Archive
07 Feb Grand Forest East
Mac Davenport Grand Forest East The Grand Forest East is now permanently protected! In just two months, the Island community came together to raise the funds necessary to protect 38 acres of cherished forestland. What started as an urgent call to action became an extraordinary story of what’s possible when we unite. This effort has been an outstanding example of partnership between the Land Trust, Park District, and the Parks & Trails Foundation, showing how we can come together to protect the Island’s most cherished places, and demonstrating the strength and unity of this community. Acres Protected 38 acres Conservation Features Forests Wildlife Networks Community Access Keystone Species Proximity & Expansion Climate Resilience About the Grand Forest East This property sits at the heart of a vital network of conserved lands—nearly 580 contiguous acres—and a popular system of multi-use trails, loved by Islanders for decades. Situated within a dense forest core area, this mature forest helps slow and purify stormwater, recharge groundwater, and absorb carbon from the atmosphere. These woods also offer critical foraging and nesting habitat for species like the pileated woodpecker, great horned owl, and flying squirrel. Celebrate the Grand Forest—in Style Show your love for the Grand Forest with an exclusive sweatshirt designed in partnership with Bay Hay and Feed! These cozy, limited-edition hoodies do more than just keep you warm—they help protect Bainbridge Island's cherished natural places like the Grand Forest. Snag one today—while supplies last—then pick up at the Land Trust office, or feel free to walk in to the office to purchase during business hours. All proceeds now support our Stand for the Land campaign to conserve even more critical habitat. ORDER TODAY How it Works In January 2025, the Bainbridge Island School District announced their intent to surplus, or sell, the 39-acre property by Fall...
29 Jan Winslow Heron Rookery
Mac Davenport A Sanctuary for the Great Blue Heron Winslow Rookery The Winslow Rookery, located on Lovell Ave, is one of the few known nesting sites for Great Blue Herons on Bainbridge Island. The rookery has been established for decades, with approximately 25 nests constructed high in the big leaf maple trees along the shore of Eagle Harbor. As increasing development pressure threatens this sensitive species, protection of rookery habitats is crucial to sustaining their life cycle and access to food. The Winslow Rookery serves as a delicate sanctuary for these majestic birds within the dense Winslow corridor. Beyond the habitat itself, this small parcel features tidelands, shoreline, wetlands, and riparian vegetation— all vital for sustaining the health of the harbor and supporting climate resilience. Thanks to your support, the Land Trust has successfully secured this irreplaceable habitat, ensuring this home for the iconic Great Blue Heron and other wildlife remains undisturbed for generations to come. This achievement was a community-driven effort, only made possible through your generosity and dedication. Learn more about the Great Blue Heron. Please note that this property is not currently open to the public, to ensure the safety of the nesting herons and integrity of the habitat. However, you can view most of the heron activity from Lovell Ave. Interested in learning more about the herons and our long-term plans for the property? We will soon be offering private guided tours! Contact Kate Kelly to learn more. Acres Protected ~0.5 acre Conservation Features Wetlands Shoreline Wildlife networks Climate resilience
16 Apr Manzanita Ridge Preserve
BILT Admin Manzanita Ridge Preserve The Manzanita Connector The Manzanita Ridge Preserve fortifies and expands the already vibrant fish and wildlife habitat of the nearby Manzanita Creek watershed, Manzanita Park, Lindberg Tidelands, North Fork Manzanita Creek and Miller-Kirkman Preserves. All told, roughly 170 acres of contiguous lands and waters will now be safeguarded. The richly forested property consists of a lush understory of sword fern, red huckleberry, osoberry, salal, snowberry, vanilla leaf, and Oregon grape. Invasive plants like English ivy will be removed during upcoming stewardship work. Please note that the Preserve is not currently open to the public – access to the property is limited to Land Trust tours at this time. TAKE A TOUR Acres Protected 25 acres Conservation Features Wetlands Contiguous forest habitat Wildlife networks Keystone species Climate resilience Proximity & expansion
16 Apr Lovgreen
BILT Admin Lovgreen A 15-acre acquisition that safeguards nearly 13 acres of intact forest in the heart of the Island and establishes an exciting new partnership between the Land Trust and Housing Resources Bainbridge to create necessary affordable housing alongside conserved habitat. Additionally, there are 9.5 acres of conserved lands on adjacent private property, bringing the total contiguous conserved acres to 22.5. Please note that the Preserve is not currently open to the public – access to the property is limited to Land Trust tours at this time. Land Trust/HRB Partnership FAQ The Bainbridge Island Land Trust is committed to conserving and stewarding the diverse natural environments of Bainbridge Island for the benefit of all. This includes a commitment to equitable access to nature for everyone. Our actions ensure that the most important ecological attributes of the Lovgreen parcels will be permanently conserved and enhanced as natural open space. At the same time, we are embracing an opportunity for two leading community organizations to step forward in partnership to advance conservation and community housing needs. Why did the Land Trust Acquire this Property? The Land Trust uses a rigorous scientific approach to identify properties with great ecological value. The Island lost its old-growth forests to logging in the 1800s, and most properties we consider for protection have areas within them that have been more recently developed or disturbed. This influences our decision about how to proceed, including whether restoration is feasible and practical. The Land Trust believes that long-term recovery of mature forest habitat is vital to sustain our Island’s wildlife networks and local species. The Lovgreen property first came to our attention because of its significant acreage of forest within a large contiguous band of relatively intact forestland. Although some restoration action is needed across these parcels to counter past management...
