THE VASHON - MAURY ISLAND LAND TRUST

What THE VASHON - MAURY ISLAND LAND TRUST does

The Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust is a nonprofit land conservation organization founded in 1990 to conserve and steward wild and working lands on Vashon and Maury Islands in Washington State. The organization manages a network of 16 preserves, trails, and wildlife refuges spanning forests (Island Center Forest, Dockton Forest, Frog Holler Forest), marine shoreline (Maury Island Marine Park), wetlands (Whispering Firs Bog, Lost Lake), wildlife refuges (Mileta Creek), and historic farmland (Matsuda Farm). Its work centers on land acquisition, ecological restoration, trail maintenance, and habitat protection for species including Chinook Salmon, Southern Resident Orcas, and over 70 documented bird species.

The organization does not develop technology products; its core operations involve physical land stewardship and ecosystem management. It relies on a community-based model that includes individual donations, the Cedar Circle major donor program (five-year pledges of $1,000+ annually), a Stewardship Fund endowment from which 5% is drawn each year, planned giving vehicles (charitable bequests, IRA beneficiary designations), and outright land donations. Approximately $400,000 per year is spent on trail maintenance, forest management, streams, and shorelines across the preserve network. The Land Trust partners with King County on joint land acquisition and trail development (Frog Holler Forest, Island Center Forest), and with Makanai Farm for active agricultural operations at Matsuda Farm.

The organization serves Vashon and Maury Islands community members, private landowners considering conservation or estate gifts, and planned giving donors. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors with three-year terms and operates with a small staff led by Executive Director Theron Shaw and Operations Manager Jenny Stamper. Revenue is generated entirely through donations, pledges, planned gifts, and endowment draws rather than priced products or services. Public access to preserves and trails is provided free of charge, while ecologically sensitive properties have restricted or no public access.

Name

THE VASHON - MAURY ISLAND LAND TRUST

Legal name

Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust

Website

https://vashonlandtrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust is a nonprofit founded in 1990 that conserves and stewards 16 preserves, trails, and wildlife refuges across Vashon and Maury Islands in Washington State, serving island residents, private landowners, and legacy gift donors through donations, major-donor programs, and land gifts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Land Conservation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Timber Tract Operations (11311)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services (AFAMAMAH)

Keywords

• Land conservation
• Nature preserves
• Stewardship programs
• Wildlife habitat protection
• Trail management

Headquarters

HQ city

Vashon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Gifts: The primary revenue source consists of individual donations from community members, including one-time gifts and recurring annual contributions. Donations are accepted via the website and by mail.
2. Cedar Circle Major Donor Program: A five-year pledged giving program requiring $1,000 or more per year. Members receive benefits including property tours and exclusive events. This provides predictable, multi-year revenue for the organization.
3. Planned Giving and Estate Gifts: Legacy giving vehicles including charitable bequests in wills, retirement account beneficiary designations, contingent bequests, and gifts through donor-advised funds or retirement funds. The organization provides federal tax ID (94-3123021) for IRA and estate planning purposes.
4. Stewardship Fund: A permanent endowment fund from which the Land Trust draws 5% annually to fund restoration and trail maintenance programs. Community members contribute to build the fund, which is intended to generate sustainable revenue for ongoing land management.
5. Land Donations and Property Gifts: The Land Trust accepts outright gifts of land, whether developed or undeveloped. If the land has conservation value, it is held indefinitely in the preserve network. If not, the property is sold and proceeds fund conservation work.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that conserves and stewards wild and working lands on Vashon and Maury Islands in Washington State. It manages 16 preserves, trails, and wildlife refuges — including forests, marine shorelines, wetlands, and historic farmland — and operates public trail systems for recreation. The organization supplements land management with donor programs, a Stewardship Fund endowment, planned giving vehicles, and volunteer-based community stewardship.

