Clark County Council proclaimed October to be Legacy Lands Month and marked the 40th anniversary of the county's Legacy Lands program, Speaker 1 said during a public reading of the proclamation. "This program has helped preserve, protect, and restore 5,500 acres of open space," Speaker 1 said.

The county framed Legacy Lands as protecting fish and wildlife habitat, preserving forests and shorelands, conserving agricultural lands and improving water quality, Speaker 2 said, listing recreational uses such as hiking, fishing and paddling. "Legacy Lands protects critical fish and wildlife habitat, preserves forests and shorelands, conserves agricultural lands, enhances property values, improves water quality, and provides recreational opportunities," Speaker 2 said.

Speaker 1 said Legacy Lands has acquired properties throughout Clark County, naming Salmon Creek, Whipple Creek, Lacamas Lake, the North Fork of the Lewis River, "Washoebe River" (transcript spelling) and the Columbia River as included systems. The transcript spells one waterway as "Washoebe River;" that name could not be independently verified from the text of the reading.

Speaker 1 described the program's funding: the county adopted a conservation futures levy in 1985 that the transcript described as "a 6 and a quarter cent per thousand dollars of assessed property value." For clarity, that phrasing in the reading corresponds to 6.25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

Speakers said Legacy Lands acquisitions are intended for a mix of future uses, including restoration projects (Speaker 3 cited the East Fork of the Lewis River as an example), conversion to regional parks with trails and picnic areas, and primarily nature-based recreation. Speaker 3 highlighted partnerships with public agencies, nonprofit conservation organizations and private landowners as central to the program's work.

To mark the anniversary, the county hosted three community events, Speaker 1 said: a guided tour of the Salmon Creek Greenway; a public open house presenting plans for the Gordy Jallama Family Natural Area (formerly the Cedars Golf Course); and a bird walk at Frenchman's Bar Regional Park. Speaker 3 reported about 31 bird species observed on the walk, including sandhill cranes.

For more information and a map of the county's Legacy Lands, the proclamation urged the public to visit clark.wa.gov/legacylands.