Letter to Governor Inslee regarding Trust Land Transfer Program

Through the Trust Land Transfer Program, we can protect places that Washingtonians love while providing revenues to the schools trusts. This win-win is worth fighting for today and reinventing as needed tomorrow.

November 24, 2020 – VIEW ELECTRONIC COPY (PDF)

Governor Jay Inslee
POB 4002
Olympia WA 98504

RE: Funding for the Trust Land Transfer Program in your Biennial Budget

Dear Governor Inslee:

The Trust land Transfer Program (TLT) program has since 1989 preserved more than 128,000 acres of state public land for fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, education, and other community uses. It has done this while providing the Common School Construction Fund the net present value of the conserved forest and keeping the trust corpus whole through land purchase. This is a remarkable achieved towards which the state invested over $880 million.

The TLT Program once enjoyed support of all the interests. While that is no longer so, I am hopeful that we can restore that breadth of support through bold steps to meet multiple public needs. Finding these solutions will take some time and effort. Meanwhile, this critical program is languishing and candidate parcels that offer superlative value to the public are at risk. I urgently ask that you include at least $10 million in your budget to project your leadership into the breach and keep this vital program and a few gorgeous places alive.

Through TLT, we can protect places that Washingtonians love while providing revenues to the schools trusts. This win-win is worth fighting for today and reinventing as needed tomorrow. With a modest $10 million, you can make that so.

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Mitch Friedman,
Executive Director

Learn more about how the Trust Land Transfer Program has preserved public land such as BLANCHARD MOUNTAIN, or read this RECENT OP-ED in the Seattle TImes.