Capitol Land Trust was founded in 1987 by community members who were concerned about the potential impacts of a proposed development on nearby wetlands. Instead of opposing the development, they worked cooperatively with the developer to permanently conserve the sensitive habitat, creating a positive outcome for all involved. Since then, this type of collaboration has resulted in the conservation of over 75 properties, 6,000 acres of wildlife habitat and working farms and forests and 14 miles of Puget Sound shoreline across Thurston, Mason, Lewis and Grays Harbor counties. We believe some of these outstanding properties offer a new way to bring people together on the lands we all love. By providing opportunities for recreation, education, and collaboration on restoration projects, we will strengthen our community’s commitment to protecting the environment and the many benefits that nature provides, such as clean air, safe water, wildlife habitat, natural resource and agriculture jobs, resilience to floods and fires, and space for personal reflection and restoration. This combination of protecting high priority properties and engaging a broad range of the South Puget Sound and Chehalis River Basin communities will result in our region being a place where healthy populations of native fish and wildlife live, where the natural environment inspires curiosity and hope for people who live here, and where thriving urban areas and a healthy rural landscape live side by side.