Trust Land Transfer Lobby Day
By John Sherwin
Washington’s Trust Land Transfer (TLT) Program remains one of the state’s most effective tools for protecting ecologically and socially valuable lands, supporting wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor recreation, and climate resilience. The Issaquah Alps Trails Club (IATC) has been a key partner in helping revitalize the TLT Program, which played a critical role in conserving iconic places such as West Tiger Mountain NRCA, Mount Si NRCA, and the Middle Fork Snoqualmie NRCA.
The impact of advocacy was clear in 2025. Despite an extremely challenging budget year for Washington State, the legislature funded $16.7 million for four TLT projects (including 676 acres along the Beckler River) following a successful 2025 Lobby Day. This highlights that showing up and engaging directly with lawmakers is highly effective and crucial.
Beckler River in the Beckler 6 TLT parcel. Photo courtesy of John Sherwin.
On January 28, 2026, conservationists from across Washington will gather in Olympia for TLT Lobby Day, hosted by the Sierra Club and Stewards of Washington State Lands. Issaquah Alps Trails Club members are welcome and encouraged to participate and help make the case for continued and expanded investment in conservation.
TLT Lobby Day is designed for both experienced advocates and first-time participants and includes networking with conservation partners, advocacy guidance, and meetings with legislators. It is vital that legislators hear directly from the people they represent that continued funding for the TLT Program is strongly supported.
New to lobbying? A virtual advocacy training for new participants will be held on Thursday, January 22, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM. This session will cover what to expect and how to effectively share your conservation story. You can join the webinar using this link.
We hope you’ll join us in asking the legislature to make a meaningful investment in conserving Washington’s most valuable trust lands.
Call to action
Please join us for 2026 TLT Lobby Day on Wednesday, January 28. Showing up in Olympia is a great opportunity to make a significant impact on conservation in the Issaquah Alps and across Washington!
John Sherwin is a former IATC President and the President of Stewards of Washington State Lands (Stewards), a new nonprofit that evolved out of an advocacy coalition formed in 2020 to revitalize the TLT program. The TLT Coalition has helped protect more than 12,000 acres of state trust land with $45 million in state capital budget funding. Stewards continues to lead the TLT Coalition as well as leading a new coalition to establish sustainable funding mechanisms for conservation, stewardship, and recreation for Washington State lands.