Noelle Richards lives near the headwaters of the Newauken Creek-- her farm tucked in the Cascade foothills on the edge of Enumclaw. She owns 10 square acres -- half forested and half pasture. The forested part is kept that way to protect the salmon bearing stream. And the pasture is lush and green with lots of grass for her horses.

Noelle owns two horses that hang out in the pasture across from her home and the Newauken Creek right now-- but specializes in hosting race horses who board on her pasture.

Richards has loved horses since she was a kid. "Ever since I was 4 years old I have wanted to ride horses."

Her property hosts a grand snag of a tree left over from the logging days of Weyerhauser. "We planted lots of native conifers, maple other shrubs and plants there to give the land a chance to do what it is best at-- grow trees." Richards has found some real benefits to keeping the trees on her property.

"The horse runs we have used to be covered in water -- no fun for horses or for me. When I planted a dozen conifers between my two horse runs from the barn to the field, I haven't had a problem since. The trees act like a sponge and soak up all the water. Of course I have a few inches of gravel down on the path, too. That helps a lot."

Richards found her home through a friend. "An old friend of mine came over here to visit a horse over 30 years ago, and I fell in love with the place. I told the owners if they ever wanted to sell their house to let me know." Well -- 30 years ago I was 26 and it was quite a bit of work to get mortgage and ownership set up for this parcel. But I did it.

And I have been taking care of this creek and the horses around it ever since. I love this place."

"Back in the 80's after I bought this farm, the King Conservation District called to see if they could stop by and walk around the property. I think the fellow who stopped picked my place because we are right up against the hills here-- kind of the headwaters for the Newauken Creek. He taught me to see the difference between the side of the creek that was full of native plants and good banks, and the side of the river near the horses that has been worn down by livestock.

They showed me how to fence the horses off, and the District plant sales have been a steady source of new plants to keep greening up this part by the creek that I want to be wild."

Salmon have been running ever since: "Chinook and coho spawning right here in our front yard. Here in end of September you won't see them, but after the rains start up in October the water levels will rise. The fish that are hanging out down in the Green River waiting for a little more water before they are going to make their way up here. "

"It takes them about a month for them to make their way up here to spawn under this Big Leaf Maple" Richards points to 100 year old tree that shades the creek and has a spawning area next to its roots. "Someday next month I will be working on the yard next to my home and hear splashing in the creek. I'll walk over and their they are-- making their nests and spawning. It is really something to behold."

The hills around her home are the upper watershed for the Newauken, which is one of the last best places for salmon coming in from Puget Sound and the Green River.

"The hills had been owned by Weyerhauser when I got here. And the land has been through some ups and downs. One year W clearcut all the forests on one swath of land above us -- and you wouldn't believe the problems. We had flooding -- the run off from the mountain side they cleared was too much. So we organized a meeting with Weyerhauser and they improved somewhat." The next cut wasn't quite so hard on those of us living downstream in Enumclaw.

But then Weyerhaueser sold their land to Hartford Insurance Co. and you wouldn't believe the mess they've made up in the hills here. And worse than Weyerhauser-- they won't meet with us to talk about our problems with them ruining our water. The flooding is bad and not being a good neighbor doens't help. They shouldn't be cutting here if they aren't going to do it sustainably."

Bad corporate neighbors or not, Noelle has worked with the facts on the ground -- in her case a lot of water-- and made the best of it.

Noelle has set up her paddocks for race horses -- they are longer and narrower so the animals can run. And she has contributed a lot to current understanding of how to care for horses and pasture management.

Conservation district efforts in the 80's was all based on dairy cow manure lagoons- and educating farmers and dairymen about what it took to care for the land while raising their livestock.

"The Conservation Districts and the NRCS were great at developing environmentally sensitive livestock -- but they didn't have know what to make of horses out here. But they knew enough to get started. It is amazing what some education has done to the way I see the world. I learned so much I started teaching people about ways to develop chore efficiency, how to care for their pastures, and of course their horses, too."

" I started teaching other people about how to care for their horse responsibly -- and I have a passion for teaching people how to be better horsemen and women."

"We started the King Co. Model Horse Farm project back in 1990. Since all the best management practices in those days were based on dairy cows, people came out on farm tours, showing people what we had learned about keeping horses, and how to care for them in a way that is efficient for the horse owner. There is no point in getting someone so much information that they get overwhelmed-- because then they won't do anything. The key is to make the environmentally responsible thing also the easiest and most efficient. And that's what the district staff has taught me."

