Archive
18 Sep Rockaway Bluff Preserve
Cullen Brady Rockaway Bluff Preserve The Stand for the Land movement's largest conserved property yet! In 2020 and 2021, the Bainbridge Island Land Trust pursued a rare opportunity to protect one of the last few remaining intact and unprotected parcels over 20 acres in size on the Island. This acquisition protected a mature intact forest habitat important to a number of species and critical for the Land Trust’s continued efforts to build a network of lands resilient to a changing climate. In 2022, this already spectacular Preserve was expanded to include an adjoining 10-acre parcel with a wetland and stream - further enhancing this wildlife-rich landscape. The 45-acre Rockaway Bluff Preserve is an exceptional forest laying above Rockaway Beach on Bainbridge Island. Stewarded for decades by an Island family, the preserve forms the core of an extraordinary intact, but currently unprotected, upland forest that largely forms a first visual impression of the Island from the Seattle-Bainbridge Island ferry as it heads into Eagle Harbor. On a clear day, this iconic forested plateau, with the backdrop of the snow-capped Olympic Mountains in the distance, welcomes visitors and residents alike to the refuge of the Island, from the dense development of Seattle and the I-5 corridor. The Preserve provides critical refuge for many species, specifically birds (of which over 80 species have been documented), who are dislodged from North American Pacific Maritime habitats lost to development in the Seattle area – where more than 500,000 people have moved in the past ten years. The Rockaway Bluff Preserve is now open to the public. Accessing the Preserve Hours: Open sunrise to sunset Parking: The preserve entrance is located on NE Old Creosote Hill Rd. There is currently limited space for 3-4 vehicles just beyond the Preserve entrance. We ask that you respect neighboring properties...
11 Oct Springbrook Creek Preserve
BILT Admin Springbrook Creek Preserve The fourth property conserved through Stand for the Land. The Land Trust announced the opportunity to purchase and safeguard a vital, 23-acre area within the larger Springbrook Creek Watershed in fall, 2019; we’re calling it the Springbrook Creek Preserve. This conservation area was selected after completing a multi-year stream assessment, assisted by local landowners and Wild Fish Conservancy. The Preserve contains a resplendent landscape of mixed conifer uplands and streamside alder forests. Flowering wild ginger, foamflower, and abundant salmonberry grace the banks of Springbrook Creek – one of the finest fish habitats on the Island. Springbrook Creek Preserve is now open to the public. Accessing the Preserve Hours: Open sunrise to sunset Parking: The preserve entrance is located at 7550 Fletcher Bay Rd NE. There are 3-4 parking spaces located along the road at the entrance, and additional parking is available across the street at Johnson Farm. We ask that you please respect neighboring properties throughout your visit. Please respect & protect this beautiful Island environment by adhering to the following guidelines: Access by foot only – no bikes or horses Please stay on designated trails No dogs No camping or fires No harvesting of plants or mushrooms Pack it in, pack it out TAKE A TOUR Cutthroat, Coho, and Coyote, oh my! Springbrook Creek Preserve represents an outstanding conservation opportunity for everyone on Bainbridge Island. The forests and wetlands play a key role in providing cool, clear, and consistently flowing water in the creek for local wildlife including birds, fish, mammals, and amphibians. Conservation Guided by Scientific Analysis The multi-year Springbrook Creek Watershed Assessment identified future restoration opportunities, such as removing fish passage barriers and enhancing riparian habitats, evaluated the possibility of returning the stream to its historical path, and protecting intact fish habitat through acquisition...
