Spring 2016 "Trustworthy News" Newsletter

sp r i n g 2016
Vo l 26 | N 0 1
For everyone. forever.
The new Carlson Conservation Easement preserves
a 21-acre island gem. The Land Trust began working to
protect the property that hosts a stream and forested wetland
in the Island’s central core in 2014. The Easement was
officially recorded in December 2015, adding and protecting
a critical piece to over 200 acres of already-protected
ecologically-sensitive land.
The Carlson Conservation Easement was generously donated to the Land Trust by
the current landowner William C. Carlson of Olympia. The Carlson property has
been in family ownership since Carlson’s great grandfather, Andrew Miemois
Coming events
Anderson, filed for homestead ownership of the property on November 10, 1883.
Wednesday, April 6
Miemois Creek, which runs through the property to Manzanita Bay, is named to
Wednesday Work Party
honor the family and legacy.
9 to 11 am | For information,
The decision was made to permanently protect the property to preserve a healthy
e-mail [email protected]
ecosystem and also the heritage of the property. “In protecting this land from
Friday, April 8
development, I wanted not only to protect the forest and creek, but also to allow
Brown Bag Lunch
future generations of our family to be able to get a sense for what the homestead was
11:30 am to 12:30
like when Andrew Miemois Anderson arrived,” says Dr. Carlson.
Waterfront Community Center
The Easement hosts a biologically significant fish-bearing stream, Miemois Creek,
Friday, April 29
Native Plant Sale Member Event and its associated riparian, wetland and forestland foraging and nesting habitat, which
benefits a diverse number of native plant and wildlife species.
5:30 to 7 pm
Bainbridge First Baptist Church
“The Carlson property is a gem — rich not only in family legacy and Island history,
but
equally as imbued with beautiful and special habitat attributes,” says Brenda
Saturday, April 30
Native Plant Sale General Public Padgham, Conservation Director at the Bainbridge Island Land Trust. “Working with
9 am to 1 pm
Bill Carlson, a tree physiologist who knows his land well, to permanently protect this
Bainbridge First Baptist Church
property, was a wonderful project. Conservation easements like this are so important
to fulfilling our conservation goals on the Island, and we are grateful for the
generosity of Bill Carlson to voluntarily protect this property for our Island.”
The Carlson Easement is the 47th donated easement since the Land Trust’s
inception in 1989. “The foresight and generosity of Dr. Carlson epitomizes the
conservation gain that can be achieved by the partnership of a private property owner
and the Land Trust — for the benefit of all,” says Jane Stone, Executive Director of the
Bainbridge Island Land Trust. continues on page 3
* Renew your membership or join the Land Trust today,
and get first access to our beautiful, nursery grade plants
before the general public.
april is Isl and -Wide Invasive Clean Up
Month — Free disposal of invasives
each Sunday in April!
The Land Trust and Let’s Pull Together, an island
initiative dedicated to the eradication of Scotch Broom,
have partnered to encourage the removal of invasive
plant species wherever they grow on the island.
Support restoration efforts by the Land Trust, Let’s
Pull Together, and other community organizations by
reducing the seed sources of invasive species in your
own neighborhood.
Each Sunday in April from 10 am to 4 pm, Bainbridge
residents can dispose of accepted invasive plant material
at the Bainbridge Disposal transfer station at no cost.
A limited number of weed wrenches will be also
available by reservation to check out for daily use.
Visit our website, www.bi-landtrust.org and
go to Events for information on best management
practices and the full details — and spread the word
about this great opportunity!
Accepted species include:
• English ivy
• Scotch broom
• Spurge laurel
• English holly
• Butterfly bush
• Himalayan blackberry
• Perennial Pepperweed
• Invasives on Kitsap County’s “Dirty Dozen” list
2 | Bainbridge isl and l and trust
location of the carlson
conservation easement
| continued from page 1
Since 1989, the Land Trust has focused on building a network of conserved
properties in the central part of the Island. The Carlson Conservation Easement is
an important addition to this endeavor. Increasing the number of connected acres in
the Island’s central core enhances habitat and open space functions for the benefit of
plants, terrestrial and aquatic animal species, as well as the public.
In February 2016 the Land Trust hosted a volunteer work party on the property to
help improve and maintain the conservation values by removing invasive plants while
offering volunteers a chance to tour the property. More work parties are scheduled
in 2016 as part of landowner and Land Trust efforts to steward the property. To
participate on property work parties, contact Becca Nissley, [email protected].
carlson conservation easement
The Land Trust welcomes new easement owners on
conservation properties!
