Island Center Forest
Site Management Guidelines

The Island Center Forest is a 363-acre complex of working forest and ecological lands located in the center of Vashon Island in King County, Washington. This working forest and preserve is managed to protect the ecological values of the site, to demonstrate ecologically sustainable forest management, and to provide opportunities for low-impact recreation. The property is owned by King County and managed by the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, in collaboration with the Vashon- Maury Island community. As of December 2005, 30 of these 363 acres, which King County plans to purchase, are still owned by the Vashon Maury Island Land Trust (VMILT).

The forest/wetland complex is comprised of three adjacent properties (see Figure 2 below):

• 80 acres in the northwest is managed by the King County Solid Waste Division as a buffer to the Vashon Transfer Station;
• 200 acres that form the bulk of the property were transferred to King County by Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WADNR) and are managed by the King County Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD) as "working resource lands;"
• 83 acres on the east end of the property were acquired by King County and the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust (VMILT) and are managed by WLRD as "ecological lands."

The Forest is relatively flat and comprises eight different "eco-types"; six unique forest stands, wetland, and meadows. The site forms the headwaters of Judd Creek, and there are four tributary streams that flow south from the site into Judd Creek.

Island Center Forest provides habitat for a variety of wildlife species including. In particular, over 70 bird species have been identified in the vicinity of the wetland complex in the northeast corner of the site. The wetlands themselves are home to several amphibian species, including non-native bullfrogs that are threatening the quality of the wetlands.

The Island Center Forest provides a great deal of public use including over nine miles of trail used by hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers, and wetlands which are popular for bird watching and wildlife photography. Historically, hunting has occurred on the WADNR parcels, and illegal off-road vehicle driving has been a problem. The property has also been misused with some regularity for dumping garbage and illegal camping.

There are currently seven locations where visitors can access Island Center Forest. However, some of these are not technically legal access points, and none of them provide adequate parking, particularly for horse trailers. These locations are described in greater detail in the site management guidelines below.

The Island Center Forest Site Management Guidelines are available in Adobe Acrobat format. For help using Acrobat files, please visit our Acrobat help page.

Download Here:

Island Center Forest Site Management Guidelines (1.21 Mb file)

Figures:

1. Island Center Forest Locator Map (333 Kb file)
2. Boundary with Orthophotograph (728 Kb file)
3. Parcel Boundaries with Orthophotograph (1.14 Mb file)
4. Contour Lines and Hillshade Map (2.45 Mb file)
5. Soil Types Map (269 Kb file)
6. Streams and Wetlands Map (2.54 Mb file)
7. Ecological Types Map (255 Kb file)
8. Roads, Trails, Access Points Map (342 Kb file)