The Friends of Lopez Hill is a group of people, mostly from
Lopez Island, WA, who are interested in preserving the open space
on Lopez
Hill as public use land. This very special property is one of the
last remaining large parcels in public ownership and we would like
to keep it that way.
The FOLH are working on developing an assessment of Lopez Hill
(a "case" statement) to show the wide variety of resources
it possesses and the many ways that it is currently being used.
We are also
working
on a
list of alternatives and trying to marshall our members to follow
up on each. We are also working with the Mitchell Hill
Conservancy so that we can coordinate efforts where it is appropriate.
We are concerned about preserving the native Indian Thistle on Lopez Hill. Click here for more information or contact Madrona Murphy..
We also support efforts to preserve Odlin South and are hosting webpages for them on our site. Go to www.lopezhill.org/odlinsouth.
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CONGRATULATIONS LOPEZ HILL!
The Lease is signed!
After waiting almost two years from the time the state legislature approved a 50 year lease of Lopez Hill to San Juan County, the lease is finalized and has been signed by both San Juan County and Peter Goldmark, Commissioner of Public Lands, for the DNR.
In July, the San Juan County Council assigned the Land Bank to be the managing department for Lopez Hill for a two year period after which this could be reevaluated. The Land Bank plans to issue an interim management plan, then work with the community and Friends of Lopez Hill to develop a long term management plan.
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400 Acres of Lopez Hill, including the summit, are currently
owned by the WA Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR). The DNR wants
to divest
itself of parcels in the San Juan Islands (other parcels are Mitchell
Hill on San Juan Island, Odlin South on Lopez, as well as parcels
on Orcas and Blakely). The purpose of this group is to work with
the DNR and the County Council
as well as other public agencies to effect this transfer in such
a way that the land remains a public resource for wildlife, watershed,
and
recreation
and to
prevent
the acquisition of the land by private parties and/or developers.
We have been successful thus far in convincing the
DNR that
local
residents
are committed
to
seeing the property preserved for the public (and not sold to private
developers) and they have granted us 3 to 4 years to give us
time to pursue the various options and achieve our goal of guaranteed
public
access. The DNR has also placed Lopez Hill on it Trust Land Transfer
Program list for a 50-year lease (see Progress Report). [This was approved by the state legislature in May 2007]
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NOTICES
Seasonal Trail Closure:
Burnt Stump Trail (public access trail from Lopez Sound Rd.) is now open to equestrian users. Thanks for your patience.
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Meetings of the Steering Committee will be scheduled on an as-needed basis. General meetings of the Friends of Lopez Hill will be held occasionally. |
Check
out the Yahoo Group LopezHill.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lopezhill
If you're not a member of the group, you can view messages.
As a member, you can post messages and files and view the calendar.
This group provides us with a mailing list to keep members informed
on progress
and
issues and to track all communications and also to provide a repository
for photos and files of information.
Click to join lopezhill
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