Spokane County’s Conservation Futures has purchased the first of its eight ranked properties. The land, situated between Palisades City Park and Riverside State Park, was protected through purchase and legal agreements by Inland Northwest Land Conservancy, which served as a bridge owner until Conservation Futures was able to make the purchase, according to an INLC news release.

The Conservation Futures Program, a voter-supported property taxed-funded program that facilitated this transfer of “Rimrock to Riverside” into Spokane Parks and Recreation ownership and management, has helped preserve almost 9,400 acres in Spokane County since 1994.

“We are so pleased to have helped achieve this long-held community conservation goal of expanding Palisades Park northward to allow for eventual trail connection to Riverside State Park,” said Dave Schaub, the conservancy’s executive director in a statement. “This project helps complete an important connection between existing public parks, one that will provide vital habitat for animals and recreational access for our community for generations to come.”

Inland Northwest Land Conservancy secured the 123 acres of land that will be owned and managed by the City of Spokane as a part of Palisades Park, in perpetuity.

Funds that were contributed to this effort will go into a fund that will allow the conservancy to continue partnering with local communities in the Inland Northwest to protect natural spaces for the benefit of wildlife and humans, according to the news release.