Conservation Easements are perpetual – running “with the land” so as time passes,
not only do these landscapes change, but so do our landowners. We’ve experienced
a number of transitions over the past 18 months with our easement landowners,
welcoming both the next generation of original donors and entirely new easement
landowners. Land ownership transitions have become a central part of our work as
we interact with our easement families, the real estate community and prospective
landowners to help with the transition, so new owners understand the terms of their
easement and what it means to be a part of the network of conservation easements.
Additionally, the Land Trust helped teach a real estate class on easements with Pacific
Northwest Title.
We have lost some of our dear landowner donors who have passed away — Arlene Hobbs, Dana Berg, John Harding and Kay Mattson. We will miss them all,
these pioneers of the conservation easement movement. Some of our easements
have been sold. Through it all, we are honored to welcome a wonderful new group
of landowners and stewards on eight of our easements — Alexey Goldberg and Kate Dixon; Janet Harding and Gary Rambo; Leyla Welkin;
Rick and Maryann Kirkby; Stephanie and Jewel Hanna and Harold Moore;
Barry Malone and Kalie Kimball; Keith Buckingham and Shoshanna Kirk; and
Thomas Zumbroich and Barbara Von Tobel. Just head out to a Wednesday Work
Party, the BioBlitz, or any number of Land Trust events and you will likely run into
these wonderful folks! Once again, welcome to the Bainbridge Island Land Trust!
While the Carlson
Easement is not open to
the public, the community
can enjoy the public Forest
to Sky Trail located on a
public trail easement in
the southern portion of
the property. The trail
is maintained by the
Bainbridge Island Metro
Park and Recreation
District. The trailhead is
directly west of the West
Grand Forest parking area
on Miller Road.
Carlson
Easement
RD
Conservation easements
are permanent legal
agreements voluntarily
entered into by
landowners who desire to
preserve ecological and
conservation attributes
of their property. They
are among the most
valuable conservation
tools available to the
Land Trust. To date we
have been involved with
47 conservation easement transactions representing
nearly 758 acres of permanently protected land.
Easement agreements are entered into when the
land has particular conservation values and a land
trust agrees to protect and steward the conservation
values of the property forever, in partnership with the
landowner. The agreement is recorded with the deed
to the property. As a qualified 501 (c) (3) non-profit
conservation organization, the Bainbridge Island
Land Trust can accept conservation easements as a
gift of land, which sometimes may result in a potential
charitable donation of property. The legislation which
makes this potential possible, the Conservation
Easement Incentive Act, was recently permanently
signed into law and includes newly enhanced tax laws
that encourage landowners to place conservation
easements on their land, while granting certain tax
benefits for doing so. A landowner can often deduct
the entire or partial value of donated land from their
taxable income. If you own land with important natural
resources, donating a voluntary conservation easement
while retaining your land ownership may be a choice
to explore with Bainbridge Island Land Trust. Go to
our website, www.bi-landtrust.org, and look for
Information for Landowners.
a new Conservation
Easement Incentive
Act includes newly
enhanced tax laws
that encourage
landowners to
place conservation
easements on their
land and grants
certain tax benefits
for doing so.
er
Members Only: Friday, April 29 from 5:30 to 7 pm*
General Public: Saturday, April 30 from 9 am to 1 pm
Location: Bainbridge First Baptist Church,
8810 Madison Ave NE (corner of Madison & Hwy 305)
Come early for best selection! This year, we are
changing how our plant sale works. No pre-orders
needed. Just come early to view and buy beautiful
groundcovers, herbaceous perennials and shrubs and
get ideas for fall planting. Visit www.bilt-store.org to
learn more and preview our expected inventory.
We are also adding a fall plant sale. Why? Conditions
are better for planting in the fall! Fall planting reduces
the need for summer watering and increases the plants’
chances for survival. Stay tuned for more details.
The Carlson Conservation Easement
Photo: Paul Brians
ll
Conservation Easement
Incentive Ac t Becomes Permanent
Mi
2016 L and Trust Native Pl ant
Sale — Don’t miss the trilliums!
forest to
sky trail
t o l o RD
west
Grand
Forest
New
additions
to the
Grand
Forest
u n d e r way
spring 2016 | 3
2016 Phyllis Young Award
Christina Dohert y
Preservation Partners Part y:
a look back and ahead
Christina Doherty has received this year’s Phyllis Young
Award in recognition of actions that exemplify the mission
of the Land Trust to preserve and steward the diverse natural
environment of the Island.
