Island Dispatch | Fall 2024
Better Together: Long Live the Land Bank!
Photo Credit: Wes Milholen
Picture the late 1980s: George H.W. Bush succeeds Ronald Reagan as U.S. president; Seinfeld premieres; hits by Milli Vanilli and Paula Abdul top the music charts.
In the San Juan Islands, the San Juan Preservation Trust nears its 10-year anniversary. It’s making progress toward preserving the islands’ biodiversity and rural character, yet the trends that inspired SJPT’s founders in 1979—high demand for island real estate fueling rapid loss of forests, farmland, and natural habitat to development—are far outpacing conservation.
Recap video of the Redtail Trail celebratory opening.
FRIDAY HARBOR TRAIL CONNECTIONS
This August, the San Juan Preservation Trust, Island Rec, and the Conservation Land Bank celebrated the opening of a new trail connection between John O. Linde Community Park and the eastern portion of the Beaverton Marsh Preserve. In addition to the preserve’s ecological significance—which in part contains the largest wetland complex in the San Juan Islands—Redtail Trail’s entrance and proximity to Friday Harbor mark a new chapter for public access.
A 72-foot boardwalk running through Linde Park connects the newest paved path to the Conservation Land Bank’s freshly constructed Redtail Trail. This half-mile gravel loop, dotted with valley views and a meandering step, provides access to San Juan Island’s natural landscapes within convenient walking distance from Friday Harbor. Now an afternoon walk can lead from lunch in town to a forest stroll in the preserve, all without the need for a bike or car.
Conservation work takes a village, and this village showed up! Although some of our celebratory cookies were melting under the toasty August sun, that didn’t deter over 85 eager San Juan Islanders from joining in on the Redtail Trail opening festivities. Following lively remarks by the commissioners and staff of all three organizations, visitors with baby strollers, recumbent trikes, and furry friends all took to the trail—a glimpse into this preserve’s accessible future.
Community conservation projects like this highlight the benefits of bringing like-minded supporters and organizations together to achieve common conservation goals. We want to extend a hearty thanks to our friends at the Conservation Land Bank, Island Rec, and to you, our members, for making the opening of Redtail Trail at the Beaverton Marsh Preserve an amazing asset for public access and enjoyment!
SPECIES RECOVERY IN ACTION
You may have heard the great news: an Island Marble Butterfly (IMB) was recently spotted on the Phelps Preserve in San Juan Valley!
Federally listed as an endangered species, the IMB exists nowhere else on Earth other than San Juan Island. This recent sighting marks the furthest north from American Camp—the IMB’s population center—that the delicate insect has been seen in over a decade. But the field mustard patch this intrepid traveler was sighted at wasn’t always around to nurture their visit.
The 20-acre Phelps Preserve was donated in 2011 to the Preservation Trust after many years of grazing and haying use. Historically, this preserve likely hosted stately oaks, short prairie grasses, and abundant wildflowers. With the support of numerous partners and volunteers, SJPT staff are working to restore the habitat in this region and recover species in decline, like the Western Bluebird and IMB.
Starting in September, recent funding received from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will allow the Preservation Trust to expand the IMB habitat at the Phelps Preserve across a substantial 9-acre area. In addition to creating ample space for field mustard blooms, the federal funding will also support tilling, native plant seeding, and ongoing monitoring to create a “new” prairie—restoring the function (and hopefully the biodiversity) that mimics the grasslands of old.
“No one has tried prairie restoration of this size and intensity before on San Juan Island,” says Kathleen Foley Lewis, SJPT’s Director of Special Projects. “It’s very exciting to actively work towards restoring grasslands and oak woodlands in San Juan Valley to promote species recovery and habitat resilience.”
As the largest and longest-running conservation nonprofit in the San Juans, the Preservation Trust continues to be uniquely prepared to take on initiatives like this, but we couldn’t do it alone. While we are actively partnering with other nonprofits like the Ecostudies Institute to achieve our restoration goals, we’re also fortunate to have the support of many dedicated volunteers who donate their time, labor, and love to progress species recovery.
If the butterflies, bluebirds, and oaks could speak our language, we think they would say, “Thank you, keep going!”
