Submitted by the San Juan County Land Bank

San Juan County Land Bank is seeking public input on its recently completed Draft Stewardship and Management Plan (SMP) for the Coffelt Farm Preserve on Orcas Island. This is the first of a multistep process to gather public input on the management and operation of the county’s largest and most intricate publicly-owned farm.

The purpose of the SMP is to provide overarching goals and management objectives for the next decade for the Preserve’s diverse natural resources – pastures, forests, wetlands and riparian areas. An opportunity to comment on specific farming activities will come in the form of a public survey in July. The survey will be administered by the Conservation Agriculture Resource Team (CART), an advisory committee to the Land Bank.

You can download a copy of the Coffelt Farm Preserve SMP from the Land Bank’s website by following this link www.sjclandbank.org/financial-information/.

Please submit your comments by June 18.

After the thirty-day comment period closes, Land Bank staff and commissioners will review comments and make edits to the draft plan. There will be an overview of comments provided at the June 20, 2020 commission meeting.

Note: If you would like a printed copy of the SMP mailed to you, please contact Tanja Williamson at 360-378-4402 or tanjaw@sjclandbank.org. Directions for submitting comments are included on the first page of the document; written comments, by email or personal letter, are encouraged.