The South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District has chosen a new name for the previously titled Waterman Property.

The board of commissioners made the decision at the May 19 meeting to re-name the piece of property, which has a unique history. It will now be called Maxwelton Trails Park.

The 40-acre slice of forestland was recently acquired by the parks district thanks to community efforts led by Shelly Ackerman.

Back in 2017, Ackerman led a campaign to save the two 20-acre connected land parcels, owned by the Waterman family, from being sold, logged and developed. The property contains trails and is located near the South Whidbey Elementary School South Campus.

Trails on the land behind the elementary school have been used by students for over 25 years and they link to a bigger network of trails located on the school district’s property.

Efforts to secure the majority of funding from private donors for the land, however, were unsuccessful and the purchase of the property ended up being funded by a combination of state grants and a voter-approved bond.

The property is now owned by the parks and rec district, which has not yet announced any formal plans for the land.

A search for a new name for the Waterman Property has been ongoing. The parks and rec district has asked for submissions from the public to be reviewed by Ackerman and her group of volunteers.

No clear contenders from the pool of submissions had emerged by the time of last week’s parks and rec board meeting, but after some discussion, the board members settled on the new name.

Board members also made a motion to change the name of the Trustland Trails to “Trustland Trails Park” to keep the names of the properties owned by the parks district consistent.