Following the owner’s recent withdrawal of an application to log 100 acres on the south end of the island, the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust has submitted a proposal to purchase and conserve all or a portion of the nearly 200-acre parcel.

When Tom Dean, who heads the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, learned about the application’s change in status earlier this month, he said he planned to follow up on the trust’s long-standing offer to buy the land, which belongs to Fukuen Eric Chen of Bellevue. Before Dean had a chance to do so, however, the consultant working with Chen — John Breithaupt of Tacoma’s Matrix and Associates — reached out to Dean to get a better understanding of the agency’s interest in conserving the property. Last week, Dean submitted a proposal to Breithaupt for Chen’s consideration. The proposal includes two options: the purchase of the whole 192 acres or, alternatively, 110 acres of the land, primarily the section on the steep hillside. Dean noted that any action the Land Trust would take would be in partnership with King County.

Breithaupt has been involved with dozens of transactions with conservation agencies over the years, he said, and believes such a purchase could be beneficial all around.

“I think the people of the island would like it; I think the DNR would like it, and if the price is right, I think Mr. Chen would like it,” he added.

Both Breithaupt and Dean stress that the proposal is just the beginning of a potentially long process, with Breithaupt referring to it as “the place to start the conversation.”

Dean, mindful of the passion that the logging proposal created in the community, cautioned patience.

“These sorts of things take an awful lot of time,” he said. “The more patience people can have with the process, the more likely people can have a good outcome,” he said.

He added that area of the island — on the east side of the main highway south of 280th Street — has been of interest to the Land Trust since the trust was formed more than 25 years ago.

The Lost Lake preserve is near Chen’s land — as many islanders noted during the comment phase of the recent application. Lost Lake is not a lake but a rare bog, and Dean said Chen’s property contains additional miniature bogs in the sag ponds, depressions where fault movement has affected drainage — giving the land “another world” feel. Dean listed a number of that area’s assets, explaining the trust’s long-standing interest in it.

“We have been adding to the Lost Lake preserve,” he said. “That whole stretch of beach is one of the longest and most ecologically important beaches on Vashon.”

Three varieties of forage fish spawn there, he said, noting that because the beach faces east, it has good afternoon shade, which prevents eggs from drying out in the afternoon sun, and there is a lot of eel grass, important for a variety of aquatic creatures. A large drift cell stretches from there to the boat ramp at Jensen Point, and as sliding occurs, it feeds sand to the beach. Additionally, Chen Creek runs through the property and remains undeveloped, which is unique on Vashon. Finally, given the property’s sun, plentiful groundwater and lack of logging history, the Douglas fir trees are tall and stately.

“The forest itself is spectacular,” Dean said.

Moreover, he said, at 192 acres, Chen’s land is the third largest parcel of land owned by one owner on the island, smaller only than Camp Sealth and Misty Isle Farm.

Buying such a property is one of the functions of the agency, he added.

“This is something the Land Trust has done for years and years. We have been able to compensate people for property that they were going to develop but found out later that they could not,” he said. “Sometimes landowners are disappointed, and we can step in and can compensate them and gain access to the land.”

Again, he expressed caution.

“It is just the beginning of a conversation here. That’s all it is,” he said.

King County has agreed to pay for an appraisal of the land, Dean noted, and depending on Chen’s interests, either all or a portion of the land would be appraised.

Breithaupt said the appraisals are called “Yellow Book appraisals” and are fairly exhaustive, determining both timber and land values, and can run between $15,000 and $25,000.

Last week, Breithaupt said Chen was out of the country for a couple weeks and that they would discuss the proposal when he returns. However, he said that Chen had indicated he is open in talking with the Land Trust.

“Ultimately, it is Mr. Chen’s decision. I would certainly urge him to consider that (proposal) as an option,” he added.

Along with considering the possibility of selling the land, Breithaupt said he and Chen are determining the best plan for thinning about 45 acres in the upper, flat portion. The area contains overly mature red alder trees with a big canopy that does not let light in, and nettles and blackberries abound. State and private geologists involved with the project are determining where the water recharge areas are, and logging will be done outside of those. A decision regarding logging there is likely a few months out, Breithaupt added.

No more than 50 percent of the trees would be cut in the designated areas, he said, and the logging would be barely visible from the highway. Because this work would not be considered environmentally sensitive, no public notification would be required.

Breithaupt added they intend to replant — with Douglas fir and Western red cedar — though replanting is not required if less than half the trees are logged. Especially in the northwest corner, he added, there are big alder trees toward the end of their lives, and that area needs to be thinned and replanted.

“The goal here is to get a diverse, healthy, functional forest,” he said.

Dean also believes some logging would be beneficial.

“Even if the upper, flat portion is conserved, it will need some ecological thinning,” he said. “It will still need that piece of work to happen, not unlike other forests on the island, Agren Park, Island Center Forest and Dockton.”

In two conversations in recent weeks, Breithaupt has spoken at some length about the project and stated that neither he nor Chen intended to propose logging that would draw such a strong reaction on Vashon. Initially, he said, he and Chen intended to log just the flat areas under consideration now. But the geologists from Icicle Creek Engineers, who completed the geotechnical report, suggested they add logging on the hillside, which is easier to do as a clear cut than as a thinning. A geologist from the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) who walked the property in the pre-application process also concurred with that suggestion, he said.

“I felt like we had a quite a set of eyes on this,” he added. “We had no reason not to do this.”

He reviewed many of the comments islanders sent during the SEPA review and saw large concern about the proposed clear cut.

“Had we had information ahead of time, we would have backed off of that,” he said.

Now, he said, he and Chen are back on “square one,” planning for the logging they initially intended.

“We spent a lot of time and a lot of money that was just wasted,” he added.

Looking ahead at the Land Trust, Dean said he hopes to hear back soon about Chen’s interest in selling all or a portion of the land because of the timing of King County’s annual cycle for funding conservation projects. If he is interested in moving ahead, timing is important.

“The sooner we know, the easier time we will have getting an application in,” Dean said.