Coalition Donor Profile: Maggie Coon
|
This past October, the Coalition traveled to Twisp for an evening with some of our supporters in the Methow Valley. This wonderful event was graciously hosted by Maggie Coon and her husband, Mark Wolf-Armstrong. Maggie, a long time supporter and former board president of the Coalition, has advocated for the Washington Wildllife and Recreation Program (WWRP) for many years. Maggie is extremely proud of the WWRP’s investment in the Methow. Since 1989, more than $50 million dollars for habitat protection, recreation trails and conservation easement projects like the Methow Valley Trails System and the Susie Stephens Bridge and Trail defined the dynamic of the valley. She first arrived in Washington in 1975, when she began work with the Forest Service. She found herself in the Methow Valley, tasked with creating an economic impact report for a proposed ski resort in the area. As soon as Maggie arrived in the Methow, she understood – “This is my place on Earth.” Maggie felt that the addition of over 600 resort condos would ultimately change the unique dynamic between the landscape and the community that made the valley so sacred. |
Maggie, and her husband Mark, atop Oval Peak in the Methow |
|---|---|
|
After nearly 25 years of back and forth, the debate was finally put to rest in 2001. Key investments by the WWRP grant program, in partnership with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Trust for Public Land, protected the valley and ensured that there would be no resort. Such an effort highlights the spirit and determination of Maggie’s conservation work. Maggie has been intimately involved in the Coalition’s work since its inception. At the Nature Conservancy, Maggie had “the wonderful opportunity” to lobby for the WWRP when it was first getting off its feet. For Maggie, these relationships make the Coalition so special. |
|
|
Mark and Maggie out for a stroll along the Twisp River, a project funded by the WWRP grant program in 1997 |
“The way the Coalition has mobilized so many different resources from other organizations is wonderful,” she explains, “it helps make it an efficient, lean machine that produces incredible results.” When Maggie eventually became board president in 2006, she pushed the Coalition to reach new heights. In 2007, she helped secure $100 million for WWRP projects, which still represents the largest single two-year investment in parks and greenspace in our state's history. “The stars were truly aligned,” Maggie remembers. “Absent the WWRP funding, the Methow Valley would look very different,” Maggie confidently states. “It’s about the best land protection story you can tell.” We think so too. |