16 Apr Gazzam Expansion
BILT Admin Gazzam Expansion With the 6.2-acre Gazzam Expansion, the Land Trust is safeguarding one of the largest remaining unprotected parcels adjacent to the Gazzam Lake Nature Preserve and providing a western buffer to the beloved Preserve’s ecologically vital habitat area. Please note that the Preserve is not currently open to the public – access to the property is limited to Land Trust tours at this time. TAKE A TOUR Acres Protected 6.2 acres Conservation Features Wetlands Contiguous forest habitat Wildlife networks Climate resilience Proximity & expansion
08 Mar North Fork Manzanita Creek Preserve
BILT Admin North Fork Manzanita Creek Preserve Stand for the Land. And the water. In 2022, the Land Trust added a 10-acre expansion to the 13-acre Miller-Kirkman Preserve at North Fork Manzanita Creek. This property includes about 800-feet of fish-bearing stream used by coho salmon and a vibrant wetland complex covered in salmonberry, twinberry, sedges, and cattails. Our primary management goals for this property are to support high-functioning stream, wetland, and forest habitats. This will involve a significant restoration effort that starts with removing invasive species such as ivy, holly, and blackberries. We are also intending to plant hundreds of native plants to provide wetland and buffer enhancement, water shading for water temperature regulation, and forage and cover for wildlife. Both Manzanita Creek and Mosquito Creek contain cutthroat trout and coho salmon spawning reaches. By protecting North Fork Manzanita Creek, the Bainbridge Island Land Trust aims to safeguard an Island treasure and help improve the vibrancy of the creek and surrounding watershed. Climate Resiliency North Fork Manzanita Creek holds regional significance for helping build resiliency to a changing climate. Its wetlands and mature conifer and deciduous forests act as a sponge to help protect groundwater, absorb carbon from the atmosphere, and control stormwater run-off. Learn more about our Stand for the Land movement and how you can get involved! Please note that the Preserve is not currently open to the public – access to the property is limited to Land Trust tours at this time. TAKE A TOUR Wetland Mitigation | Collaboration with Puget Sound Energy Puget Sound Energy (PSE) will be working with the Land Trust to enhance the wetlands and buffers on North Fork Manzanita Creek Preserve. This restoration effort will serve as compensatory mitigation for PSE, offsetting the unavoidable impacts on wetlands associated with PSE's planned construction activities within the...
18 Oct Quitslund Preserve
BILT Admin Quitslund Preserve What happens when the Land Trust teams up with a three-generation Island family and a seasoned local home builder? Well, that’s the story of the Quitslund Preserve – a creative model for conservation that brings together a small neighborhood with almost 20-acres of protected land. This story actually begins in 1902, when the core parcel was half of a working farm created by Sigrid and Johann Quitslund after their marriage. Ford Quitslund, their third son, inherited the land property and purchased an additional 2.5 acres of the original holding with his wife Eve. In 1980, Ford made the decision to return the land to forest – developing a Forest Management Plan with a still-relevant preamble: Gradually, Bainbridge Island’s forests have been cut in favor of residential development. Reserving publicly owned land is not enough to prevent this process from destroying the very environment that attracts new residents. Private landowners must be able to resist the economic pressures toward over-development, in favor of maintaining the scenic and ecological value of the land for the benefit of the entire community. The property was expanded by an additional 5 acres in 2009 by Ford's son Dana Quitslund and his wife Nancy. Also part of his grandparents’ original holding, this final acquisition includes a spectacular ravine carved out by Dripping Water Creek, which runs across the property and eventually empties into Puget Sound. Ford’s four sons – Jon, Jim, Dana, and Gary – approached the Land Trust in 2013 to explore ways to honor the history of the family’s 27.5 acres, protect its ecologically sensitive habitat, and meet their financial goals. Then the work to strike a delicate balance between conservation and development began. Potential conservation buyers were researched by the Land Trust and options were presented to the family. Ray Stevenson...
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...