King County seeks to preserve 5,000 acres for parks, open space by the end of 2020
King County plans to buy or preserve 5,000 acres of forest, farmland, trails and urban green space by the end of next year, part of a decadeslong effort to protect the region’s open spaces from development.
The county plans to spend $64 million preserving 61 individual projects, county Executive Dow Constantine said. Just two of those projects are finalized — for the others, the county is in various stages of negotiations with the current landowners so they can’t be publicly announced yet, county officials said.
But planned projects range from wooded slopes of Cougar Mountain to marine shoreline on Vashon and Maury islands, from stretches along Bear Creek and the Green River to 24 patches of potential parkland in urban areas like White Center that may be lacking in green space. There are patches of forestland, farmland and trail extensions and connections.
“We’re preserving the things people love most about this region in a way that can be passed on to future generations,” Constantine said. “We have to protect these things before they’re gone.”
Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/king-county-seeks-to-preserve-5000-acres-for-parks-open-space-by-the-end-of-2020/
