County Council signs off on spending for land purchase

The Pierce County Council unanimously approved the use of Conservation Futures Opportunity Account funds to reimburse PenMet Parks for up to $538,000 to acquire title to properties known as the DeMolay Sandspit Nature Preserve Expansion.
The account was established by the council to allow the Conservation Futures Program to purchase properties for conservation purposes.
Mike Kruger, senior policy analyst, explained it’s designed “to provide flexibility with the Conservation Futures Program to pursue the purchase of exceptional conservation futures properties outside of the normal selection process and timeline.”
He added those include properties under threat of immediate development or financial distress that would preclude the property from being considered in the next regular conservation futures application cycle.

The property under consideration for funding is a 3.57-acre site on Fox Island, adjacent to the Peninsula Metropolitan Park’s DeMolay Sandspit Nature Preserve Park. The property would be managed by PenMet Parks.

Funding for project was included in the adopted 2022-23 biennial budget. The authorization to fund this Conservation Futures property would utilize all remaining funds in the Conservation Futures Opportunity Account through the end of 2022. An additional $250,000 will become available in the Conservation Futures Opportunity Account in 2023.