San Juan County approves agricultural leases, schedules hearings on National Park Service sale and North Shore conservation easement

San Juan County Council on Feb. 11 approved multiyear agricultural leases for two land-bank properties on San Juan Island and set public hearings on two separate conservation conveyances, including a potential direct sale to the National Park Service.

The council voted to approve a resolution authorizing a multiyear lease of the Fraser Homestead Preserve agricultural area for farming use, and later approved a separate multiyear lease of the Beaverton Marsh Preserve agricultural area to support local agriculture. Lincoln Borman, the county land bank director, introduced both items and described the Beaverton Marsh project as an effort to “draw the community into doing agriculture on this property.” Roger Lisonbee, who signed up for public comment, said he was “here to support the acceptance of the lease between the San Juan Island Grange and the land bank on the Beaverton Marsh property.”

The council also set a public hearing for March 18, 2025, to consider a resolution to convey a statutory warranty deed for two Fraser Homestead Preserve parcels, tax parcels 340224001000 and 340224003000, to the National Park Service. Borman told the council the National Park Service became interested because the parcels contain the location associated with Lyman Cutler and the 19th‑century boundary dispute known as the Pig War; he said appraisals are complete and that the council will later decide whether to permit a direct sale to the park service.

Separately, the council moved the public hearing on a conservation easement for the North Shore Preserve on Orcas Island to a special meeting on March 11, 2025, at 9 a.m., at the request of the San Juan Preservation Trust so the trust would have additional time to meet donor and grant closing timelines. Borman described the land‑bank/Preservation Trust arrangement as one in which the county would hold fee title and the Preservation Trust would hold the permanent conservation easement; the trust contributed toward the property's purchase and has been raising the remaining funds to buy the easement. Kathleen Foley of the Preservation Trust attended the meeting.

Borman said the National Park Service intends to use Land and Water Conservation Fund monies for its purchase. He told the council the agency has “about $900,000,000 a year that they can spend on conservation projects” and that the Fraser transaction is at an advanced stage.

The council voted by voice for the leases and to set the hearings; no roll-call vote was taken in the meeting transcript and the actions were recorded as passing by voice vote.

What happens next: the council will take a second “final touch” vote on the Fraser sale and the land‑bank ordinance changes at a later meeting, and the public hearings scheduled for March 11 and March 18 will give the public a chance to comment before the council considers final action.