75 acres of productive salmon habitat and prime forestland are now protected as the newest addition to Skagit Land Trust's conservation lands. This property expands our work in Day Creek, an important tributary of the Skagit River which has long been recognized for its value for salmon and other wildlife, and is also a place of beauty and rich local heritage. Click here to read more about the Day Creek Corp Conservation Area.

Skagit Land Trust's 6th Annual Dinner & Auction will be held on Saturday, February 25th at St Joseph Center in Mount Vernon. Enjoy a wonderful evening with friends in support of local land conservation. Click here for a preview of select live auction items.

Lynne Jordan began work as our Development & Communications Director on January 3rd. Lynne has worked previously with conservation nonprofits such as PCC Farmland Trust and EarthShare. Although Lynne is a recent arrival in the Skagit she is no stranger to our work. Soon after arriving in April 2011, Lynne started to volunteer locally and helped on our Guemes trail project as well as attended several Trust events. Lynne was selected from a very strong pool of applicants. She will fill the position that Renata Hoyle Maybruck so ably developed and grew over the past five years. Renata is now doing great things as the Development Director at Housing Hope in Seattle.

For a number of years, there wasn't a land trust field event that Pat Hurley missed. From hacking blackberry to planting trees, he did it all, even coming back to some properties on his own to keep up the work. Pat passed away earlier this year and some friends and colleagues have set up a memorial fund for Pat, with the goal of raising enough money to install a bench in his honor at the beautiful trails at the Northern State area, where Pat would walk nearly every day. If you would like to donate, you can do so at: Pat Hurley Memorial Fund, Skagit State Bank, PO Box 432, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284

Skagit Land Trust protects beautiful lands throughout Skagit County -- many of which are open to the public. Go for a walk at Cumberland Creek, bring your binoculuars and do some birding at Green Rd. Marsh, or learn about elk at Hurn Field among other activities available at our conservation areas. See our new visiting Skagit Land Trust properties page for more information.

From the protection of Sumner Lake to the completion of the Guemes Mountain trail, the 2010 - 2011 year was full of accomplishments for Skagit Land Trust. Read all about it in the new 2011 Annual Report.

Our dear friend, Lee Mann, passed away from cancer at the end of July. Lee's exquisite photos of nature and wildlife are renowned throughout the Northwest. Lee had a remarkable ability to capture his love of place in a photo and in a conversation. Lee did much to inspire the conservation of northwest lands, from fighting to ensure that the North Cascades National Park became a reality to helping us produce our book Natural Skagit. He donated his beautiful photos to almost every conservation-oriented fundraiser in the Valley - and they always got snapped up, helping to raise funds to protect this beautiful place. His photos, generous ethic and conservation spirit will continue to motivate us all. We are better for having known this remarkable man. We all miss him dearly.

We are looking for auction volunteers to help with a variety of projects, big and small, for our 6th Annual Auction and Dinner, "Have Fun - Save Land" scheduled for February 25, 2012.

Please click here for a detailed list of the various volunteer opportunities.

Visit the beautiful trail on Guemes Mountain this summer! It's 2.3 miles round trip, with an elevation gain of 550 ft, and it has the amazing payoff of a truly beautiful and expansive view.

Dr. Jim Ford was featured in a recent Voices of the Valley article titled "Working together to save our environment" in the Skagit Valley Herald. In the article he discusses the importance of local nonprofits like Skagit Land Trust in working to improve our environment. To read the article, click here