Harvey Manning — an environmental advocate who was instrumental in the preservation of mountains and wilderness areas around Issaquah — was honored posthumously this week with the 2009 Ruth Kees Award for a Sustainable Community.

Manning, who is said to have coined the term “Issaquah Alps,” was the founder of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club, and an energetic and passionate outdoorsmen who wrote many trail guides and lobbied politicians and businessmen to protect our environmental resources.

Manning was the driving force behind the creation of protected areas from the North Cascades National Park and Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park.

“They used to say ‘Who is this crazy wildman, always going on about the environment?” said current Issaquah Alps Trails Club President Steve Williams. “Of course, now everyone knows that he was right.”

See next week’s Reporter for more on the life of Harvey Manning