KINGSTON — As the wet winter continues, members of the Kingston Parks, Trails and Open Spaces Committee are among the few who are thrilled with the weather. The extra water, however, adds to the streams the group is currently trying to name, if even just for a little while.
The proposed creek names, which are being considered by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, are varied, but they all reflect some part of the Little City by the Sea, whether it be history or weather.
“I was able to go to a meeting in Olympia in December (2006), and DNR is in the process of considering the names,” said KPTOS committee member Karl Compton. Compton started the stream naming project, unveiling it Feb. 23, 2006 at the Kingston Town Meeting. “They’re in the part of the process when they contact local groups and find out if the names that were picked will reflect Kingston accurately.”
The meeting to finalize the names will be held in Olympia in May, Compton said, and he can’t imagine any group that will object to the suggestions. In July, the Kingston community voted on the final picks for each stream — Fukuzawa, Kingston, Whisper, Osier, Newellhurst, Kingfisher and Crabapple Creeks — and groups voicing concerns have already come forward, he said.
“I’m pretty sure all the names will go through with the state,” said Stillwaters Environmental Center administrative director Naomi Maasberg. “Karl did his homework, and we followed the rules to a T when we submitted the names.”
Once the names have been approved by the DNR, signs will be posted on roadways and other areas to educate the public about the stream names, Compton said.
“We’ve started making plans for signs for the streams,” said KPTOS committee member Walt Elliott. “We’re deciding on what kinds of signage we want. I don’t think we’ll put up anything other than the normal county signs. They’ll be placed in major public viewing areas, like roads and parks.”
The committee isn’t planning to print new maps that include the stream names, or tackle a large scale educational plan about the waterways, Compton and Elliott said. The signs are enough, though Compton said anyone interested can find out more about them from the Kingston Historical Society, the KPTOS or Stillwaters.
“Eventually, new maps will be made of the area. It will take awhile, but they’ll get changed on the public maps once the names have been OK’d,” Maasberg said. “We will certainly talk about them, especially the ones in our watershed, and we’ll work to educate people about not only the streams, but the historical significance behind their names.”
