Twenty years, 2,000 acres.
As it begins its 20th year in Clallam County, the North Olympic Land Trust has just finished paperwork to protect a total of 541 acres through conservation easements negotiated last year, which puts the nonprofit agency over the 2,000-acre mark, said Greg Good, executive director of the land trust based in Port Angeles.
Friends of the Fields, based in Sequim, led the effort to protect 38 acres of farmland, the Dungeness Valley Creamery, he said, while Clallam County provided shoreline block grants from the state Office of Community Development for protecting critical salmon habitat on another 144 acres.
Most of the land trust’s work is through conservation agreements with landowners to permanently protect natural features of property from development.
Five such agreements, and one property gift, put the protected acreage at more than 2,000.
The 20th anniversary will be marked throughout the year, although no dates have been set yet, Good said.
Recently protected lands are:
• Elk Creek, near Forks, 255 acres:
Wild Salmon Center, an international nonprofit organization that aims to protect wild salmon habitats on the Pacific Rim, transferred ownership and management of this property to the land trust.
The center, also using contributions from Forks resident Becky Dickson and a grant from the state Salmon Recovery Funding Board, purchased the property from Rayonier Inc. in 2004.
The land trust plans to manage it to protect salmon habitat, old growth forest and perhaps use for educational programs.
• Ennis Creek Wildlife Preserve, 10.5 acres:
A conservation agreement with owner Rene Ewbank protects more than 300 feet of Ennis Creek, which runs through Port Angeles from its origin in the national park.
Ewbank wants the land always to be available for gardening in addition to protecting fish and other wildlife.
Her solar-powered home is also the location for her business, Fresh Hats: Love on Your Head, which are sold at the Sequim Open Aire Market.
• Little River Tenancy, 133 acres, in foothills west of Port Angeles:
Little River will be an important area for salmon when the two Elwha dams are removed beginning in 2011, said Michele d’Hemecourt, land trust conservation director.
The property’s owners are Robert A. Haverfield, Susan M. Davis, Susan M. Chadd, Elaine Jaques, Michael J. Tallmadge, Freda Tallmadge, Paul E. Knowles and Kristi J. Knowles.
• Discovery Trail, 93.5 acres, Lake Farm area east of Port Angeles:
A conservation agreement with owners Ruth Jenkins and John Warrick protects scenic views from Olympic National Park and the Olympic Discovery Trail, as well as a portion of a historic lake bed that was drained in the late 1800s for farmland.
The two also are restoring a historic home on the property.
• Miller Wildlife Preserve, 11 acres SEmD primarily forestland, near Sequim:
Owner Helen Miller said her motivation to make a permanent legal agreement with the land trust began during the 93-year-old’s daily walks.
“Miller’s philosophy is that we are borrowing the land from future generations, and we need to share it with plants and animals,” d’Hemecourt said.
Other land protected in 2009 and announced earlier was:
• Dungeness Valley Creamery, 38 acres, at 1915 Towne Road, Sequim:
The farmland was protected through a collaboration with Friends of the Fields, Clallam County and owners Jeff and Debbie Brown and Ryan and Sarah Mc-Carthey.
Friends of the Fields provided the key leadership in protecting this farmland, d’Hemecourt said.
For more information about the land trust, see www.nolt.org or phone 360-417-1815.