04 May Cougar Creek Preserve
BILT Admin Cougar Creek Preserve A new opportunity with very old roots. Looking for big reasons to support the Land Trust’s ambitious Stand for the Land movement? Look no further. The gorgeous 15-acre Cougar Creek preserve above Eagle Harbor was once owned by Captain William Renton and is now home to some of the largest and most magnificent western red cedar trees on the Island. A flowing stream and serene pond enhance the undisturbed forest habitat. Our trail cameras have snapped photos of families of deer and raccoons foraging, great blue herons wading, coyotes, opossums, and even a black bear! Red-legged frogs, Pacific chorus frogs and northwestern salamanders lay their eggs in the pond, and the frogs can be heard in full chorus on spring evenings. Pileated woodpeckers and barred owls are also frequently heard from the public access trail, which connects Blakely Avenue NE to Old Mill Road NE and passes by the pond. As described by a Land Trust volunteer familiar with the Preserve: “The parcel feels remote and even bigger than it is: big logs, dense undergrowth (native, not invasives!), and huge 5 and 6-foot diameter red cedar and western hemlock trees. On the property, I savored a true, natural Northwest forest, undisturbed for a long time. The property contains some of the largest trees on Bainbridge Island and an undisturbed garden of deer ferns. In the stream bottom area is an extensive grove of large western red cedar, and nestled in its heart is a big garden of solid deer ferns, something I haven’t seen elsewhere on the Island. Put all this together with the stream, pond, and wetlands that characterize the property, and you have a parcel that contains a lot of diversity and feels big and wild.” Why This Property? The Cougar Creek Preserve makes a...
11 Apr Hawley Cove Park
BILT Admin Hawley Cove Park Almost two decades ago, the Land Trust identified the 11.7-acre Hall Family shoreline property as ideal for preserving and protecting. In 2001, the Land Trust and its volunteers helped to negotiate an option agreement with the Halls, and provided legal support in the negotiations, working in partnership with the City of Bainbridge Island’s Open Space Commission. The City purchased the property using levy funding, eventually transferring it to the BI Metro Park and Recreation District which owns and manages this park. The property contains upland forest, a large wetland, and 609 linear feet of saltwater shoreline on Eagle Harbor. It also has a 400 foot boardwalk and .25 mile walking trail from Wing Point Way to the shoreline on Eagle Harbor. About the Open Space Commission The City’s Open Space Commission was established in 2001 by City ordinance to recommend specific properties for preservation to the Bainbridge Island City Council. Funds to protect these open spaces, which included natural areas and farmlands, came from an $8 million levy approved by voters in 2001. The Open Space Commission's work ended in 2008 and resulted in hundreds of acres of public lands for parks and farms. Acres Protected 11.7 acres Conservation Features Coastal ecosystem Wetlands Scenic & open space values Habitat for migratory birds
11 Apr Rockaway Beach Park
BILT Admin Rockaway Beach Park In 2002, Land Trust identified the Rockaway Beach shoreline property as a prospective conservation property. The Land Trust and its volunteers helped to negotiate an option agreement with the landowner, and provided legal support in the negotiations, working in partnership with the City of Bainbridge Island’s Open Space Commission. The City purchased the property using levy funding, eventually transferring it to the BI Metro Park and Recreation District which owns and manages this park. This beachfront park has sweeping views of Seattle and the Cascade mountains, and contains wetlands and saltwater shoreline near Blakely Harbor. Picnickers have access to a table and benches, while divers can use a stairway for scuba diving access to Blakely Harbor North Point and Blakely Rock. Low tides provide excellent marine life viewing. The City’s Open Space Commission was established in 2001 by City ordinance to recommend specific properties for preservation to the Bainbridge Island City Council. Funds to protect these open spaces, which included natural areas and farmlands, came from an $8 million levy approved by voters in 2001. The Open Space Commission’s work ended in May 2007 and resulted in over 800 acres of public lands for parks and farms. Acres Protected 1.3 acres Conservation Features Coastal ecosystem Tidepools and beach Scenic & open space values
11 Apr Ted Olson Nature Preserve
BILT Admin Ted Olson Nature Preserve History The History of the Ted Olson Preserve starts in 1973 when Theodore Olson donated a large parcel of land to the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District. He believed that it was important to conserve land on Bainbridge Island and was committed to preserving this 10-acre property. In the spirit of his vision, over thirty years later, a new initiative began to acquire an adjacent 5-acre parcel, which would extend the Ted Olson Preserve further east. What is truly special about this initiative is how it came to pass, since it was genuinely a project driven by the community. Inspired by Ted Olson’s vision, Islanders asked the City’s Open Space Commission to buy the 5-acre parcel. Local citizens, neighbors, and the City of Bainbridge Island with the support of the Park District’s Board of Commissioners worked together with the Bainbridge Island Land Trust, to fund the 5-acre Ted Olson addition through private donations and the City’s Open Space Bond Levy funds. The Land Trust placed a perpetual conservation easement on the 5-acre parcel. The property was then transferred to the Park District. This 15-acre preserve stands as a monument to the tremendous resolve and power of Islanders working together with the Land Trust, the Park District, and the City in influencing the development of our community’s natural and preserved areas. 2021 Expansion This exciting opportunity helped expand the current Ted Olson Nature Preserve – a beloved public space featuring towering conifers as well as mature wetland features. With nearly two acres of mixed alder and conifer forest and a native plant understory featuring salmonberry, salal, fern, skunk cabbage, and more, these additional acres protect portions of a larger wetland complex and build upon an existing wildlife network in the vicinity. Additionally, these acres serve...
