ABSTRACT
King County, which surrounds Seattle and its suburbs, deserves its reputation as an undisputed leader in open space preservation. It has saved more land through transfer of development rights (TDR) than any other jurisdiction in the country. In 1985, King County adopted a new comprehensive plan featuring the first urban growth boundary in the state of Washington and a goal of preserving resource lands, habitat, and open space in general. King County's TDR program has now saved more land than any other TDR program in the United States. This success partly stems from the willingness of some cities within King County to accept transferred development rights from land under county jurisdiction in accordance with interjurisdictional agreements. Many of King County's most successful preservation efforts have been facilitated by the Cascade Land Conservancy, the largest independent land conservation and stewardship organization in Washington State.
