Zalesky, Philip H.

Conservationist from Everett, Washington, who played an active role in Pacific Northwest conservation groups, such as Olympic Park Associates, the North Cascades Conservation Council, the Everett chapter of the Mountaineers Society and the Mountaineers Conservation Committee, the Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs, and the Snohomish County Land Trust.

From the description of Philip H. Zalesky papers, 1953-2002. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 28409195

Philip Zalesky, an Everett, Washington, conservationist, has played an active role in Pacific Northwest conservation groups. He was president of Olympic Park Associates from 1966 to 1972, secretary during the 1990s, and a board member through at least 2002. Olympic Park Associates is a citizens group, founded in 1948, that is dedicated to the preservation of Olympic National Park. The group's projects included removing dams from the Elwah River and removing non-native goats from the Olympic Peninsula. Members also collaborated with other organizations in attempts to reintroduce native wolf species to the Olympic Peninsula.

Zalesky was a founder, in 1957, and the first president of the North Cascades Conservation Council. The council, whose mission is "to protect and preserve the North Cascades' scenic, scientific, recreational, educational, and wilderness values," led the successful campaign to create the North Cascades National Park complex.

Zalesky initiated a climbing course based in Everett in 1953, when he was elected president of the Everett chapter of the Mountaineers Society. As a member of the Mountaineers Conservation Committee, he chaired the Subcommittee on Mountain Goats, 1954-1955, which supported legislation to ban hunting of mountain goats in Washington State. Zalesky also served as Washington vice president of the Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs in 1956.

In 1989 Zalesky became president of the Snohomish County Land Trust. The trust, which helped property owners in Snohomish County, Washington, to preserve their land from development, subsequently merged with land conservancies in King and Pierce Counties to form the Cascade Land Conservancy.

From the guide to the Philip H. Zalesky papers, 1953-2002, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)