Info for Landowners

As a landowner you have many rights associated with your property. You may have rights to the water and minerals on your land. You also have the right to protect your property with a conservation easement (also known as permanent land protection agreements).

Although conservation easements are not the only conservation tool available, the Bainbridge Island Land Trust has entered into 39 of these agreements with private landowners in the last 20 years. Conservation easements may also provide tax benefits on both your personal income tax and property taxes 

Are you a landowner on Bainbridge Island who owns waterfront property with an undisturbed shoreline area covered with native vegetation?  Are you committed to protecting the ecological health of your shoreline and nearshore habitat?  Do you want to ensure that your stewardship commitment to these resources lives on forever?  Would you like some financial assistance to permanently protect these fragile natural resources?  If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, please read the information sheet to learn more about the Shoreline Stewardship Program and the Conservation Easement Pilot Project taking place this year.

We will be holding an informational meeting on this project June 30, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Bainbridge Public Library. Please come or contact Brenda McMurray, Stewardship Director, (206) 842-1216 for more information.

In 2009, we have an opportunity to provide financial support to assist with the costs of conserving shoreline properties that provide high ecological function.

• BainbridgeIsland has 53 miles of shoreline.  Puget Sound shorelines are exceptionally valuable as spawning and rearing areas as well as migratory pathways for fish, birds, and other wildlife due to the rich interface between marine water, fresh water, and terrestrial ecosystems.  An estimated 82% of our shoreline properties have been wholly or partially developed.  Development on the shoreline has degraded important riparian, nearshore, and estuarine habitats upon which many Puget Sound aquatic, plant, bird and wildlife species rely.  
• The Bainbridge Island Land Trust (BILT) has worked since its formation 20 years ago to increase the amount of protected and restored shoreline on the Island.
• BILT currently holds eight conservation easements on privately owned lands protecting over 6,600 linear feet of shoreline.
• BILT has also helped to purchase and permanently conserve five public parcels that protect an additional 9,900 linear feet of shoreline.
• The City of Bainbridge Island’s Shoreline Stewardship Program has been engaged in a long-term study of the ecological health of our shorelines, which has been documented in two Nearshore Assessment reports.  The program has also conducted a long-term beach seine monitoring project in partnership with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Suquamish Tribe, and community volunteers.  This work has been a model for Puget Sound nearshore studies and provides valuable information useful to understanding our Island home in Puget Sound.
• Link here to find out more about Conservation Easements?