SILVERDALE — Charles Ely, a Silverdale resident, said a 27-acre parcel of forested land that the state is considering trading to a developer is precious to him.

In the county's commercial core, there are few places to walk his dogs and be in nature.

"As a city kid, to be able to go in and see the trees, see the wildlife, see streams, see fish, is an amazing thing," he said at a public meeting on Thursday night. "If this 27 acres goes, it'll be gone forever."

Ely was one of dozens who filled a community room at the Kitsap Mall to learn more and voice their opinions about a proposed land swap by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

Environmentalists, high school students, and people who live in a neighborhood bordering the 27 acres DNR is considering trading for a 1.5-acre parcel in Arlington that holds a Bartell Drug were relentless in their questions and comments to the DNR employees hosting the public meeting.

Twenty-seven people signed up for public comment, but many decided to later submit written comments because the meeting ran long.

Julie Armbruster, DNR property acquisition specialist, explained the proposed land swap and how it will benefit the Common School Trust. She explained that DNR often disposes of properties that don’t generate revenue. Those properties are traded for other properties that do generate revenue or are sold to make money to purchase a new property.

The property in Silverdale hasn’t generated revenue for years, with the last timber harvest in the 1960s or '70s, she said. She also noted that the area is zoned residential and in the urban growth area, which, under the state's Growth Management Act, is where development is encouraged to take place.

She also explained that DNR board members represent the trust beneficiaries, like the Common School Trust. They make decisions about whether a transaction should go forward, considering testimonies like the ones given at the meeting Thursday.

Preserving the Clear Creek Trail was a concern maintained by many at the event, and Armbruster told the crowd that Evergreen Housing, which would be managing the 27 acres if the proposed land swap goes through, would incorporate the trail in its plans for the forestland. One audience member asked if that was in writing, but Armbruster assured him the county has an easement for the trail.

Because the trail is on the property in Silverdale, there would be a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review done by DNR.

"I'm concerned if this is logged we’ll have to build another big retention," said Mary Earl, a member of the Clear Creek Trail Task Force, during the public comment.

The fairness of the exchange was also questioned. Armbruster said the land in the exchange was being appraised, but officials expect the drugstore lease to be worth a few million dollars more than the value of 27 acres in Silverdale. DNR would pay the difference in cash. This money would come from the "real property replacement account," which holds money made from the sales of the trust properties that DNR sells because they are no longer generating revenue. This fund is used to purchase replacement properties for the Common School Trust. The money cannot go directly to the trust but must go toward land.

Armbruster said the Bartell lease would generate about $482,000 annually. There are procedures in place if the retailer backs out of the 15-year lease, at which point DNR would list the property for sale and use the money to purchase a different property, said Rod Rennie, commercial property manager for DNR.

One woman asked about the option of a community co-op purchasing part of the land to “keep it green.”

“Someone would have to make a proposal,” Rennie said. “Yes, we would look at it.”

Concerns were voiced about school overcrowding and traffic congestion with the addition of new homes. There was also concern about wildife.

“Are we going to cut everything down and just let people hit deer?” a meeting attendee asked.

Cynthia Kirby said during public comment that she moved here from California.

“When we moved here, it was for the beauty of the greenery, and I don’t want to see Silverdale become a big California-like concrete village,” Kirby said.

Daniel Mullen, who said he lives in a house that backs up to the 27 acres in Silverdale, read the mission statement of Washington DNR: Manage, sustain, and protect the health and productivity of Washington’s lands and waters to meet the needs of present and future generations.

“So they should consider, does the acquisition of this land swap meet the standards of the mission statement versus leaving it as is?” he asked.

High school students talked about their education teaching them to take care of the land.

"I love growing up in this environment where I'm surrounded by nature," said Tia, a ninth-grader at Central Kitsap High School. "I do understand this exchange is meant to help fund education, but most of the education growing up here was rooted in conservation and taking care of the ecosystem. My classmates and I would really appreciate it if you took this as an opportunity to make things right."

Just one commenter said he thought DNR should go ahead with the land swap.

David Markwick, present at the meeting with his mother, Donna, grew up in Silverdale, he said. His mother sold a parcel of land to Kitsap County as part of a court settlement. That property is known as the "Markwick property."

Markwick said many of the people at the meeting who reside in Silverdale live in houses that used to be forestland — forestland that he grew up playing in.

“Your house is in my playground, they built it anyway,” Markwick said.

"If they don’t build houses there, you’re going to build them somewhere else and tear down somebody else’s forest," he said. "I hope they do sell this land.”