$17M deal to preserve land on Orcas Island
Turtleback Mountain, one of the most cherished and expansive landscapes in the San Juans, would be spared from development and opened to hikers if a $17 million sale goes through.
The Medina Foundation, a Seattle-based philanthropic organization, has decided to sell its private 1,578-acre tract on Orcas Island to a partnership of local and national conservation groups.
Although not the highest peak on Orcas, Turtleback has been the highest priority for conservationists, who for decades have talked about preserving it.
"Turtleback always has risen to the top not just because of its sheer size and ecological importance, but also because of its cultural value to this community," said Tim Seifert, executive director of the San Juan Preservation Trust, one of three groups in the partnership.
"We see the mountain every day. It looms over our lives."
For decades, hikers have trespassed to reach the top of Turtleback and take in vistas that stretch north to the Canadian Gulf Islands. Conservationists would build hiking trails and convert Turtleback to public land.
Turtleback became a symbol of friction between conservation and growth after the foundation put the property on the market last summer. While other mountain ridges in the San Juans have surrendered to luxury view homes, evidenced by the sprinkling of lights at night, Turtleback remains dark.
Rising to an elevation of 1,519 feet on the western side of the island, Turtleback was the exclusive hideaway of Weyerhaeuser executive and Medina benefactor Norton Clapp, who began assembling the property in the 1950s. Clapp had a small house built at the summit where he entertained family and friends.
Clapp, who died in 1995, bequeathed Turtleback to his foundation with instructions to not touch it for five years. In August 2005, Medina's board put Turtleback up for sale to raise money that could be used to further the foundation's mission — giving millions of dollars each year to Puget Sound-area social-service and educational programs.
"Both missions are being fulfilled in a very positive way with this transaction," said Tricia McKay, the foundation's executive director.
Although Turtleback was the foundation's most valuable asset, it was a drag on the nonprofit, costly to maintain but generating no income.
"We will now be able to put the dollars from this sale into income-bearing investments, which will give us more resources to support nonprofit causes," McKay said.
Continue reading this article from the Seattle Times:
$17M deal to preserve treasured Turtleback
