The Conservancy announced that it planned to continue to maintain its office in Mount Vernon, to own and manage other preserves in Skagit County as well as across the state, and to work on regional conservation projects such as Floodplains by Design.
“Skagit Land Trust is honored to accept responsibility for these wonderful preserves from The Nature Conservancy,” said Skagit Land Trust Conservation Director Michael Kirshenbaum. “These nine properties are sterling examples of what makes the Skagit special. We look forward to stewarding these properties for the benefit of future generations.”
“The Nature Conservancy and the Skagit Land Trust share a long partnership and commitment to ensuring that nature will thrive in these lands and waters for generations to come,” said Jessie Israel, the Conservancy’s Puget Sound Conservation Director. “We’re confident in the Trust’s continued stewardship of these preserves.” The Land Trust has stewarded these nine preserves, plus four others, since 2012 under contract with the Conservancy and is intimately familiar with these beautiful places.
Conservation efforts on the Skagit go back to the early 1970s, when The Nature Conservancy and other partners began to conserve habitat for bald eagles, which were vanishing from across the American landscape. Since then, a strong partnership including the Skagit Land Trust, Seattle City Light, and other partners has developed a coordinated approach that has protected more than 10,000 acres in Puget Sound’s most important river system.
