Dickinson Conservation Easement

Stuart Island

In 2001, the Preservation Trust received its first conservation easement donation on Stuart Island.   It is a beautiful parcel, straddling the narrow reach of land that lays adjacent to the Washington State Parks property, and caressed on both sides by the waters of both Reid and Prevost Harbors. The property includes over 5,800 feet of shoreline, extensive forested uplands, rock outcrops, grassy meadows and a pocket wetland.

“This is a very special place,” noted Alan Davidson, SJPT’s President of the board at the time.  “The owners have used foresight in placing careful restrictions on how the land will be used, ensuring its beauty and ecologic value will be protected into the future.”

Under the terms of the easement, two residences may be built on the easterly 20 acres, set back from the shoreline and screened by the natural tree line.  The western 20 acres is designated as a natural area with structures prohibited and, except for the maintenance of walking trails, natural features to be left undisturbed.  Those features include groves of oak and madrone, weathered snags, sheltered coves, and mossy glades…all the features that make the San Juan Islands so uniquely special.