RICHLAND, Wash. – Earlier today, the Tapteal Greenway organized a community event on Bateman Island, inviting locals to participate in a trash pickup. Around 50 people gathered with trash bags and equipment to help clean the island. This event marked more than just a cleanup—it was a farewell to the island as public access on foot will soon be eliminated.
The pathway leading to Bateman Island will be completely removed in about a month, making it inaccessible by foot. The community came together to preserve the island one last time, picking up trash piece by piece.
Bateman Island has been a cherished spot for fishing, bird watching or simply enjoying nature. Soon, however, the public won’t be able to walk there anymore.
“They’re taking out the entire causeway,” said Scott Woodward, board member for the Tapteal Greenway and the former president. “The primary reason for that is to allow the free-flowing stretch of the Yakima River to actually do what it used to do, and it flowed right through here. And the key connection there is for salmon survival.”
Woodward, a longtime Tri-Cities resident, shared his connection to Bateman Island.
“Every living hour and day of my life, it’s been here,” he said. “As a kid, you’d ride your bike out here to go fishing and just explore. All the way through my adult life, this has always been a place to go to bird, to look at birds, to look at wildlife. Just to be quiet for a change. And just enjoy what’s around you.”
With roughly 50 people attending the cleanup, Woodward expressed how important the island is to the community and highlighted the work of the Tapteal Greenway.
“People care. It’s really inspirational,” he said. “People that want to be here are here. They really care about this place. And it’s kind of rare to find a nice, quiet, open space in the Tri-Cities anymore. That’s what we fight for, to try to create the space. I know what it has done for me as a person. It’s a place that, you know, actually enhances the whole community.”
Woodward encouraged those who haven’t visited Bateman Island to do so before it’s too late. He advised visitors to be mindful of any trash they might leave behind to help preserve the island.
