PO Box 140
Tenino, WA  98589

360-866-7596

Friends of Rocky Prairie --
A History of Efforts to Protect
 West Rocky Prairie

July 17, 2006: The Port of Olympia approved an interlocal agreement setting up a partnership with the Port of Tacoma to develop a rail logistics center near Maytown, 12 miles south of Olympia.

July 18, 2006: The Port of Tacoma paid more than $21 million to buy the 745-acre former explosives plant site from Citifor. The site’s nearby rail lines and I-5 proximity and its potential for gravel mining attract the port.

Late 2006: As word gets out that the two ports are planning to turn the largely undeveloped prairie tract into a rail yard and industrial center (the proposed South Sound Logistics Center-SSLC), local groups organize to derail the proposal.

2007: As the ports create plans to develop the land, Friends of Rocky Prairie lobbies the Olympia Port Commission, the Legislature and the Thurston County Commission to block the project. Friends of Rocky Prairie also petition the Thurston County Commission to rezone the property to a lower density.

Late 2007: Local political enthusiasm for the SSLC project wanes as opponents win battles over the land’s fate.

January 2008: Seeing their backing falling away, the ports study alternate sites for the logistics center including one near Chehalis, another near Tenino and another on the west side of Offut Lake.

Mid-march 2008: The Port of Tacoma discovers that three employees had made disparaging remarks about the Port of Olympia and a citizens group opposed to the project in e-mails. The port removes the three employees from the project.

June 30, 2008: The two ports allow the interlocal agreement to lapse, ending any possibility for the Port of Tacoma to develop the site.

September 29, 2008: the Board of County Commissioners vote to extend the moratorium for another six months on the 40% of the site that is zoned RRI (Rural Resource Industrial)

Fall 2008: The Port of Tacoma hires CenturyPacific LP to develop a marketing plan and market the tract to sell it.

Fall 2008:  FORPrairie begins working with State and Federal agencies and non-governmental conservation groups to acquire the Maytown site for conservation purposes.  This is a continuing effort.

April 2010:  Port of Tacoma finalizes sale of the Maytown Property to a Southern California Developer.  He joins with Lloyd's Enterprises of Federal Way to create Maytown Sand and Gravel Company.

July 2010:  Thurston County Commissioners decide to change the zoning on the Maytown property, lowering the allowed density to 1 house per 20 acres, to better conform with the surroundings and help protect this sensitive area.

For information and updates, or to join us, email: FORPrairie@hotmail.com