The San Juan Preservation Trust announces the launch of a major fundraising campaign to create a new nature preserve in the heart of San Juan Island. The Campaign to Save Mount Grant, if successful, will permanently protect one of San Juan’s most valuable gems and make it accessible to the public.
The 141-acre property, valued for years by locals as a hiking destination, was identified on historic maps as “Mt. Grant” as late as 1920. Known by various names since then, it was most recently marketed as the “Lawson Ridge” residential community. The property hosts important native plant and animal habitat, lush wildflower meadows, serene hiking trails, and, with some improvements, easy road access to the summit so that people of all ages and physical ability can enjoy the spectacular, 360-degree views. From the top, one can gaze northeast to Mount Baker and the Twin Sisters, southeast down into San Juan Valley and Lopez Island, and north/northwest to Stuart Island and beyond to the Canadian Gulf Islands.
On March 9, the Preservation Trust and the Land Bank made a $1.0 million down payment on the $3 million purchase. A $2 million seller-financed loan is secured by the land itself; should this conservation partnership default on this loan, the sellers would likely re-list the lots for sale as private residential estates.
The Campaign to Save Mount Grant is being overseen by a steering committee of 22 community volunteers. The $4.2 million fundraising goal includes transaction expenses related to the acquisition as well as a $1 million endowment for stewardship of the new preserve and maintenance of visitor amenities. The County Land Bank has committed $1.5 million in public funds to this effort; the Preservation Trust is now responsible for raising the remaining $2.7 million.
To launch the campaign, an island family has offered to match every gift received before Sept. 1, 2015, up to $500,000. This follows on the heels of a gift fundraising period that yielded $765,000 from 80 island households. For info, visit www.sjpt.org/mountgrant.