Doherty has volunteered for the Land Trust in many
capacities and engages community members and youth in all
things nature in her role as Community Programs Coordinator
at IslandWood. Her many endeavors have resulted in
collecting and sharing important data about the creatures
that depend on Island habitats, as well as working to improve
those habitats. A co-coordinator of our inaugural BioBlitz
in May of last year, Dougherty is also the lead steward of
the Battle Point spit conservation easement where beyond
her annual monitoring duties, she has conducted bird and
plant surveys and removed invasive plant species. She has
also helped to conduct an amphibian monitoring project on
the Land Trust-owned Wildlife Corridor, and volunteered
her time as an educational guest speaker during the Student
Conservation Corps summer session.
“Christina has an infectious energy. She transfers her
passion for learning more about the natural world to the
rest of us, and transforms the very basic experience into a
fun journey,” says Land Trust Conservation Director Brenda
Padgham. “Behind all the enthusiasm and humor though is
her undying commitment to care for our earth — through her
education and actions we too get the chance to learn about
why this is so important.”
Each year, the Preservation Partners Party replenishes
the Land Trust’s Preservation Partners Fund to provide
the organization the means to act when conservation
opportunities arise, and the overall capacity to maintain a
strong Land Trust program. Last year’s event was the most
successful to date and placed the Land Trust on a strong
foundation for 2016. The achievements of the 2015 event
would not have been possible without the help of our
generous sponsors, supporters, donors and guests.
Carried forward by the success of last year, the 2016
Preservation Partners Party will both rise to new heights and
travel back to our roots. For the first time, the Preservation
Partners Party will be held during the summer months and
will take place outside on a Land Trust-protected property.
Slated for July 30, this year’s party will take place in Port
Madison on the majestic Powel Property, location of one of
the earliest conservation easements secured by the Land Trust
in 1993, and more recently, site of our greatest shoreline
restoration success.
Again, thank you to our incredible 2015 sponsors and
supporters. If you would like to participate in the 2016
party — as a guest, sponsor, supporter, auction donor, or
volunteer — please contact Debbie at 206-842-1216 or
[email protected].
2016 Volunteer of the Year
Asha Rehnberg
Islander Asha Rehnberg is recognized as the 2016 Land
Trust Volunteer of the Year. Rehnberg, who was the Land
Trust’s Executive Director from 2008 to early 2013, donates
her professional time and talents to a number of the
organization’s committees.
Land Trust treasurer and board member Barb Robert
nominated Rehnberg for the award. “The depth and breadth
of her knowledge and talent is invaluable to us,” says Robert.
“Overnight, she seemed to turn her full-time Executive
Director job into a full-time volunteer position playing a vital
role on the Projects, Fundraising, and Finance Committees.”
A recent example of her commitment was her assistance
in establishing long-term financial requirements, from
acquisition to stewardship, for the new Grand Forest capital
campaign.
4 | Bainbridge isl and l and trust
2015 Sponsors
Jeff and Georgia Vincent
Laird Norton Wealth Management
Eileen Black, John L. Scott Real Estate
CHI Franciscan Health / Harrison Medical Center
Sally Hewett, DDS
Holly Rohrbacher Events
Bainbridge Senior Living
Blackwood Builders
Hillstrom State Farm Insurance
John S. Adams, The Arbor Group at UBS
Tim Goss Landscape Architect
Town & Country Markets, Inc.
2015 Supporters
Carney Cargill Insurance, Inc.
The Reijnen Company
meet your new l and Trust board members
A childhood spent in the Rockies
of Colorado, travels up the Congo River and atop
Mount Killamanjaro, and later to Hawaii for a PhD
in Ocean Engineering have all shaped Grant’s love of
nature. He retired in 2009 after co-founding an ocean
survey company and amassing more than 1800 days at
sea. Grant and his wife Inga are stewards of the Land
Trust’s Fletcher Bay property.
J. Grant Blackinton |
Previous careers in the alternative
energy and environmental fields, as well as experience
in marketing, management and writing and editing
provide Andrea with versatility to serve the Land Trust
and its membership. Andrea and her husband moved to
Bainbridge in 1992 and Andrea ran her own ecotourism
company until 2000, when the couple, already parents
of two daughters, adopted a son from Russia.
