Conservation Planning for Island County, Washington—The Whidbey Camano Land Trust

The Whidbey Camano Land Trust (WCLT) of Island County, Washington, is a community-based organization dedicated to preserving natural open space and public access opportunities in one of the state's fastest growing population regions. Executive Director Pat Powell initiated the organization's strategic planning process in summer 2003 and immediately deployed a GIS data-mining effort to map natural and biological features and pertinent ownership patterns on the two islands.

TerraLogic GIS of Stanwood, Washington, was asked to coordinate the data compilation, and many local experts were recruited to review existing data and update map features and attributes based on their intimate knowledge of current conditions. The objective was to compare the overlap of sensitive species and habitat conditions with a relative level of current protection by ownership. Regional gaps in protection and the connectivity of existing protected areas were of great importance.

This map is the result of the first phase of work completed in spring 2004. It serves as a planning document offering WCLT and its board of directors several strategies in establishing easements and identifying real estate opportunities without breaching the sensitivities and privacy issues expressed by some landowners. The process was a team effort with a simple common objective—to identify the highest conservation priorities where the threats of land clearing and urbanization are the greatest.