Meet the designer of the Islands Trailhead slide at Fly Fishing Film Festival
Click here to get your tickets and learn about raffle items to support the Spokane River.
Visit with Craig Andersen and the Spokane Conservation District to learn more about the Spokane Valley Islands Trailhead slide to access the Spokane River. They’ll be attending the International Film Festival at the Bing March 25th.
“Wow, this is really steep,” thought Craig Andersen, a Project Manager and landscape architect with AHBL, our design consultant for the project. AHBL provides professional consulting services in civil engineering, landscape architecture, land planning, land surveying and structural engineering with offices in Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Tacoma, and Seattle.
And so began Craig’s work with fly fishing enthusiasts needing a take-out in Spokane Valley. Said Andy Dunau, the Forum’s Executive Director, “The Spokane River is generally characterized by steep banks, so you can pretty much count on one hand places where you can easily walk or drive down to the river’s edge.”
Like a lot of things, however, you find out how others solved similar dilemmas. Said Craig, “The design came out of talking to drift boat guys who use slide systems for getting their boats in and out of rivers around the Northwest. Rafting guys had similar input, so we knew we were on the right track.”
Research by AHBL then turned up national guidelines for developing drift boat launches. “We combined local input with the national guidelines and AHBL’s expertise on low impact development to fully develop the design,” continued Craig. Low impact means “minimal ground disturbance” to the land. In this case that was particularly important not only to protect the riparian area, but be sensitive to and avoid the possibility of disturbing cultural resources.
Craig is not a stranger to rivers and water. He grew up on the banks of the Wabash River in Indiana, and by his teen years was enjoying lakes and rivers in the Puget Sound area. As an outdoor enthusiast who can be seen rock and ice climbing, road biking and skiing, it’s easy for him to connect with people with a passion for the Spokane River.
“These are interesting times for older millennials like me,” said Craig. “We value being outdoors and are looking for creative ways to protect natural spaces. That’s why I’m so into looking at ways to move from green turf and trees to landscapes that are aesthetically pleasing, yet fit more with the natural landscape.” If you look at AHBL’s work on River Walk in Peaceful Valley, Hazel Creek landscaping near Ferris High School and Country Homes Boulevard on the north side, you get the idea.
“When the project is complete at Islands,” said Craig, “it’ll be the first slide system on the Spokane River. That’s cool. But from AHBL’s perspective, it’s just as important we did it in a way that restores the shoreline and minimizes land disturbances. That’s where we see landscaping going in this community, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”