The Juanita Woodlands Are In Danger of Being Lost Forever
The Juanita Woodlands are currently managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Currently, the DNR intends to sell the Woodlands for development by Spring of 2003, at which point this important resource will be lost forever.
The Woodlands are one of the tracts that were set aside Constitutionally for support of common schools, and is administered by DNR. Statewide, logging of School Land sections provides more than half the costs of K 1-12 construction, but logging of land in close-in urban areas is no longer feasible. DNR is currently planning to sell the Juanita Woodlands tracts to maximize their economic return on the parcel.
What
Could Happen to the Woodlands:
The parcel comprising the Juanita Woodlands is zoned for residential use,
with a maximum density of 160 units. The image to the right shows a potential
development plan for the parcel. Click on the image for a larger view. Because
the ravine in between Juanita Drive and Holmes Pt. Drive is not suitable
for building, the 160 units would be concentrated in the east and west sections.
Status of
Current Efforts:
The DCNA, King County Councilmember Jane Hague, the City of Kirkland, and
the Cascade Land Conservancy are working to secure the funding and governmental
support needed to save the Juanita Woodlands. The City of Kirkland is interested
in assuming title of the land, but is not in a position to budget for its
purchase because the land that is not in its jurisdiction. It would maintain
the land as a low intensity use public park when the unincorporated area
in which the land lies is annexed. Annexation is expected to occur in a
few years, but current economic conditions are slowing the process. Councilmember
Hague has secured $1,000,000 in appropriations to help secure the land as
a public space. Unfortunately, this represents only a portion of the estimated
$6-7M needed to purchase the land outright. To raise the funds and support
needed to save the Woodlands, the Denny
Creek Neighborhood Alliance (DCNA) is working with the City of Kirkland,
the DNR, King County, the Cascade Land Conservancy, and other organizations
to pursue several avenues, including:
- The DCNA is working with the City of Kirkland to apply for funding support for the Juanita Woodlands to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) of the Washington Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation (IAC).
- The DCNA is working to have the Juanita Woodlands recognized as a watershed area for Lake Washington under the King County Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8 Salmon Recovery Program.
- The DNR has agreed to extend their initial deadline of November 2002 to Spring of 2003, giving us six additional months to secure the needed funds.
- The DCNA is organizing an effort to secure donations and pledges from private individuals, corporations, and conservancy groups to help purchase the land and set it up as a nature reserve.
- Click Here To Learn How You Can Help!!
If these efforts are successful, this last heavily forested 40 acre tract will be dedicated in perpetuity as an urban forest and wildlife habitat preserve. If we do not obtain the resources to acquire all 40 acres, then we will acquire as much of the tract as possible. If we are not successful, the opportunity to save this last stand of mature forest in the Finn Hill area will be lost forever.
All of the land would be kept in a natural state as an urban forest and wildlife habitat preserve, and to support low intensity public use, with development limited to trails and nature walks. Possibly, one acre or less, adjacent to Juanita drive, may be separately dedicated as an interpretive center. Such a center would consist of a structure and parking, and be used to assist with nature studies by students in local schools, based on the wildlife and forest resources of the park as a whole.
