Dear Friends:

Twenty-two years ago, a special place on Whidbey Island was set aside for future generations at the urging of the local community. This place is Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, a cultural landscape that contains 17,400 acres of historic farms, fields, forests, and seashore, wrapping around Penn Cove in the central part of the island. It is a landscape that tells the story of the Pacific Northwestnative peoples, Euro-american explorers and settlers, family farms and a seaport community, archeology and architecturethe evidence is all still here, in the land.

Congress placed the Reserve under the care of the National Park Service. But the Reserve was to be a different kind of national park, one managed by a group of people who represent a partnership instead of one government agency taking the lead. Twelve years ago, the National Park Service turned management of the Reserve over to this partnership, better known as the Trust Board of Ebey's Landing NHR. Guided by a comprehensive plan that was prepared by citizens in 1980, the Trust Board has steadfastly worked with its partnersthe Town of Coupeville, Island County, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, and the National Park Servicetowards the preservation of the Reserve and its natural, cultural, recreational, and scenic resources. The time has come to revisit this plan and revise it so it reflects the changes that have occurred over the past two decades and addresses the concerns for the future.

You, the public, are a crucial part of this planning effort. With your involvement, you can help ensure that future generations will enjoy this heritage landscape. Your participation can help make Ebey's Landing NHR a better place in which to learn about and appreciate this important story in American history. Please join us!

Bob Lappin
Chairman, Reserve Trust Board