Turtleback Mountain Preserve Turns 20 This Month!

November 16th marks the 20^th anniversary of the founding of Turtleback Mountain Preserve. The original $17.5 million purchase was made possible by $10 million in Land Bank 1% Real Estate Excise Tax funds and $7.5 million from a highly successful fundraising campaign by the San Juan Preservation Trust and the Trust for Public Land, and the support of over 2,000 donors prevented subdivision of the land and established the second largest conservation area in San Juan County. In 2020, $2 million from a generous Orcas resident added over 35 acres along the

southern boundary, extending the Preserve total to over 1,700 acres.

Over 20 years, the Land Bank has invested its own resources, state and federal grants, and funds from the San Juan Preservation Trust’s Turtleback Endowment towards stewarding the mountain. Highlights include establishment of over eight miles of trails, extensive Garry oak and prairie habitat enhancement, fence removal, forest thinning, weed management, culvert replacement, trail realignments, road decommissioning, roadside fuel breaks, and parking area upgrades. But the work is never done.

Looking ahead, we strive to deepen Tribal partnerships, to bring renewed energy to Garry oak habitat restoration, to open a new human-only trail through some of the Preserve’s highest quality habitat, and to create a habitat-oriented South Entrance loop trail for visitors with limited mobility.

This year alone, some 66,000 of us hiked up the trails, stood in awe of the view, enjoyed the birdsong, basked in the sun and soaked in the rain surrounded by Turtleback’s protected, native habitats. Please join the Land Bank in gratitude for the privilege of taking part in its story.