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PRESS RELEASE
DNR Transfer Lands
Thanks to a year long effort by the Whidbey Camano Land Trust and Island County residents who lobbied state legislators, 420 acres of at-risk forest lands and nearly 4,000 feet of waterfront on Whidbey Island are approved for transfer from state to county ownership. This comes after lawmakers authorized full funding for the Trust Land Transfer (TLT) budget just before their session closed last week. These lands will likely be transferred in the first half of 2007, after which they will be managed for local conservation and recreation purposes.
“This is just great news for our county. More land on Whidbey will now be permanently protected for wildlife habitat, watershed protection, natural areas and recreation. This includes 4,000 feet of waterfront,” said Pat Powell, executive director of the Whidbey Camano Land Trust. She added, “We are truly grateful to the people who called and wrote their legislators and to the Island County Commissioners, Senator Haugen and Representatives Strow and Bailey who supported the transfers. Without the concerted efforts of all of us, we would not have had this incredible level of success.”
The Trust Land Transfer program allows the legislature to transfer state school lands with special values to local or state governments, which then protect the lands as parks, natural areas or wildlife habitat. In 1989, a bipartisan group of state leaders initiated the TLT program as an innovative approach to school construction funding with multiple benefits. The program helps address the urgent need for school construction, protects Washington’s natural heritage, and results in upgrading school trust assets to generate long-term revenue for school construction.
The state’s school children benefit and so do Island County residents. The nine at-risk properties being transferred include six South Whidbey forest properties and three waterfront parcels that were added to the list thanks to active lobbying by the Whidbey Camano Land Trust, calls and emails from islanders, and support from the Island County Commissioners and local state legislators. Included are 200-acres of mature forest land containing trails at the headwaters of Maxwelton Creek, one of only three salmon streams in all of Island County. This property will be transferred to the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District. The other eight properties will be transferred to Island County. Included is waterfront property in Central Whidbey that provides critical habitat for fish and wildlife and includes 11 acres of mature forest and more than 1,300 feet of shoreline. Another parcel contains waterfront bluff, beautiful scenic views of Cultus Bay and excellent wildlife habitat. Forested parcels are located off Brainers Road, East Harbor Drive, Wahl Road and Cultus Bay Road.
For three years, the Whidbey Camano Land Trust has been spearheading efforts to transfer all the remaining state school trust lands in Island County to a permanent protected status. “We are delighted that nine Island County parcels out of hundreds considered statewide are available to be transferred for conservation purposes,” said Powell. Indeed, Island County fared very well this year. Statewide, only 26 properties, including the nine in Island County, made it on the final TLT list. To date, more than 3,400 acres in Island County have been transferred to protected status under this program, including large acreages that are now part of Fort Ebey, South Whidbey and Deception Pass State Parks. Powell added that, “There is still more work to do. We must ensure that the Department of Natural Resources follows through on the transfers and, next year, we will start working to protect the five remaining trust land properties in Island County.”
More information about the Trust Land Transfer program and the nine Whidbey properties on the approved transfer list is posted in the “News and Events” section of the Whidbey Camano Land Trust’s website at www.wclt.org. Those without internet access may call the Land Trust at 360-321-5141.
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