Noelle teaches small groups of farmers -- and has seen several thousand people a year for some time now. "We teach people to grow healthy strong relationships with their horses and other farm animals."

These days Noelle is more interested in research. "When we teach now-- I work to teach using livestock procedures that are natural for the animal. We teach people to rotate their fences, to let an animal graze one area and then come over to the next section, and work across the pasture for the summer."

"The Conservation District teaches to grow grass for 10 inches and when they eat down to 3, then pull them off. If you don't you turn your pasture into deserts. Pastures that are low grass-- eaten down to far are a danger to the horses, because clover and other weeds can outcompete the grasses the horses like to eat. But even then, the pasture is susceptible to weeds at 3 inches."

"What do you do about it? I think even eating down to 3 inches is part of the problem now. My research show that if you grow a pasture out to 14 inches and then move the animals when they get down to 7" you get a lot sturdier grass in the field, and fewer weeds. We want the pasture to last and not get overworked."

Richards research is not accepted wisdom of the conservation districts -- yet. But she is confident once the results she has seen are known to more horse people, better pasture management for horse owners is right behind.

Noelle Richards home is proof positive that salmon and livestock can get along-- even thrive together with some thoughtful planning and planting and persistent work.

And Richards is rich in the ways we usually don't measure -- whether it is the sound of a fish tail splashing as it nests, or horses that love her gentle attention. Her attention to land and plants and animals living on it, her teaching and research have all contributed to wealthy and healthy life on her own terms.

Pat Cosgrove
43017 234th Pl SE
Enumclaw WA

Pat Cosgrove
43017 234th Pl SE
Enumclaw WA

Newauken Creek's Chinook, coho, sockeye, and chum salmon as well as winter steelhead have been observed spawning through it.

The Enumclaw plateau stretches below Mount Rainier's belly, a sprawling mass of rural homes on farms, and dense housing in Enumclaw and Auburn. And salmon find there way home here every year.

Long before white settlers invaded Indian land, the Newauken Creek and its main tributaries that empty into the Green and Duwamish Rivers carried salmon. Newauken means "gently flowing waters" according to one translation.

Before logging, salmon ran up hill, through deep forest, to the headwaters in the Cascades where they spawned and created one of the richest salmon habitats in mid Puget Sound.

The Newauken Creek still carries some salmon, but the trees are all gone. Once the logging companies had clearcut the plateau, farmers moved in and started settlements. Dairies grew and prospered. The milk flowed, the buttern churned, cheese made. Manure flowed, too. And the creek life suffered.

Salmon are running strong still-- in large part thanks to public salmon restoration projects. Education campaigns to clean water in rural areas has helped as well.

One of the Newauken Creek's best neighbors is Pat Cosgrove, horse owner and nature lover. She has improved her small piece of land for salmon's benefit, through proper drains around her horse barn, native plantings, and encouraging wildlife to prosper.

Pat Cosgrove has bought 5 acres from a farmer in Enumclaw fourteen years ago. She moved from a neighborhood in north Seattle to get some fresh air and raise horses. The land is filling in with houses after all that time, but Enumclaw still has a rural feeling where Cosgrove lives.

Her family includes a Lusitano horse named Rosa, a little pony to keep her horse company, and her ever present fetching border collie "Name"

Pat's small barn would whistle it is so clean. She has big French drains that collect rainwater around the barn and keep the area dry.

Her 30' x 60' big fenced area has a bed of gravel. "Sand pulverizes under the horse's foot and begins to hold water-- which is the biggest problem here on my land. A good part of the back is a winter wetland. "

For some people this winter wetland would be a pain to work woith, or better fill in so that she could use it all year. But Pat has always had two goals for this land.

I've wanted horses, and to promote wildlife. We planted dogwood, spruce, other trees along the property line to encourage cover for birds and little animals. Bald eagles fly by daily. They are scavenging this big green space for food. And my next door neighbor has a pond in the wettest part of the year-- so I see lots of ducks, vultures, and hawks. " Cosgrove points out the big swales on the eastern edge of her land that serve as a buffer to filter water and keep it clean.

"My neighbor's got Neuwauken Creek running along the edge of my property . There are salmon coming up that creek still, and I like to think they'll keep coming if we take care of this land."

Middle of winter when Seattle is at her grayest and wettest, or so it seems after months of the same all winter, Cosgrove anticipates the return of frogs. "It is quiet now, -- but in the past in February is a big chorus. And you have to watch it coming out of my home-- I'll have frogs on every window, flowerpot and door. I even get them hanging out under the towel I keep by my back door to wipe the dog off with-- they hop up and hold on at night.

