• City of SeaTac Pushes back against FAA Finding of No Significant Impact from Proposed Airport Expansion Projects (SAMP)

• Over 20 acres (and counting) of Des Moines Tree Canopy Recently Lost Due to Warehouse and Transportation Projects

• Local and State Groups Fight Demolition of Des Moines Forest and Iconic Building

• Defenders Advocate for Mathison Park and Burien City Council presses Port for Full EIS

• STACC4J Forum Records Candidates’ Promises to Community Members

• UW Geography Students Turned Tree Defenders

City of SeaTac Pushes back against FAA Finding of No Significant Impact from Proposed Airport Expansion Projects (SAMP)

City Council plans to enter Interlocal Agreement with Burien and Des Moines to seek outside legal counsel.

As reported by Alia Sinclair in South King Media’s Seatac Blog, the city of SeaTac voted unanimously on Tuesday, November 12th to join forces with the cities of Burien and Des Moines by entering into an Interlocal Agreement to secure outside legal counsel to oppose the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) as a result of the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP).

The FAA’s evaluation comes as the result of the agency’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a federal review of environmental impact. Their Finding of No Significant Impact has led the cities involved in the Interlocal Agreement to suspect that their previously submitted comments about the impact of the SAMP to south King County residents were not adequately addressed by the FAA during the NEPA process.

A challenge to appeal the City of Des Moines’ Final Environmental Impact State and Demolition Permit for the Des Moines Masonic Home property was conducted in an online hearing on October 21 and 22. The challenge was filed by the Des Moines Historical Society, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and the Citizens for the Protection of Des Moines’ Historic Resources, which raised over $10,000 largely in part to a GoFundMe campaign to hire land use attorneys Bricklin and Newman to represent their concerns.

The appellants invited testimony from local residents as well as retired 33rd District State Senator Karen Keiser, Washington Trust for Historic Preservation Executive Director Chris Moore, and Architectural Historian Michael Sullivan. Rebuttals were presented by attorneys representing the City of Des Moines and the developer. In addition to razing the iconic century-old building which is also known as “Landmark on the Sound,” the demolition permit also would allow the removal of nearly 15 acres of trees on the east side of the property. Hearing examiner Peregrin Sorter is expected to announce his decision in early December.

As we reported in our September 6th issue, on August 27th, the Port of Seattle (the Port) announced completion of the state-required environmental review (SEPA) of its Flight Corridor Management Program plan to remove trees, including 5 legacy Douglas Firs on the north side of Burien's Mathison Park. See BTown Blog post by Eric Mathison, son of park’s donors) By its own data and analysis, which failed to consider any value the park or its trees have to community residents and environment, the Port found that the removals will have 'no probable significant adverse impact' on the surrounding environment.

In its SEPA checklist (required by WA state) the Port virtually ignored the values of Mathison Park including its air quality, shade for picnics and children's play equipment, resilience to the climate crisis, historical significance and that it has been targeted in Burien's Comprehensive Plan as serving in a High Priority Equity Area.

The Port also failed to provide specific justification for the trees' removal, or to provide advanced warning to Burien's City Council or Airport Committee so a thorough review of circumstances could be prepared.

The time allotted for public comment has passed. Nonetheless, Defenders of Highline Forest successfully convinced the Burien City Council to take another hard look at the Port's intentions, get better answers from it and push for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which will examine the specific conditions of the Park and its many benefits and importance to our area, in order to come up with a better solution.

STACC4J Forum Records Candidates’ Promises to Community Members

In preparation for the 2025 Candidate Forum held 10/22, STACC4J, (Sea-Tac Airport Community Coalition 4 Justice) convened a group of grassroots organizations, community residents and leaders to meet over 4 months to discuss the issues most urgent and important to their communities. A few members of the Defenders attended this event where they heard and learned about the community organization’s 5 key themes:

1. Environmental & Health Justice: Our communities are deeply concerned about air and noise pollution, particulate matter, and lead from aviation fuel. Health impacts on us who live near the airport are a central issue.

2. Workforce Access and Economic Barriers: Barriers persist in accessing Port-related jobs and contracts, particularly for immigrants, BIPOC communities, and those with limited English proficiency.

3. Policy and Regional Regulatory Coordination: We need policy alignment across jurisdictions, leadership accountability, and transparent communication regarding collaborations (e.g., with federal agencies or ICE).

4. Community Engagement and Prioritization: We are calling for more meaningful, accessible, and culturally relevant outreach from the Port and related agencies. Stakeholders want genuine influence over decisions, not just consultation.

5. Funding and Sustainability Challenges: Overarching concern about the clarity, accessibility, and transparency of Port and city grants, with requests for longer-term funding and community review to better match resources to need.

They gave the top questions to the Port of Seattle and 33rd Legislative District candidates. View the recording from the Candidate Forum including candidate responses here.

UW Geography Students Turned Tree Defenders

This fall, UW Professor Dr. Gretchen Sneegas approached the Defenders of Highline Forest to collaborate with students in her Climate Justice and Social Action class. This course empowers students to actively engage in social action and organizing for climate justice, which aligns perfectly with our mission.

A group of five students signed up to become UW Defenders of Highline Forest and selected a campaign urging King County to fund the creation of a Tree Code Toolkit. Their campaign directly seeks a policy change at the county level and has implications for climate justice outcomes in cities across the county. A Tree Code Toolkit would help standardize and strengthen protections for trees in cities and in the county, which are vital for carbon sequestration, urban heat island mitigation, and biodiversity—all critical components of climate justice.

This campaign has offered UW Defenders of Highline Forest a concrete and impactful opportunity to apply their learning to a real-world issue, developing a student-led campaign that complements our existing efforts. Our UW Defenders enlisted support in advocating King County to produce a Tree Code Toolkit and attended King County’s 11/12 budget Town Hall in support for funding this critical resource alongside Defenders lead organizer, Sandy Hunt.

Cities such as SeaTac and Des Moines could greatly benefit from funding for a Tree Code Toolkit. Many thanks to Jed Langham, Lucas McNeil, Lauren Pike, Tom Sander and Olivia Rodrigues-Metzler (not pictured) for their advocacy. Submit your comments here on the county budget as soon as possible in support of funding for the environment and trees. We are specifically requesting county funding for South King county cities to develop a Tree Code Toolkit -please join our advocacy efforts by submitting your comments as a Defender!

Support the Defenders 

As always, Defenders of Highline Forest welcome volunteers to help with the newsletter, fundraising, and advocacy campaigns. Want to lend a hand in 2025? We’d love to have you! Contact info@defendersofhighlineforest.org 

Content Contributors

Content for this edition of your Defenders of Highline Forest newsletter was provided by Barbara McMichael, Clare Parfitt, Eileen Lambert, Kate Richardson, Rick Harwood and Sandy Hunt.