King County Executive Dow Constantine today announced $107 million in land conservation awards – approved by the King County Council – that will protect more than 3,000 acres of open space to advance climate resilience, farmland access, environmental justice, recreation access, and habitat restoration.
A few of the 53 projects include helping the City of Auburn build its first downtown park and public space, permanently protecting the lowland forests of Camp Sealth on Vashon Island, creating more greenspace near affordable housing in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, and helping a community-based organization create an urban farm near Sound Transit’s Rainier Beach Station.
The funding package continues the accelerated pace of land conservation in recent years, which is the result of several actions: Voters’ approval in 2022 of Executive Constantine’s initiative to restore the local Conservation Futures Program to its historic funding rate, bonding against future revenues to protect natural areas before they are no longer affordable, and cutting in half the amount of matching funds cities and other partners are required to provide.
“We’re delivering on the commitment I made to the people of King County – to rapidly accelerate land conservation and protect the last, best places, for this generation and for those who will follow,” said Executive Constantine. “Our latest round of countywide investments advances multiple goals – promoting climate resilience, preserving farmland and making it more accessible, restoring fish and wildlife habitat, and even protecting historic summer camps – all of which contribute to our unique quality of life.”
