Whidbey Island beach access advocates are celebrating an announcement that the beach at Glendale will be preserved for public use.

The Whidbey Camano Land Trust announced this week that they are within $240,000 of raising the $1.5 million to secure the necessary properties and easements, and a bridge loan will be used to close on the properties by the Sept. 30 deadline.

“I was ecstatic to hear we have another beach access on the South End,” said Mindy Thompson, whose family has lived a half-mile from the Glendale beach for 40 years. “This is what Whidbey Island is all about. Enjoying nature and the water. It’s huge to me.”

Two state grant applications for the Glendale Beach Project scored number one and number two in their respective statewide funding competitions, according to Ryan Etling, conservation director for the land trust.

He said this means it’s an extremely high likelihood the funding will be approved by the Legislature. In addition, the land trust continues to receive donations — a total of $61,000 last week alone.

“It’s been going really well,” Etling said. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever worked on before.”

The plan is for the land trust to own and manage the properties and for Island County to acquire a conservation easement that removes all development rights and ensures permanent public beach access. This ownership model mirrors the 654-acre Trillium Community Forest located just north of Freeland.

The Land Trust will work with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to complete the shoreline restoration work, which will include the removal of dozens of creosote-treated pilings that are believed to be leaching toxins onto the beach and into Puget Sound, Etling said.

The Glendale beach access should be open to the public next summer or late fall after improvements are made and demolition of on-site structures — a boat launch and overwater pier — is completed.

After being restored to its natural state, the 420-foot beach will be available for non-motorized activities such as swimming, fishing and kayaking.

Restrictions on the grant funding require non-motorized use, which means the organization has no choice but to demolish the overwater structures.

Thompson, who with her husband Mike has been an active proponent of the project, said that while they are disappointed that the boat launch will be removed, they are willing to let that go in exchange for saving the beach for the public.

“I regret they’re going to be tearing out a lot of the history of the area,” agreed Mike McVay, leader of Island Beach Access. That said, he added, “I think it’s wonderful. We get to start all over again with a new beach.”

The Island County commissioners were initially resistant to the project, but assurances from the land trust convinced them to move forward with the joint grant applications.

Commissioners made it clear that other than partnering for the easement, all work and maintenance to the property would have to be shouldered by the Land Trust.