The Land Trust holds conservation easements on both private and public properties, but does not own this land – ownership remains with the landowner. Private conservation easements are not open to the public, but occasionally, with landowner permission, we have events and programs that include property tours. Public conservation easements include Hilltop, Meigs Park and Farm, the Gazzam Lake Nature Preserve and the Peters Tree Farm addition, and the Kallgren addition to the Ted Olson Nature Preserve. These properties total 489 acres of public lands under conservation easement.
The Land Trust owns 12 properties — the 20-acre Wildlife Corridor and the 15-acre Wildlife Corridor Expansion, the 19-acre Heart of the Forest adjacent to the Grand Forest, and 2 other small donated parcels. In December 2012, we purchased the 12.49-acre Agate Pass Preserve and in 2015, the Land Trust began a capital campaign to Make the Grand Forest Grander with the purchase of 30 more acres in the Grand Forest. In May 2018, we launched our Stand for the Land campaign with a goal of acquiring at least 5 new properties. The campaign has been very well-supported by the community and include these acquisition projects: Jablonko Preserve, Cougar Creek Preserve, Miller-Kirkman Preserve and Springbrook Creek Preserve. The newest Stand for the Land acquisition project, just being introduced in September 2020, is the 35-acre Rockaway Bluff Preserve.