PUBLIC LANDS -- Spokane County may acquire a section of land in the Glenrose area overlooking the City of Spokane resulting from action taken Tuesday in Olympia.

The Washington Board of Natural Resources authorized the state Department of Natural Resources to transfer a 160-acre parcel of DNR-managed trust land to Spokane County Parks.

The parcel, known as the Glenrose property, is south of the Dishman Hills Natural Area and borders the 269-acre Glenrose Unit of the Dishman Hills Conservation Area.

Funding to reimburse the Common School Trust for the transferred parcel’s $490,000 appraised value comes from the legislatively funded Trust Land Transfer program.

Dishman Hills Conservation Area consists of 1,233 acres of county-owned, preserved open space.

Together with Dishman Hills Conservancy-owned land and Department of Natural Resources property, more than 1,600 acres of scenic, high quality habitat is available for passive recreation such as hiking and bird watching. 

While the DHCA currently consists of two separate areas in the Glenrose and Iller Creek areas, County Parks officials and citizen groups are working on long-term prospects to eventually connect the areas with a trail that would weave through a backcountry-like setting within 5 miles of downtown Spokane.