Land Trust looking into buy Lewis River property

[Waterbuffalo]

Consent Agenda of BoCC: http://www.cityofvancouver.us/cvtv/cvtvindex.asp?catID=999&titleID=1198

According to what I saw on yesterday's Board of Clark County Commissioners, a property owner approached them and the Columbia Land trust into buying up some property to preserve it into perpetuity and will have public access along the Lewis River near Camp Lewisville and Camp Juliana and Lewisville park.

This land is along the East Fork of the Lewis River.

From the 12/12/07 agenda:

"Request for approval of Memorandum of Agreement with the Columbia Land Trust appropriating $305,000 conservation futures revenues to allow the Columbia Land Trust to purchase and hold title to Assessor’s Parcel No. 225820-000 until such time as the County requests transfer of title from the Land Trust."

[Chief]

A little more detail on this too, if you please....what is the end purpose of this land?? Any restrictions or conveyances on it's use??

[Waterbuffalo]

From my memory Chief, there will be public access from the property.

But the reason why its coming now is the current property owner wants to vest the tax deduction and sell it to the Columbia Land Trust into perpetuity so that it can be saved.

Most of this video I posted didn't say much into what you were looking for Chief.. It was mostly a fiscal matter basically. If you want more information, I'd contact the guy who is running the Legacy Lands at Clark County..

[Waterbuffalo]

Press Release: http://www.clark.wa.gov/news/news-release.asp?pkNewsSeq=1358
12/12/2007 County joins legacy partners in project near Lewisville Park

Contact
Patrick Lee, Legacy Lands Program
Phone: (360) 397-2375 ext. 4070

Vancouver, WA – The Board of Clark County Commissioners approved an agreement on December 11 to allow the Vancouver-based Columbia Land Trust to purchase 12 acres next to Lewisville Park for future expansion of the park.

The property is immediately across the East Fork Lewis River from Lewisville Park and next to Camp Juliana, a former Girl Scout camp owned by Clark County. The property includes 1,000 feet of frontage on the East Fork with mature riparian vegetation.

Using funds from its Conservation Futures program, the county will provide about $300,000 of the $444,000 needed to purchase the property from Roger Christopher of Battle Ground. Columbia Land Trust will manage the property until the county is ready to request title to the land. Other partners include the East Fork Lewis River Legacy Fund, managed by the local Community Foundation of Southwest Washington.

“I thank Roger for initiating this purchase. This is exactly the type of partnership project envisioned by commissioners when we established the Legacy Lands office in 2006,” said Board Chair Steve Stuart. “It’s a great example of several partners leveraging resources to conserve some extraordinary property.”

Commissioners Betty Sue Morris and Marc Boldt also expressed strong support when approving a formal memorandum of agreement to advance the project during the Board’s regular business meeting.

Glenn Lamb, executive director of the land trust, thanked land trust members for making this possible. “Gifts from members allowed us to act immediately to acquire this property for public benefit. This adds to the East Fork Lewis River greenway and protects important spawning and rearing habitat for winter and summer steelhead and Coho and Chum salmon.”

Columbia Land Trust is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to conserving signature landscapes and vital habitat with landowners and communities in the Columbia River region in both Washington and Oregon. For more information contact the land trust at (360) 696-0131, (503) 224-3601, or www.columbialandtrust.org.

[Waterbuffalo]

"legacy lands program and information about it.."

http://www.clark.wa.gov/esa/county/priority.html

[karma]

Look gang, none of these lands are safe and they can be sold at anytime???

[Chief]

Not true karma. You can sell property in a floodplain, there is nothing that prevents it. In fact the Port of Vancouver has plenty of land that is below the 100 year floodplain level, like Parcel 8, and they have long term plans to retro-fill that land, raise it above flood level, and put the resulting acerage into very useful, and revenue producing use.

It's not that the land is unsafe, as much as it is not useful for it's intended purpose, without further work.

[karma]

Chief, I was talking about the land donated to the Land Trust than can be sold at anytime?? Mr Lamb came from Parks & Rec where they do that there???

[tefen]

I don't know why Karma is using question marks at the end of every sentence, but I think she's referring to the case this year when a family left Brush Prairie property to the land trust which was later sold to developers.

To paraphrase Karma:
"Giving or selling land to the Columbia Land Trust does not ensure it's preservation in it's natural state for the public, the Land Trust may still opt to sell it to private developers."

[Waterbuffalo]

Not sure fi this land is in a flood plain or not. But if you spend 1/2 of an hour to watch the BoCC link I provrded, you'll a huge benefit to clark county and to the whole region.

Thei land sits next to Camp Juliana and Lewisville park. To create another park or some thing else like it near that area would allow the public to even more enjoyment of one of our great rivers in Washington state that isn't castrate with a 1000 homes per acre and basically has no decent wildlife on it.

[karma]

Tefen, the answer to your question is if you put a ?? behind it you are in the appearance of asking a question and keeping your backside out of hot water???

[Waterbuffalo]

How about instead of forming it into a Jeopardy level question Karma, how about adding some pointies at the end of the sentences? like this .....

Those pointy things..

[karma]

Clark County Commissioners gives Land Trust $300,000 of the selling price of $444,000 why?? Where did this fund come from?? Why doesn't the Land Trust stand on it's own?? How soon will we see this prime land be sold to developers???

[Waterbuffalo]

Have you read the documents or asked the commissioners why Karma?

[karma]

Buff, I know how this works and how Park land is sold to the highest developer dollar?

[Waterbuffalo]

Not sure I honestly agree with you Karma.. But I could be wrong.

[karma]

Buff, check it out!! Check out whom buys land and if there is also even a road project going in to see whom with reap the prize?? Same deal with Parks and donated land to the County, why???