Campaign to “Cap” Turtleback Mountain Preserve

The famous Turtleback cap can now be yours!

From the San Juan Preservation Trust

 The San Juan Preservation Trust has launched a fundraising and social media campaign to expand the Turtleback Mountain Preserve on Orcas Island and create a new hiking trail to spectacular views that have – until now – been inaccessible to the public.

To support this campaign, every donor that contributes $50 or more will receive a Turtleback Mountain logo cap, with proceeds to be applied towards the outstanding campaign balance. To build additional awareness for this effort, an anonymous donor will contribute $25 for every photograph of campaign donors wearing the Turtleback cap that is been posted on the San Juan Preservation Trust’s Facebook page.

The 30-acre “head” of the familiar turtle-shaped ridgeline, which has been under Preservation Trust ownership for over 20 years, provides some of the most stunning 360-degree vistas in all of the San Juan Islands. Unfortunately, this prominent rocky outcrop has been surrounded by private property and off limits to the public. The Campaign to Complete Turtleback includes the purchase of a 111-acre property that separates the turtle’s head from the Turtleback Mountain Preserve and a new public trail that connects the three parcels. With $990,000 already committed towards the campaign’s $1.15 million goal, the Preservation Trust is now reaching out to the local island community and visitors that use the Turtleback trail system to raise the remaining $160,000.

To donate and receive your cap (including instructions for fulfilling the $25 Facebook match), or to learn more about the campaign, please visit www.sjpt.org or call Barbara Courtney, Director of Philanthropy for the Preservation Trust, at (360) 376-2431.