Dear Members and Partners,

Over my 18 years serving as a senior land use planner for Skagit County, Skagit Land Trust (SLT or the Trust) became one of my favorite community organizations to work with. With their detailed knowledge of habitat conservation priorities and cherished open spaces, Trust staff provided an important voice for conservation on a variety of projects during my tenure.

Skagit Land Trust played a major role in helping Skagit County develop the Skagit Countywide Urban Growth Area (UGA) Open Space Concept Plan, adopted in 2009. The plan, which won a Governor’s Smart Communities Award, established a framework for “preserving and enhancing open spaces, trails, and interpretive opportunities on a countywide basis that extends around, within, and through the 10 county UGAs.” Then in 2016, Skagit Land Trust joined with other groups to prevent the removal of non-motorized (bike and trail) projects from the Comprehensive Plan.

Since retiring from Skagit County in 2017, I have volunteered with Skagit Land Trust’s Public Policy Committee (PPC). The PPC engages with policy issues that directly affect the Trust’s mission. Chaired by SLT board member Anne Winkes, the PPC has six members with a wide range of knowledge and expertise. The committee meets periodically with elected officials; submits comments during official public comment periods; coordinates with other conservation organizations; and encourages Skagit Land Trust members to comment on important conservation policy matters. We have achieved some significant successes in recent years, including:

— Helping to defeat a proposal to allow Fully Contained Communities (essentially new cities) in rural Skagit County.
— Helping to scuttle a state proposal to dramatically expand Skagit Regional Airport for passenger service.
— Ensuring stronger regulatory protections from the City of Anacortes for the March Point heronry.

Most recently, the PPC has participated in Skagit County’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update. We have attended multiple county-sponsored open houses; participated in focus groups; spoken at public hearings; and submitted multiple rounds of comments on policy and code updates. Anne Winkes explains: “Our comments have sought to ensure the that the Comprehensive Plan update helps Skagit County develop in ways that best meet environmental and climate change challenges while keeping our rural areas rural and protecting habitat and ecosystems.”

At each step of the way, we’re working to ensure a better public policy environment for Skagit Land Trust to pursue its core mission of conserving and stewarding natural lands and open spaces “for the benefit of our community and as a legacy for future generations.”

-- Kirk Johnson, Board President, Skagit Land Trust