The Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society has raised just over 70% of the $7.5 million it needs to purchase 261 acres of forest along Carrington Lagoon, on Cortes Island, from Mosaic Forest Management.

Society Chair Chris Dragseth says this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the community:

“We’re protecting some valuable properties from an ecological point of view and from a societal point of view. The youth of the community, both residents and from afar, have benefited immensely from the protection this land has had to date. It’s got huge opportunities in the future from a continued educational perspective with the youth, but also from a research perspective.”