Andrea Adams |
Suzanne (Zan) was raised on the
East Coast in a family where the outdoors was a central
part of her upbringing — from summers in a log house
on five acres in Putnam County, NY to vacations in
the hills and valleys of Vermont. Following a degree in
journalism and another in cultural anthropology,
Zan finished her education with an MBA from Berkely,
a career in finance and a passion for fundraising for
non-profits.
Suzanne Merriman |
Gregory Geehan | Following a PhD in Marine
Geology, Greg’s 20-year career took him around
the world managing applied research efforts related
to oil field development. Since retirement, he has
been actively involved with the Land Trust and our
Agate Passage Preserve Property. He is also a docent
at IslandWood, a member of the Bainbridge Island
Kiwanis club, and spends some of his time exploring
local geology, giving presentations, and working
with Cameron Snow on a video covering our island’s
geological history.
Bainbridge Isl and
L and Trust
PO Box 10144
147 Finch Place, Suite 3
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Phone: 206 842 1216
email: [email protected]
web: www.bi-landtrust.org
2016 Board of Directors
Officers
President: Connie Waddington
Vice President: Gene Seligmann
Secretary: Erin Kellogg
Treasurer: Barbara Robert
board members
Andrea Adams
Grant Blackinton
Gregory Geehan
David Harrison
Hilary Hilscher
Lew Mandell
Zan Merriman
Jan Mulder
Matt Otepka
Deb Rudnick,
Ray Victurine
Staff
Executive Director:
Jane Stone
Conservation Director:
Brenda Padgham
Membership & Development:
Laura O’Mara
Stewardship Coordinator:
Avery Bowron
Office Administrator:
Debbie Rimkus
Community Outreach &
Volunteer Coordinator:
Becca Nissley
Bookkeeping Assistant:
Carolyn Monet
Logo drawings: Nate Thomas
We are a non-profit 501(c)(3)
corporation.
spring 2016 | 5
BioBlitz 2016 is May 14 from midnight to midnight!
annual Land
Trust membership is as little as $50
or as much as $1000. Beginning
at the $150 level, members also
receive a free copy of our new
edition of Walks on Bainbridge.
It helps keep the lights on! Our
work is only possible through
generous donations of time
and money from our members
and volunteers. Nearly all of
our funding comes from private donations and our
community’s support.
Access to private Land Trust properties. Not all Land
Trust-protected lands are open to the public. A few
times a year, private, protected properties are opened to
members for guided tours and exploration.
Notification of Land Trust-sponsored events. Learn
about Land Trust events ahead of time and get priority
access to events with limited space including regular
Land Trust activities, and events on the land, in the
library, at the museum or in private homes.
Early access to Native Plant Sale. Land Trust members
are invited to preview and purchase plants one day
before the public sale and can enjoy a special native
plant lecture and tour by renowned plant experts.
Opportunities to learn more about local and global
ecological issues and trends. Land Trust-sponsored
events like monthly Brown Bag lunches, guest speakers,
movie screenings, and scientific discussions are
enlightening and enjoyable ways to get a free education
on topics with local and global ecological significance.
A wealth of volunteer opportunities! If time and effort
are better uses of your resources, then by all means join
one of our committees! Whether you’ve got experience
with outreach, fundraising, marketing, stewardship,
conservation, or you just want to get involved with a
strong local cause that directly affects you and your
family, please join us. The Bainbridge Island Land Trust
is for everyone, forever!
Membership information is always available on the
Land Trust website, www.bi-landtrust.org, or contact
Laura at 842-1216 or [email protected].
The Land Trust’s new acquisition campaign focuses
on the Island’s premier park, the Grand Forest.
Since 1992, the Land Trust has worked with its
partners on eight separate acquisitions to grow the
Grand Forest — one, five and ten acres at a time.
The recent Hilltop acquisition expanded the mid‑island
network of protected lands to more than 500
contiguous acres that stretch from Meigs Farm to
Battle Point Park.
We have an all new opportunity to make the
Grand Forest grander. The five-acre Croker property,
10-acre Soutter property, and 15-acre Wildlife Corridor
Expansion represent a collection of wetlands, fish
streams, ponds, and forests vital to the health of
the Grand Forest. By purchasing the Soutter and
Croker parcels, and completing the Wildlife Corridor
acquisition, we remove the potential of development
within this fragile habitat. If you could walk on any
of these thirty acres, you would have the mistaken
impression that you are in the Grand Forest, and that
the property is already preserved. But each parcel could
be rooftops rather than treetops.
