An agreement has been finalized for permanent public ownership of 216 acres of forestland on Squak Mountain, following several months of negotiations with the landowner.

King County Executive Dow Constantine and the Trust for Public Land announced the agreement, signed July 18, to purchase the forestland for $5 million.

“This is forest that people have cherished for generations and which, thanks to the partnership of The Trust for Public Land, will no longer be threatened, forever to be enjoyed and appreciated,” said Executive Constantine.

Per the agreement, the Trust for Public Land Use can close the transaction as early as 2014, and may then hold it until King County has funds to acquire the land as part of the County’s system of parks and open space.

Potential funding sources for the acquisition by King County include Conservation Futures funds collected from property taxes levied throughout King County and its cities and dedicated for purchase and permanent protection of open space lands.

Additional funding could include regional open space acquisition funds in the proposed King County Parks levy, which is on the August ballot to replace the current levy that expires at the end of the year.

A prominent natural feature visible from state Route 900 on the Mountains to Sound Greenway, this part of Squak Mountain has long been used as a private forest camp at the edge of Squak Mountain State Park and Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park.

King County is interested in maintaining the land’s recreational opportunities and preserving its rich forest habitat which supports a variety of wildlife and birds, including black bear, cougar and possibly endangered marbled murrelets. The headwaters of May Creek, a seven-mile-long salmon stream that flows into Lake Washington, rise here.