King County conserves 109 acres in the May Valley area
In December 2018, the Parks Division of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks purchased 109 acres of undeveloped, forested land adjacent to the SE corner of Cougar Mtn Regional Wildland Park, with the intent of conserving the land to enhance habitat, while allowing for low-impact recreational use (e.g. soft-surface trails).
The contiguous open space across Cougar Mountain, Squak Mountain and Tiger Mountain, often referred to as the Issaquah Alps, provides habitat for a variety of wildlife species including cougar, black bear, bobcat and deer. The acquisition has high quality second growth Douglas fir forest that would be a valuable contribution of habitat values within this section of the park. More from the application for funding…
FCUAC Mountains subarea map here…
Starting in 1970, Washington State provides annual funding for conservation via the Conservation Futures Tax (CFT). King County used CFT funds for the purchase. More on CFT…
The King County Council made land conservation a priority in 2018 by allowing a larger percentage of CFT funding to be “pulled forward” in time (i.e. allowing future funding to be spent in earlier years). In the current market of rising land prices, being able to purchase properties earlier can be desirable. (See King County Land Conservation Initiative)