"This past year has been different. I've seen less than ten frogs all year." Cosgrove and many other people are concerned about what that means. " Is it a seasonal problem? Or did something happen to their habitat around here to diminish the number of frogs so quickly?"

In the mean time, Cosgrove says she has lots of other company. "I have possum, skunk, and as you can see from the little hills and holes in the gorund-- lots of voles. The voles bring coyotes, and the raptors overhead for lunch. I bought a hawk plattform in the back along the edge of my pasture, but so far have seen mostly crows roosting there. They hang out there and in the big cottonwood. One of my favorites is visits from violet green swallows that follow me on my walks with my horse. They love it when we are out in the pasture because it stirs up bugs."

Her big field is full of native plants and plenty of blue sky in summer. Of course there have been disruptions. Cosgrove and her husband split up years ago. I looked at this place -- the barn, the house, animals and felt overwhelmed. But staying here was the best decision I made. I just knew if I sold the farm, I would be living in a crappy slum in Auburn, suffocating from being back in city living. Out here I can breathe, and enjoy all that nature provides. It isn't fancy, but this is home. "

Looking through Cosgrove's bird list, it is easy to see her home is shared by many: American bitterns, Great Blue Heron, the requisite Canada goose, mallard, American widgeon, black turkey vultures, black shouldered kites, California quail, Anna's Hummingbird, common snipe, Downy woodpecker, northern flicker, common raven, lots of ring necked pheasant and northern bobwhite are a few of the diverse birds that call Cosgrove's five acres home. " I even have a merlin on my list" - Pat says with a hint of one who know the magic of being one with nature.

"I've seen two skunks fighting out here. That isn't pretty."

Today, she takes Rosa along with her friend's pack mules and goes on hikes into backcountry around Mount Rainier and a number of weekend hikes. "I love living here in the country-- and being so close to that big mountain. It is so peaceful -- and our horses love packing into the back country."

Life is a good mix right now. And Pat's grateful everything has worked out so well.

Alayne Blickle, Horses for Clean Water Maple Valley Washington

Horses for Clean Water, now in its 8th year, offers people across our country ways to care for horses that improves the farm they live on and reduces non-point pollution. Techniques such as mud management and composting manure offer a way to care for animals that benefit the animals, the farm, the owner, the community and the environment.

If horses have a fairy Godmother– she would be Alayne Blickle.

Tucked away on a back road in Maple Valley Washington on 20 acres of pasture and forest you will find the headquarters for Blickle (pronounced Blick LEE) — and her husband Matt.

Blickle is horse lover, teacher, and a passionate advocate for healthy equine practices.

Blickle is also a force for change in the way small farmers work with their land, their horses and neighbors.

She is the go to expert in Seattle, and western US for educating horse owners about sustainable ways to care for horses through her business Horses for Clean Water. And you can see that with her husband Matt that the horses are her family.

She has a straight forward routine that promotes a healthy ecosystem and benefits people who own horses, too.

Why go to all the trouble? What's a little horse manure on a big 20 acre place in rural Maple Valley?

“I found out it is more convenient for me - and keeps my horses healthy when I made a simple mud and manure management plan,” says Blickle.

Acts of love get expressed on Blickle’s 20+ acres simply: clean up horse manure, carry water runoff away from where horses live.

What got her started working with horses? “I’ve loved horses since I was a kid. I feel like it is genetic — I just have horses in my bones. “ She says she has run into other horse people who say the same thing.

To look at her dressed in jeans and her horse riding gear, a well worn Carhartt jacket you'd think Alayne comes from third generation Washington cowgirls and boys. Say hello Chicago!

"When I was a kid I knew I wanted to ride horses. My folks basically said -- sure-- if you earn the money. So this city girl would go to work after school to raise money for my riding lessons. It was the best investment I ever made. I learned to ride horses- better yet -- it confirmed my passion for horses, and has led to years of happiness.”

What are the practical steps to help keep her horses healthy and happy?

Mud and manure management is as different as the land you have your horse living on. But there are get down to a few basic steps. Rain gutters, gravel, French drain and slope.

Recipe for Healthy Horses:

1. Manure composting, and keeping water clean.

2. Add about six inches of gravel and rake twice daily.

3. Add exercise, and good food.

There you have it. A recipe for clean healthy horse life in King County.

Horses happy. Streams and runoff from Blickle's place cleaner. Streams cleaner, salmon have a better chance of surviving.

It is a beautiful world.

