Open houses scheduled on county's Parks, Trails and Natural Areas Plan

San Juan County Parks, Public Works, the Land Bank and The Trust for Public Land will host open houses on Lopez, Orcas and San Juan islands to share key findings from a community survey conducted in December 2009, present new maps of county resources, and request feedback on their recommended projects and actions.

Meetings are scheduled on the following dates:

— April 22, 4-6 p.m., Mullis Community Senior Center, 589 Nash St., Friday Harbor.

— April 23, 4-6 p.m, Orcas Fire Hall, 45 Lavender Lane, Eastsound.

— April 26, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Woodmen Hall, 4102 Fisherman Bay, Lopez Island.

“We’re very interested in hearing what people think about the draft plan,” said Kitty Craig, Washington program manager for The Trust for Public Land. “We’ve already gathered a lot of great public input, and this is our last chance to meet with local residents and make sure the plan is headed in the right direction.”

This will be the final opportunity for the public to provide input in an open house forum before the completed plan is released for public comment in early summer. The plan has already benefited from feedback from multiple open houses hosted by the partnership over the last year, together with stakeholder interviews and a countywide survey.

“We’re creating a new Parks, Trails and Natural Areas Plan for San Juan County that meets the needs of the people living here,” Land Bank Director Lincoln Bormann said. “It’s important for us to capture final public input at these meetings to create the best plan possible.”

For more information, visit www.TrailParkLand.org and www.tpl.org/Washington.

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