Partners & Links

SHADOW has formed several partnerships in the stewardship of the wetlands surrounding Shadow Lake. These partners bring a myriad experiences and expertise to the project.

Rainier Audubon Society
  Bird Identification and volunteers
Small Habitat Restoration 
  On-site invasive weed removal
Washington Conservation Corps
  Boardwalk construction
Shadow Lake Community Club
  Neighborhood support
King Conservation District Plants
  Volunteers and education
Washington State University 
  Education and monitoring
Wetland Stewards Program Site 
  Used for training activities
Cascade Land Conservancy 
  Land Negotiations and Partnerships
Tacoma High School
  Education Activities

The following are some examples of the kinds of support these partnerships have provided to help in the spirit of which SHADOW was formed.

In 1996, the Prinsens formed a partnership with Rainier Audubon Society, the local Audubon Chapter. Rainier Audubon immediately recognized the importance of this area to birds and waterfowl. In a cooperative project, the Prinsens and Audubon applied for a WaterWorks grant to gate a road that runs for several hundred feet on the northwest shore of the lake. This road was being used as a dump site for many hazardous materials. When the grant was received, they worked together to gate the road and to clean up the dumped trash. The gate has limited access to this area, and together with the restoration work has resulted in acres of re-established bog laurel thickets on the northwest lakeshore.

The 18-acre parcel that the Prinsens purchased included a fill area that consisted of 110 yards of various materials. The Prinsens got together with Audubon, King County, King Conservation District, and other groups and decided to create an amphibian pond on this fill site. A grant from WaterWorks in the amount of $22,200.00 was received for fill removal (to a certified site) and construction of a pond, an education room, and an 600-foot long boardwalk into the peat bog for educational tours.

In 1998, upon completion of the pond, boardwalk, viewing tower, and education room, an adjacent landowner wanted to donate her property to the Prinsens. At this time, SHADOW had not yet been formed. To accept the donation, the Prinsens entered into a partnership with Cascade Land Conservancy to act as agent and holder of the property. Seeing the need, the Prinsens moved forward to create and organization to as an entity to hold preserved lands. As a result of their efforts, SHADOW was formed as a 501(c)(3) organization in December 2000.

Provided within the bylaws of SHADOW, in agreement with the Cascade Land Conservancy, should SHADOW dissolve, all assets will transfer to the Cascade Land Conservancy.