Product overview

The Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust operates as a nonprofit land conservation organization managing a network of 15 preserved properties across Vashon and Maury Islands in Washington State. The core offering consists of conserved lands including forests (Dockton Forest, Island Center Forest, Frog Holler Forest), marine shoreline (Maury Island Marine Park), wetlands (Lost Lake, Whispering Firs Bog), wildlife refuges (Mileta Creek), and historic farmland (Matsuda Farm). These preserves range from fully accessible trail systems to restricted ecological reserves. Complementing land management, the organization offers engagement programs including volunteer opportunities, a Board of Directors governance program, and several fundraising vehicles: a Stewardship Fund for annual conservation work, a Planned Giving program for legacy gifts, a Gifting Land program accepting property donations, and a Cedar Circle donor recognition group requiring five-year $1,000+ annual pledges. The Land Trust has operated since 1990 in the homelands of the sxʷəbabš people.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dockton Forest Preserve A preserved forest on Maury Island offering 12 miles of multi-use trails including 3 miles of mountain bike trails, with madrona forests, shorelines, and bald eagle viewing. Open to the public free of charge.
• Maury Island Marine Park A marine preserve with over a mile of protected undeveloped shoreline serving as one of the most important forage fish areas in Puget Sound, featuring 3 miles of mixed-use trails with views of Mt. Rainier and the Cascades.
• Frog Holler Forest The largest working forest on Vashon Island, spanning over 135 acres with 2.6 miles of multi-use trails. Previously certified under the American Tree Farm System for sustainable management.
• Island Center Forest A community-preserved forest containing the headwaters of Judd Creek and serving as the primary recharge area for Vashon's drinking water aquifer, with over 10 miles of multi-use trails and 70+ bird species.
• Whispering Firs Bog One of only three peat bogs in Southern Puget Sound, serving as a critical carbon-capturing landscape. The catalyst for the founding of the Land Trust in 1992. Not open to the public except for annual guided tours.
• Matsuda Farm One of the last remaining historic Japanese American farms on Vashon Island. 12 acres with active farming by Makanai Farm, includes Mary Matsuda Gruenewald Forest and riparian areas.
• MacLeod Nature Preserve A 22-acre preserve of mixed second-growth forest with a stream, bequeathed by Henry and Doris MacLeod in 1993, protected as habitat for native island flora and fauna.
• Stewardship Fund A permanent community endowment fund from which the Land Trust draws 5% annually to fund restoration and trail maintenance. The Land Trust currently spends approximately $400,000 per year on land management across its properties.
• Cedar Circle Major Donor Program A donor recognition program requiring a five-year pledge of $1,000 or more annually to support property acquisitions, trail maintenance, and restoration. Members receive property tours and an annual gratitude event.
• Planned Giving Program Legacy giving vehicles including charitable bequests in wills, IRA beneficiary designations, contingent bequests, and gifts through donor-advised funds. Federal tax ID 94-3123021 is provided for estate planning purposes.
• Gifting Land Program Program accepting outright gifts of land, whether developed or undeveloped. Properties with conservation value are held indefinitely in the preserve network; others may be sold with proceeds funding conservation work.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 500 acres of forest protected on south Vashon Island through the Frog Holler partnership with King County
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Makanai FarmcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Makanai Farm handles the day-to-day farming operations at Matsuda Farm, bringing the land back into food production. Their first crop was strawberries. The Land Trust continues to steward non-farmed areas of the property.
• Matsuda Family (Miyoko Matsuda, Ray Gruenewald)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015In 2015, Miyoko Matsuda offered the Land Trust an exclusive negotiation to purchase the last 12 acres of historic Matsuda Farm. In 2022, Ray Gruenewald donated an additional 5 acres, now named Mary Matsuda Gruenewald Forest. The Land Trust is developing the property in partnership with Makanai Farm for food production and public trails.
• Henry and Doris MacLeod (MacLeod Nature Preserve)minorOthers · 1 January 1993Henry and Doris MacLeod bequeathed 22 acres of mixed forest and stream to the Land Trust in 1993. The preserve is not open to the public and is protected as habitat for native island flora and fauna.
• King CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA long-term partnership with King County has enabled the protection of more than 500 acres of forest on south Vashon Island through the Frog Holler Forest preserve (135+ acres). King County has also built over 10 miles of multi-use trails at Island Center Forest. The partnership involves joint land acquisition, trail development, and ongoing park management.
• Puyallup TribeminorOthersThe Land Trust acknowledges and honors the inherent, aboriginal, and treaty rights of the Puyallup Tribe and its sxʷəbabš members. The organization states it operates in the homelands of the sxʷəbabš, the Swiftwater People.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit that conserves land for public use through acquisition and stewardship. Directly comparable mission and operating model to Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, though operating at much larger geographic scale across multiple states.
• Great Peninsula Conservancy: Washington-based land trust working in Kitsap and Mason counties. Comparable community-based conservation model focused on preserving forests, shorelines, and farmland.
• Forterra: Pacific Northwest land trust (formerly Cascade Land Conservancy) working across Washington State on land conservation and stewardship. Same regional mission as Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, with a broader geographic scope.
• Skagit Land Trust: Washington-based land trust in Skagit County with a similar scale and operating model focused on community-led land conservation and stewardship of natural areas.
• Capitol Land Trust: Washington-based land trust preserving natural areas in Thurston, Mason, and Pierce counties. Similar size, community-based operating model, and conservation focus.
• Whidbey Camano Land Trust: Washington-based land trust serving island communities in Island County. Directly comparable operating model, scale, and island-focused conservation mission to Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust.

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy: Global conservation nonprofit operating at much larger scale. Overlapping mission in land acquisition and stewardship, but with a global portfolio rather than a single-region focus.

Emerging players

• Washington Trails Association: Washington-based nonprofit focused on trail maintenance and hiking access. Complementary mission to the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust's preserve trail systems, with partial overlap in volunteer-driven stewardship of public-access trails.

Regional players

• King County Parks and Recreation: Government agency partner managing adjacent parks, including co-stewardship of Frog Holler Forest and Island Center Forest. Operates in overlapping geography but as a public agency rather than a nonprofit land trust.
• Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust: Regional nonprofit focused on conservation corridor along the I-90 corridor in Washington. Complementary regional land conservation focus and partnership-driven operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/vashon.landtrust
• Instagraminstagram.com/vashonmauryislandlandtrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-vashon---maury-island-land-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about THE VASHON - MAURY ISLAND LAND TRUST