10/18/2006: "Save Turtleback Mt Deadline Is Near & Dear"

When it was first announced this summer (Previous Story) that it may be possible to "save" Turtleback Mountain on Orcas island from development, there was a great deal of enthusiasm from many in the community toward that goal, and also a great deal of skepticism that it would be possible for a combination of private and public funded groups to be able to pull off raising the 18.5 million needed to finalize the purchase.

For many the skepticism turned to downright disbelief when it was learned that the deadline for the purchase was November 15th. Less than six months to beat the bushes for 18.5 million? No way!

That was -as the say- then, and this is now. The Campaign to Save Turtleback Mountain had an ace of it's sleeve. The Land Bank was one of the players, and they came up with a way to produce a big chunk of the money needed by cleverly selling a bond to raise some instant cash, and then use some of their dedicated tax revenue from real estate sales to make the bond payments, and to do so without impacting their other programs.

The November 15th deadline to purchase Turtleback Mountain is now less than one month away, and the San Juan Preservation Trust, along with its conservation partners -The San Juan County Land Bank and The Trust for Public Land -- have $747,000 left in order to raise to reach the $18.5 million goal.

This assumes that all of those who have pledged to contribute, do so; and do it prior to the upcoming deadline; and that others in the community will also step up and help push the fund drive over the top.

The San Juan Preservation Trust says that it is "Of the utmost importance over the next few weeks is bringing in the outstanding pledges needed to purchase the mountain on November 15th", but remind the public to make their contributions by November 6th, as these funds are needed to close the Turtleback deal next month. Contributions can be sent to:

The San Juan Preservation Trust
Box 327
Lopez Island WA 98261