Legacy Lands celebrates 40 years

If you have enjoyed a hike at Moulton Falls, a walk along the Salmon Creek Greenway or a day on the beach at Frenchman’s Bar, you can thank Clark County’s Legacy Lands program, which marks 40 years in October.

The Legislature created a program in 1971 that lets counties levy a property tax dedicated to land conservation.

Clark County began collecting 6.25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value and launched its Legacy Lands program in 1985. Since then, the county has purchased and preserved nearly 5,600 acres of farmland, river valleys, wetlands, riparian habitat, narrow canyons, forests and mountain meadows for the benefit of county residents.

“The county has a natural areas acquisition plan that identifies high-value conservation land. That high-value conservation land is a mix of different things like county critical areas, priority habitats, wetland areas and buffers, things of that nature,” said Kevin Tyler, manager of the Legacy Lands program.

The county acquisition plan also includes farm and forest lands eligible for conservation under the state act, Tyler said.

According to the county’s 2025 adopted budget, the levy will generate about $2.9 million in 2025, with additional revenue from excise taxes, timber sales, rental/lease fees or investments. The current fund balance is estimated at $12.76 million.

Clark isn’t the only county with a conservation program. Spokane, King, Pierce, Thurston, Clallam and Whatcom counties and others have adopted similar programs.

Many of the properties acquired by Clark County have been turned into parks or recreational spaces. Lucia Falls, Moulton Falls, Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway, Frenchman’s Bar, Salmon Creek Greenway and Fallen Leaf Lake Park are just a few. In all, the county has set aside at least 53 properties as passive recreation or conservation areas.

Other areas are dedicated conservation areas that are not open to recreation but protect critical habitat areas like the Vancouver Lake lowlands, Washougal River Greenway, Lewis River Ranch and Green Mountain.

It’s not just the county that identifies lands for conservation. Property owners sometimes contact Tyler directly.

“It actually happens more often than you would think. We usually talk to a couple of landowners annually who are interested in the program. Rather than having their property sold for development, they like the idea of a legacy and conserving it,” Tyler said.

The Gordy Jolma Family Natural Area, which was the site of the former Cedars Golf Course until it closed in 2021, came about after the property owners approach the county.

Tyler said much of the county’s conservation efforts have been focused on river corridors, including the East Fork Lewis River, Washougal River, Burnt Bridge Creek and Salmon Creek greenways.

“It’s good for our community and protects water quality. It allows for these large restoration projects to occur, like the East Fork Reconnection Project,” Tyler said. “Without the county’s vision and acquiring those properties, some of these big projects wouldn’t be able to move forward.”

The Legacy Lands program contributed funding to Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership’s $23.5 million habitat restoration project along the East Fork Lewis River.

According to the partnership, the Ridgefield Pits property at the core of the project was purchased with $625,000 in funds from the county program and allowed the project to break ground.

Some of the program’s most recent acquisitions include 96 acres along the East Fork Lewis River north of Battle Ground (the purchase agreement is still being finalized) and 165 acres north of Lacamas Lake in Camas.

Tyler said residents generally seem supportive of the program, although he said most of the questions he gets tend to be about how different properties can be accessed or where hunting, fishing or other types of recreation are allowed.

Up next for the program is a farm conservation agreement in the Whipple Creek watershed, which Tyler said should be completed before the end of the year.

Shari Phiel: shari.phiel@columbian.com; 360-562-6317; @Shari_Phiel

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