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San Juan Islands Conservation District seeks to raise per‑parcel rate; county sets Oct. 21 public hearing
Summary
San Juan Islands Conservation District asked council to schedule a public hearing to consider raising the county collection for district rates from $5 to $25 per parcel (new state cap) to stabilize district operations after significant state funding cuts; council set the hearing for Oct. 21, 2025.
The San Juan Islands Conservation District asked San Juan County Council Sept. 23 to set a public hearing on a proposal to increase the district’s per‑parcel rate to $25 per year (the new state statutory cap). Paul Anderson, the district’s executive director, said the district has experienced major reductions in state funding, cuts to forestry and technical‑assistance allocations, and the temporary loss of AmeriCorps funding. He told council the $5‑per‑parcel rate in place since 2019 produced roughly $88,000 for the district annually, while the district now manages a roughly $2.5 million program of grants and services across the islands.
Anderson said higher, stable local revenue would allow consistent staffing and program delivery—forestry health, wildfire mitigation, riparian restoration, youth conservation corps and agricultural cost‑share projects—and argued that each dollar in local levy supports many dollars of grant funding for projects. The district proposes keeping existing exemptions (low‑income, seniors, parcels under a value threshold) and asked the council to set a public hearing. Council scheduled the hearing for Oct. 21, 2025.
