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.
Blakely Harbor Park
ABOUT
Blakely Harbor Park
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