Cascadia's World Heritage
Cascadia has a wealth of astonishing and pristine natural places. It's part of why residents here are so committed to this place.
One measure of the Northwest's bounty is the number of world heritage sites--natural and cultural places so unique that they are designated by the United Nations as the most important repositories of the planet's ecological richness and humankind's legacy. The boundaries of Cascadia include all or part of a number of these world heritage sites, including Yellowstone; the redwoods of California; the international peace parks of Waterton and Glacier; the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks; SGang Gwaay, an ancient Haida village; and the Glacier Bay-Yukon region, which boasts, among other features, perhaps the most complicated name imagineable. (You can use this cool interactive map to find others.) But no world heritage gem is closer to Cascadia's human inhabitants than Olympic National Park, an ecological treasure trove just a few miles from Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Victoria.
Why this paean to the Olympics? Because right now, Olympic National Park is charting its course for its next 20 years. And the public is allowed--nay, encouraged--to provide comment and guidance on the park's future management.
