Skagit Land Trust (SLT) held its 33rd Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday, March 13th, 2025, at the Depot Arts & Community Center in Anacortes. Approximately 150 members gathered to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and to learn about plans for the year ahead.

Skagit Land Trust Board members Kathy Thornburgh, Kirk Johnson, Jim Glackin, Mark Hitchcock, and Keith Wiggers were reelected, and the Trust welcomed new Board members Meagan Maillet, Denby Lloyd, and Chris Varela. To learn more about all of these Board members, click here.

The 2025 Annual Meeting featured a presentation about Dog Woods on Guemes Island. Guest speakers Birch Beaudet and David Wertheimer shared the history, vision, and purpose behind their creation of this privately owned yet publicly accessible 120-acre forest that centers Coast Salish peoples in stewardship. Birch and David plan to collaborate with Skagit Land Trust to ensure that this forest is forever conserved.

The Coast Salish Youth Coalition’s (CSYC) Executive Director, Sam Barr, presented on how CSYC is working to empower Indigenous youth through cultural collaboration and stewardship centering on traditional foods and ancestral lands. Sam highlighted CSYC’s evolving partnership at Dog Woods.

During the meeting, Skagit Land Trust granted awards to several special volunteers and partners who have contributed significantly to the mission and community of Skagit Land Trust.

Jude Apple, Director of the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, accepted the Conservation Award for the Reserve’s collaboration with the Trust in protecting and restoring 73 acres of land at the Samish Island Conservation Area.

Ron Lindsay and Theresa Connolly received the Stewardship Award for their dedicated service as land stewards at Kelly's Point and Hurn Field since 2019. Tim Manns, John Day, and Paul Anderson received the Outreach and Development Award for their significant contributions to the Trust’s winter swan-viewing events at Barney Lake.

Facilities Committee members Hal Lee, Paul Ingalls, Phil McCloud, and Keith Wiggers received the Golden Hammar Award for their invaluable work maintaining and improving Skagit Land Trust's physical spaces, ensuring the organization's operations run smoothly.

Brian Adams, Director of Skagit County Parks & Recreation, received the SLT Board President’s Blue Heron Award for his decades of service in preserving lands and enhancing recreational opportunities across Skagit County.

Skagit Land Trust’s Executive Director, Molly Doran, expressed her gratitude to these exceptional volunteers and partners and to Skagit Land Trust’s members:

Our members, partners, and volunteers truly emphasize the wisdom of the saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” With their help, the Trust now protects and stewards over 50 miles of shoreline and 11,500 acres in Skagit County. We were thrilled to share new and evolving collaborations with our members, and to show them what they have accomplished this past year.

A recording of Skagit Land Trust's meeting can be viewed below.