 116-acre wetland in Sammamish, Washington. Like the Seattle-based environmental activist, the wetland is a workhorse for the community around it. It captures and filters urban stormwater runoff, provides a haven for wildlife and a respite for local residents, and offers a touching way to honor a conservation hero.

Yet, had it not been for the collaboration among Forterra, King County, and a housing developer, the wetlands would look very different today, as described in Forterra – Land for People. Land for Nature. Land for Good.™

“A housing development firm, Quadrant, was planning to build several hundred homes on the Sammamish Plateau, an idyllic highland just east of Seattle. In one corner of the property was a 100-acre wetland unofficially known as Saddle Swamp or Beaver Dam Wetlands.”

The unlikely development—conservation connection resulted in a wetland preserve that provides vital green stormwater infrastructure to Sammamish residents and is a reminder of what can be achieved through partnerships and tenacity. Read about the Hazel Wolf Wetlands story and more in Forterra – Land for People. Land for Nature. Land for Good.™