Editor,

I understand the county commissioners will be voting on the Conservation Futures Fund Levy on Monday, Nov. 25. This issue strikes at the heart of how we preserve the unique environment on Whidbey Island, to which we moved in 2004.

We believe there are many Whidbey Island residents, such as ourselves, who cheerfully pay this tax component and contribute significant additional personal funds toward preserving and improving the properties conserved by the Conservation Futures Fund. The government’s investment in this fund through keeping the current levy is a modest demonstration of stewardship toward our precious commons, and we urge the commissioners to vote in favor of at least maintaining the current levy.

We believe Commissioner Jill Johnson’s plan to review the program during 2014 has merit, but it is unwise and premature to reduce the levy in the absence of results from that review. Once the review is complete, the commissioners will have actionable data and information upon which to make a considered judgment on the future of the CFF. Such data might, in fact, demonstrate the wisdom of increasing the levy; our representatives in county government should not prejudge the appropriate action.

We would be happy to take the commissioners’ phone calls or emails to explain ourselves further. We visit some of these sites, we walk some of these trails, and they are a wonderful expression of what makes Whidbey Island unique. As the commissioners know, the CFF provides many other benefits to our Whidbey Island lives; clean water, aquifer recharge, and a number of other tangible and intangible attributes, all of which represent a worthy investment in our collective future. Please help keep it that way.

Respectfully,

PETER and ANNA MARIE MORTON

Langley