11 Apr The Grand Forest
BILT Admin The Grand Forest Click here for more information on our Stand for the Grand Forest campaign. Once upon a time, The Grand Forest was a dream without a reality. It was a dream that Island residents and the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreation District had before the Bainbridge Island Land Trust yet existed. From the Land Trust’s inception, the founders also saw an opportunity to preserve this vast, undeveloped landscape forever. Working with the State Department of Natural Resources, the Park District, and the community ensured that the Grand Forest properties would remain exactly as they are — undeveloped and available to the public for passive use such as trails, scenic vistas and natural areas. Why this property? The acquisition of these natural lands in the Island’s central core, made possible by voter-approved bonds, validated and catalyzed the vision of a major wildlife corridor — a continuous, publicly accessible section of conserved lands that would stretch across the island from east to west. From Meigs Park to Hilltop to the Heart of the Forest, the history and legacy of the Grand Forest extends beyond itself. It set the precedent and recalibrated expectations as to what is possible with conservation on the Island. The tremendous success of this vision is a testament to the power and influence of Islanders’ voices in keeping land natural and accessible. Acres Protected 233 acres Conservation Features Dense forest habitat Issei Creek Wetlands Multi-use trails
03 Apr Meigs Farm & Park
BILT Admin Meigs Park & Farm In 1992, the Land Trust helped to negotiate the acquisition of the 67-acre Meigs Park. Working with the landowner and our partners at the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District, as well as the City of Bainbridge Island, this property was acquired through grants with the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program and Kitsap County's Conservation Futures Fund. The land was eventually transferred to the Park District. An additional 20 acres adjacent to the park (Meigs Farm) were purchased by the City of Bainbridge Island. The Land Trust holds conservation easements on both Meigs Park and Farm. Why this property? Meigs Park and Farm not only offer great scenic beauty from Highway 305 and Koura Road, the property provides a rich, ecosystem including wetlands, forest, native grasslands, ponds, a stream, native plants, and wildlife habitat. This substantial, undeveloped property created a basis for additional conservation projects in the Island's central core including the Land Trust's Wildlife Corridor and Wildlife Corridor Expansion properties, the Hilltop connection in the Grand Forest, a number of private conservation easements, and the Forest to Sky trail to Battle Point Park. Acres Protected 87.28 acres Conservation Features Scenic & open space values Habitat for migratory birds Stream Wetlands Wildlife habitat
24 Feb Blakely Harbor Park
BILT Admin Blakely Harbor Park Blakely Harbor is sown with Northwest history. The monolithic skeleton of a generator building stands on the shore of the harbor and wood pilings wade solemnly in the shallows — vestiges of the late 1800s when the harbor was home to the largest sawmill in the world. How could this history be preserved and by whom? The Bainbridge Island Land Trust and the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreation District worked in partnership to preserve this history by protecting the land. It wasn’t easy to get the property into the hands of the Park District — for public use, and to protect the sensitive shoreline. Why this property? For years it appeared that the landowners intended to develop the shoreline property. But, through the Park District’s diligent efforts to obtain public grants — supported by the Land Trust’s efforts to garner community support, private donations, and legal expertise — the Park District purchased the property in 1999. The Land Trust helped add another 18-acre upland parcel in 2001. This is an important story for the Island’s history of partnership between the Park District and the Land Trust and a testament to the dialogue and cooperation necessary to change the seemingly impossible into reality. Acres Protected 51 acres Conservation Features Coastal ecosystem Shorelines Wetlands Scenic & open space values Habitat for migratory birds- 1
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