About Friends of
Discovery Park

Friends of Discovery Park (FoDP) is an all-volunteer group of citizens from across the Pacific Northwest. Our mission is simple: to defend the integrity of Discovery Park. Since the early days of Discovery Park, we have advocated for this natural space—a place where the beauty of nature takes precedence over human-made works.   

FoDP is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization  that promotes and protects the Park according to its primary purpose, as defined in the Discovery Park Master Plan.

We also acknowledge the Native peoples for whom Discovery Park has been home since time immemorial. We respect their Indigenous and tribal treaty rights, and we honor their culture in all the work we do.

Our 15 board members are the trustees of the organization, and according to our bylaws, make all decisions on behalf of FoDP. We meet monthly. The public is welcome to attend our monthly meetings via invitation, and we frequently have a diverse range of guests attend.

As a former military base, tremendous work has been done to decommission all infrastructure left over from Fort Lawton. This work continues today, as we advocate integrating the final remaining parcel into Discovery Park. (LINK TO BRAC PAGE)

We support the Park holistically and work with valued partners and stakeholders, including Seattle Parks and Recreation, King County, Seattle Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Veterans Administration, and private landowners in the Park.

We believe Discovery Park is for all to enjoy. As our region’s population grows, we believe everybody should have equitable access to nature. This masterpiece of natural and restored landscape is Seattle’s natural sanctuary—an urban oasis of quiet and tranquility.

This incredible open space did not arrive by accident. Today’s Discovery Park is the culmination of decades of dedication from volunteers all over the Pacific Northwest. Our work continues because we believe Discovery Park is worth defending.

Our History

In 1970, the City of Seattle passed a resolution reaffirming their determination to establish a public park at the Fort Lawton Army base.

Mayor Wes Uhlman created the Fort Lawton Citizens Advisory Committee with Donald Voorhees, a prominent Seattle lawyer, as chairman. The Committee worked with the Board of Park Commissioners, the Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent, and the Mayor to develop a design plan led by landscape architect Daniel Urban Kiley.

The Committee was supported by 22 different social and activist organizations, including the League of Women Voters, the Seattle Audubon Society, the Seattle Planning and Redevelopment Council, and the Sierra Club. With the backing of both Washington’s senators, Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson, and its congressional delegation, the Citizens Committee began a letter-writing campaign to preserve the Fort Lawton property as a City park.

After a long struggle, in 1974, Discovery Park was established and dedicated in a ceremony at the top of the hill near the FAA tower. The Committee quickly reformed, and Friends of Discovery Park (FoDP) was born.

Founding FoDP Board members met for the first time on December 4, 1974, including Bob Kildall, President, Gerry Lamphier, Frankie Piper, Mike Ruby, Robert Sotnik, Bernie Whitebear, and Thomas O. Wimmer.

Since that time, FoDP has remained organized and active, advocating for the Park as a place of nature, and resisting calls for development, commercialization, and plans that would detract from its primary purpose laid out in the Discovery Park Master Plan. Over the years, more than 150 proposals for all or pieces of the Park for other uses have been voiced. FoDP has led the opposition to them all, defending the Park as an open space of nature.