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Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust
Mission:
The mission of the Land Trust is to preserve natural ecosystems and the rural character of Vashon Maury Island. In a sense, that includes most of the island. But, in reality, since funds are scarce, Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust has focused on the most critical habitat areas and unique ecosystems. The Land Trust was founded to organize the purchase of the Whispering Firs Bog near the Episcopal Church. It is a fragile and special place unlike any other on the island. Likewise, the blue heron rookery on Maury, Bill Fisher's pond on Bank Road, the Christensen Creek pond, Lost Lake and the Shingle mill Creek drainage areas are all natural areas with special ecological significance. They are all major ponds or riparian areas or they have some special habitat quality. While maintaining undeveloped open space and nice forested areas are important goals, the highest marks in Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust's ranking system are given for areas that help maintain biological diversity
The partnerships that have made this work possible should be acknowledged. Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust has worked with the Audubon Society here on Vashon and with larger environmental organizations off the island such as the Cascade Land Conservancy. The most important partner, however, is the Vashon Park District. Because many of the land deals have required a public agency partner, Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust often works with the Park District to take ownership of the properties Of the 700 acres that Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust has worked to acquire, 235 acres are now owned by Vashon Parks and stewarded by the Land Trust. On another 115 acres the Land Trust has retained ownership. The additional 350 acres are held by King County and Vashon Parks, with restoration efforts being conducted in conjuction with the Land Trust.
While buying a piece of land is the most glamorous activity of the Land Trust, there are other quieter ways in which it works to fulfill the mission. One of these is education. Recognizing that we can never buy enough land to have a major impact, we have developed an active education program to teach islanders about their natural surroundings and to become good stewards of their own lands. There are classes on native plants, on birding, on salmon stream monitoring, island geology and groundwater- a variety of topics. The best attended education program is the forest stewardship class in the winter which teaches participants how to write a forest stewardship plan - This is the document that is needed to apply for the current use taxation program with King County, which gives the property tax break that one can get for preserving their own land. Largely due to our forest stewardship class some 3,000 acres is enrolled in the current use taxation program.
Who We Are:
The Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust was founded in 1990 by a dedicated group of islanders who were concerned about preserving Vashon and Maury. Since that time, it has been instrumental in the acquisition and permanent preservation of hundreds of acres of carefully chosen property on Vashon and Maury. Furthermore, due to the Forest Stewardship class, another 3000+ acres have been enrolled in a semi-preserved status with the King County current use taxation programs.
In 1998, Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust was able to buy the little building, now the Land Trust Building, on Bank Road between the Senior Center and Fire Station. The Land Trust building houses the Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust office and is the venue for the educational programs. Like Allied Arts, Youth and Family Services, PIE and numerous other Vashon community groups, the Land Trust is a non-profit organization, a 501c3, that relies on membership dues, contributions, fund raisers and occasional grants to carry on its work. Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust has two full time and one part time staff people. Tom Dean is the executive director.
The mission of the Land Trust is to preserve natural ecosystems and the rural character of Vashon Maury Island. In a sense, that includes most of the island. But, in reality, since funds are scarce, Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust has focused on the most critical habitat areas and unique ecosystems. The Land Trust was founded to organize the purchase of the Whispering Firs Bog near the Episcopal Church. It is a fragile and special place unlike any other on the island. Likewise, the blue heron rookery on Maury, Bill Fisher's pond on Bank Road, the Christensen Creek pond, Lost Lake and the Shingle mill Creek drainage areas are all natural areas with special ecological significance. They are all major ponds or riparian areas or they have some special habitat quality. While maintaining undeveloped open space and nice forested areas are important goals, the highest marks in Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust's ranking system are given for areas that help maintain biological diversity
The partnerships that have made this work possible should be acknowledged. Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust has worked with the Audubon Society here on Vashon and with larger environmental organizations off the island such as the Cascade Land Conservancy. The most important partner, however, is the Vashon Park District. Because many of the land deals have required a public agency partner, Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust often works with the Park District to take ownership of the properties Of the 700 acres that Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust has worked to acquire, 235 acres are now owned by Vashon Parks and stewarded by the Land Trust. On another 115 acres the Land Trust has retained ownership. The additional 350 acres are held by King County and Vashon Parks, with restoration efforts being conducted in conjuction with the Land Trust.
While buying a piece of land is the most glamorous activity of the Land Trust, there are other quieter ways in which it works to fulfill the mission. One of these is education. Recognizing that we can never buy enough land to have a major impact, we have developed an active education program to teach islanders about their natural surroundings and to become good stewards of their own lands. There are classes on native plants, on birding, on salmon stream monitoring, island geology and groundwater- a variety of topics. The best attended education program is the forest stewardship class in the winter which teaches participants how to write a forest stewardship plan - This is the document that is needed to apply for the current use taxation program with King County, which gives the property tax break that one can get for preserving their own land. Largely due to our forest stewardship class some 3,000 acres is enrolled in the current use taxation program.
Who We Are:
The Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust was founded in 1990 by a dedicated group of islanders who were concerned about preserving Vashon and Maury. Since that time, it has been instrumental in the acquisition and permanent preservation of hundreds of acres of carefully chosen property on Vashon and Maury. Furthermore, due to the Forest Stewardship class, another 3000+ acres have been enrolled in a semi-preserved status with the King County current use taxation programs.
In 1998, Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust was able to buy the little building, now the Land Trust Building, on Bank Road between the Senior Center and Fire Station. The Land Trust building houses the Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust office and is the venue for the educational programs. Like Allied Arts, Youth and Family Services, PIE and numerous other Vashon community groups, the Land Trust is a non-profit organization, a 501c3, that relies on membership dues, contributions, fund raisers and occasional grants to carry on its work. Vashon-Muary Island Land Trust has two full time and one part time staff people. Tom Dean is the executive director.