News from Snohomish County Council

The drive to save picturesque Heybrook Ridge just east of the town of Index went over the top Aug. 4th when the county council formally approved using $700,000 in county Conservation Futures funds to help purchase the 130-acre property at risk of being clear cut.

It had been a long struggle for the Heybrook Ridge preservationists. Two years ago, residents learned that the property's owner, W.B. Foresters of Stanwood, planned to log the ridge. A group of local residents and advocates formed to oppose the logging plans. Despite having obtained a valid state permit to log the hillside, W.B. Foresters offered to sell the property at fair market value, and gave the local group one year to raise the $1.3 million asking price.

I met with a handful of Index residents in the spring of 2007 and encouraged them to mount a campaign to find donors to assist in purchasing the ridge. The group formed the "Friends of Heybrook Ridge" and went to work. I also asked our staff to explore funding options here at the county.

Fundraising went slowly, with only $86,000 raised as the June deadline approached. Then an anonymous donor came forward offering $500,000 in matching funds. And after a reappraisal of the timber's value, W.B. Foresters reduced the price by $90,000, and extended the purchase deadline by one month. As the July 31st deadline passed, the Friends of Heybrook Ridge had raised an additional $27,000.

The Cascade Land Conservancy then stepped in to help the Friends of Heybrook Ridge apply for funding from the county's Conservation Futures Board, and also to help conclude the sale. As a member of the Conservation Futures Board, along with Council member Mike Cooper, I gladly supported the proposal which is in perfect alignment with the goals of the Conservation Futures fund. The county's Parks and Recreation Department will ultimately own and manage the property and will continue to work with the Friends of Heybrook Ridge to develop trails and other amenities.

I thank the Friends of Heybrook Ridge, the Cascade Land Conservancy, and W.B. Foresters for their successful collaborative effort. It is a perfect example of people working together to create a wonderful gift for our citizens, visitors, and future generations. I also thank my fellow council members for supporting the conservation futures award.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY officials and conservation proponents (right) were all smiles August 4, following a unanimous vote by County Council members to approve conservation futures funding to purchase Heybrook Ridge for a future county park. In the back row, left to right: County Council Chair Dave Somers, Friends of Heybrook Ridge boardmember Conway Leovy, Friends boardmember Bill Cross, Cascade Land Conservancy Snohomish County Conservation Director Nick Harper, Cascade Land Conservancy Snohomish County Project Manager Joe Sambataro, and Snohomish County Parks Director Tom Teigen. In front, Friends vice president Susan Susor, Friends president Louise Lindgren, and County Council members Mike Cooper and John Koster.