Bateman Island: Our Collective Legacy

Collective Legacy

Bateman Island is a small piece of land found in the middle of the Columbia River, near the mouth of Yakima River. Bateman Island is just one of the natural attractions that make the Tri city region of Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland a popular destination for trekkers and hikers.

A Perfect Distance from Pasco

Bateman Island is right smack in the middle of the Columbia River that flows between Richland and Pasco. Of the cities Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland in the Tri city region of Washington State, Pasco is the farthest from Bateman Island. However, while Pasco is farthest physically from Bateman Island, it does not mean that the people from Pasco value it any less.

In fact, it is perhaps the relative distance that makes Bateman Island still very interesting to the people of Pasco Washington. It is this distance that makes Bateman Island more exciting because when you exert more effort to get to a certain place, you appreciate the place even more.

Such is the case of Bateman Island. If you live in Pasco, you are close enough to Bateman Island to be proud of the place and call it your own; but not too close that you take the island for granted as people tend to do. In other words, Pasco is neither too close nor too far from Bateman Island. Their distance from one another is just right.

Rest for the Weary

Bateman Island is a nature sanctuary for a variety of plants and wildlife. It is particularly well known for its bird population, because the island provides safe haven for migratory and local birds and other animals.

Bateman Island is a state protected land that is estimated to be two miles long and one mile wide and can be accessed by using a land bridge from the Richland and Pasco side of the Columbia River. The entire island is friendly to hikers and campers alike. Keep in mind though that while Bateman Island accepts visitors, you are not allowed to make any exploratory diggings and bring with you any form of island souvenir.

Bateman Island of the Tri city area of Washington State is valuable not only as a nature sanctuary, but as a historical place as well. Bateman Island is known to be the last place where the Lewis and Clark expedition went as they traveled upstream along the Columbia River. For Lewis and Clark, perhaps, arriving at Bateman Island seemed like a fitting end to a very remarkable journey.

So Bateman Island stands now as it did then; a haven for all living things as they seek rest and refuge from the grind of living. Bateman Island is our collective legacy, and whether it remains to be so depends not just on the people of the Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland, but on all of us.

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