Beck Conservation Easement

Lopez Island

The towering 21- acre rocky head at the entrance to McArdle Bay is a familiar landmark to boaters exploring the southern shoreline of Lopez Island. To protect this dramatic feature, and the plant and animal communities found on the mosaic of rocky balds and Douglas fir forest it supports, Dr. Ronald and Ruth Beck approached the Preservation Trust in 1984 to take advantage of a new federal law to permanently prohibit future development on this property.

This resulted in the very first conservation easement ever granted to the San Juan Preservation Trust. The Becks to this day steward their property with loving care and are proud to have been among the first to recognize the importance of private land conservation in the San Juan Islands.