We need to raise over $1 million to complete these
acquisitions. Please consider a gift to this campaign
along with your membership dues. Help us preserve the
Island’s special places for everyone, forever.
SOUT TER PROPERTY
TOGETHER
WE WILL
MAKE
THE GRAND
FOREST
GRANDER
6 | Bainbridge isl and l and trust
To do this, we invite regional plant and wildlife
experts and members of the community to form teams
to conduct this ecological census, leaving no stone
unturned to document as many forms of life as possible.
More than 100 volunteers made it out to Bainbridge
Island’s first-ever BioBlitz last spring, enabling us to
identify and document 454 species, including reptiles,
amphibians, plants, mosses, liverworts, lichens, slime
molds, mammals, birds, fish, shoreline species, insects,
arachnids, aquatic invertebrates, and more.
This year, the Bainbridge Island BioBlitz is sponsored
by National Geographic and will be featured as one of
the premier BioBlitzes in
Washington State. Look
for expanded BioBlitz
activities — including
base camp presentations
from regional plant and
wildlife experts, more taxa teams, new data recording
for information
mechanisms, and much more.
on how you can
The Bainbridge BioBlitz is a great way to learn more
participate, and
about what’s living right here in your own backyard.
to learn more about
We invite all members of the public regardless of age
last year’s BioBlitz,
or background to join Taxa Teams or to participate as
or how to become
volunteers. Public sign-ups will begin in April.
The Bainbridge
2016 BioBlitz will
take place on
Saturday, May 14,
from 12 am to 12 am.
Our base camp will
be on the grounds
of IslandWood.
teams will survey a
host of well-known
properties including
the IslandWood
campus, Blakely
Harbor Park,
Hilltop, and the
Grand Forest.
a Taxa Team Leader,
visit our website,
bi-landtrust.org
and go to Events.
This property seems to be part of the Grand Forest
already. It’s not. This parcel contains wetlands,
an intermittent stream and dense forest.
As many as four homes could be built here!
Let’s continue providing habitat for wildlife, great
visual beauty — and eventually, new trails to explore.
BioBlitz Warm-Up Quiz:
Can you identify these five
native island neighbors?
DONAT E NOW SO YOU R
CON T R I BU T ION I S
DOU BL E D BY AVA I L A BL E
C H A L L E NGE G R A N T S!
[email protected]
www.bi-landtrust.org
You may see our Grand Forest campaign posters on your walks.
Please help the Land Trust increase awareness and spread the word!
A BioBlitz is a wildly fun and educational race against
the clock to identify as many species as possible in just
one 24-hour-long day!
Most of the remaining large,
wooded undeveloped parcels around
the Grand Forest will soon be gone —
including, unless we act now,
the adjacent property. The Bainbridge
Island Land Trust is dedicated to adding
this property to the Grand Forest and
protecting its pristine perimeter.
Photo: The 10-acre
Soutter property
Photo © Paul Brians
Great value! An
MAKING THE GRAND FOREST GRANDER
Clockwise, starting at top right: Deer Fern;
Skunk Cabbage; Frilled Dog Whelks;
Long-Toed Salamander; Piliated Woodpecker!
benefits of L and Trust membership
spring 2016 | 7
NON-PROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Bainbridge Island WA
Permit No 5743
PO Box 10144
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Return Service Requested
[
free disposal of invasive
plants in april — see inside!
Coming events
Wednesday, April 6
Wednesday Work Party
9 to 11 am | For information,
e-mail [email protected]
Friday, April 8
Brown Bag Lunch
11:30 am to 12:30
Waterfront Community Center
Friday, April 29
Native Plant Sale
Members-Only Event
5:30 to 7 pm | Bainbridge
First Baptist Church
Saturday, April 30
Native Plant Sale for the
General Public
9 am to 1 pm | Bainbridge
First Baptist Church
]
It’s time to REnew
Your Membership
Bainbridge Island Land Trust
has recently sent you your
annual membership renewal,
including information on the
annual Native Plant Sale.
If you’re not certain about your
2016 membership status, please
contact Laura at (206) 842-1216
or [email protected].
You can also renew online,
or download a membership
renewal form at
www.bi-landtrust.org
8 | Bainbridge isl and l and trust
Remember — The Land Trust Native Plant Sale is
April 29 for members and April 30 for the general public!