Conservation panel to consider 36 parcels

Land parcels nominated for Spokane County Conservation Futures acquisitions will be presented in a public meeting tonight at 6 at the IMAX Theater in Riverfront Park.

Citizens have nominated 36 properties totaling about 4,700 acres for inclusion in the voter-approved program to protect natural areas and open spaces from development.

While nominated lands are valued at tens of millions of dollars, the program has roughly $2 million available to spend. Some of the nominations could remain pending for years, Spokane County Parks and Recreation Department staffers say.

The meeting will start with a slide show of the properties. Later, the program’s advisory committee will listen to public comment, said Paul Knowles, county parks planner.

The deadline for public comment is Oct. 19.

The parcels are scattered around the county, although 10 of them are in the Beacon Hill area, Knowles said.

Since its inception in 1994, the Conservation Futures Program has secured 24 properties totaling 5,057 acres.