Alayne and Matt decided rural Seattle was going to be home so they could have animals and some peace and quiet.

Alayne has a special relationship with her horses

"My family had no interest in horses to do with horses-- I grew up in suburban Chicago IL. I had to do some serious lobbying to even get riding lessons." I had to pay for it all, too.

I rode at riding horses-- I rode from 5th grade to college. I had wonderful lesson horses.

I rode at riding academies, rode wonderful riding horses that were already broke and educated horses.”


She and Matt do lots of riding together. “ Matt helps with chores and riding -- Matt and I do everything together-- we compete in reigning-- at national levels. He is a a national judge at the NRHA Nat'l Reigning Horse Assoc -- he is a judge which is hard to get to-- highly skilled.

Alayne and Matt have integrated lots of wild areas into their land. " We have wild area-- 5 acres logged at turn of century, replanted, planted some more natives and trees every year. When we bought this property we went to WSU and took a Forest Stewardship Plan. Public Benefit Rating System-- King Co program-- reduces taxes in exchange for not developing it.

We really enjoy the wildlife-- 12-15 elk, coyotes, deer once in a while-- we can recongnize the difference. Horses don't care-- the elk really devastate everything-- we have to take horses off pasture a few months early because the elk live in the pasture-- the elk run it down below three--

We have a pair of eagles or ospreys all summer, a lot of hawks and birds of all kinds. We have barn swallows, violet green swallows-- great for insect control. We also have a female bear in the woods since we've lived in our other house.

"She is a good bear-- she's very afraid of people and taiught all of her cubs that-- I have seen her in our pasture, in the woods-- she sends the cubs up the tree and then -- I haven't seen her. That is the great part of this land: we have 164 acres of state land right next door."

Once I was working on part of the pasture and feeding horses. A bull elk and a couple other elk showed up not 50 yards away. The bull elk has 8 point antlers-- he was in back out there with one of his young ones-- usually they leave when the sun is up. He was trying to lose his antlers-- I went out to be within 25 yards of him -- he basically gave them to me-- flipped the antler off right in front of me.”

What has been the biggest surprise on the Blickle ranch? "It is really neat seeing the horses watch the elk-- they seem to be calmed by the elk-- they enjoy and are curious about the elk-- when they are in the front yard-- no one is afraid.

Coyote --We call him Limpy-- I've seen him several times-- and he was in the front pasture once and then in early summer-- I was going to ride in the arena and my dogs staret barking at my rose bushes -- Limpy is in the bushes -- he is in the bushes just yipping. I don't want them to get used to humans-- so I thought I shout and flush him out-- push him out -- we have back pasture gates open so elk can get out.

I felt like someone was watching me and I turned around and he was right there staring at me. They are quite curious about it all-- they're hunting mice."

In addition to great wildlife habitat, Blickle has greened up her farm pasture and horse care. “For the horses --we've stopped using bedding, and that substantially reduced stall waste-- so we use rubber matts. Wood shavings have gone way up-- high cost of horse bedding-- we try to teach people to not use shavings, they don't compost or absorb things. Pellets are really absorbent."

Blickle dreams include keeping Horses For Clean Water-- want to get a PhD and work on water conservation , irrigated pastures, thinking of moving to a dryer area — inland Washington.

We are really serious about competing and reigning so we want to go to a dryer area which is still in the Northwest.

What has been the biggest surprise on the Blickle ranch? "It is relaly neat seeing the horseswwatch the elk-- they seem to be calmed by the elk-- they enjoy and are curious about the elk-- when they are in the front yard-- no one is afraid.

I felt like someone was watching me and I turned around and he was right there staring at me. They are quite curious about it all-- they're hunting mice."

If she could click her heels and get three wishes Alayne would like:

“I'd like a covered arena, more sunshine. That's not being very accepting of the environment and where we are-- I am pretty happy with our place and what we've done. We've accomplished what we have hoped to-- bringing it from a place of point source pollution-- mud and manure and no pasture. Used to be mud and rocks and tansy wragwort-- it was like a tansy ragwort farm. Makes it really to take care of all of it now that we have practices in place.”

“ As an environmental educator, it is exciting time-- there is no shortage of work-- it is interesting the -- people who aren't even aware of horses and clean water-- water is finite and precious. Things have changed so much in the past 15 years.”

It isn't going to be there unless we all change. Stop non point, organic production, reduce pesticides--

The work is there but it is hard to get funding for it.

The work is getting to it.”

And the Blickle’s home for horses, wildlife, and teaching make all the work worthwhile.