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Celebrations, challenges are annual event themes
North Olympic Land Trust supporters celebrate a record year of accomplishments and talk about growing challenges at the annual meeting Thursday, Dec. 6, at The Bushwhacker Restaurant. Bob Caldwell and Julie Grattan, volunteers with partner organization Friends of the Fields talk with Land Trust Board member Alan Bentsen. In the background are Jean Bentsen and Sequim area resident Tim McNulty, of Olympic Park Associates.
Celebrations, challenges are annual event themes
About 70 supporters of North Olympic Land Trust’s work joined in a celebration and heard about the organization’s growing challenges Dec. 6 at The Bushwhacker Restaurant, Port Angeles.
Land Trust President Ken Sweeney said the organization has protected a record number of acres in the past year, but with that growth comes new responsibilities.
“We think we’re on track to help property owners protect special qualities of land on more than 300 acres by the end of 2007 or shortly after that,” Sweeney said. “But the more land we protect, the greater the associated costs for making sure conservation agreements are upheld in perpetuity. And as more people hear about the Land Trust and our outstanding partners, Friends of the Fields, the greater are the requests for our services.”
By hiring an executive director in 2008, Sweeney said Land Trust leaders hope to be able to provide more help to the increasing number of property owners who are inquiring about completing permanent agreements with the organization to protect specific qualities of their land. One full-time and two half-time staff members and volunteers no longer can keep up with all the work, he said.
Another major milestone, as well as an increased challenge, will be preparing to enter the Land Trust Alliance’s new accreditation program, he said.
At North Olympic Land Trust’s annual meeting Thursday, Jonathan Lydiard, grandson of the late Dr. Harry Lydiard, joined his aunt, Ann Martin, Lydiard’s daughter, in accepting a plaque for Dry Creek Tree Farm. Dr. Lydiard completed an agreement with the Land Trust protecting the 150-acre property shortly before his death in his adjacent home Dec. 1. The agreement brought the acres he’d protected to about 340, the greatest number a single landowner has protected through conservation agreements with the local Land Trust.
their agreements with the Land Trust. The agreements will remain part of the
land titles regardless of future ownership. Receiving plaques were:
Steve Johnson for a mile of Siebert Creek salmon habitat and Lazy J Tree Farm agricultural land, totaling about 18 acres, between Port Angeles and Sequim.
Ron and Donna Raven for Dungeness Valley bird habitat and farmland, about 14 acres.
Matt Heins representing Dungeness Habitat LLC, a Seattle organization protecting eel grass, water quality, bird habitat and other qualities near Dungeness Bay.
Bruce and Rose Moorhead for 5 acres including Valley Creek, in Port Angeles.
Jim and Robbie Mantooth for another 17 acres with about a quarter mile of Ennis Creek bringing their total protected land to nearly 50 acres at Ennis Arbor Farm, site of the Land Trust’s annual StreamFest.Lydiard family for the 150-acre Dry Creek Tree Farm, which Harry Lydiard protected through an agreement completed shortly before his death Dec. 1.
On behalf of the Land Trust, Jim and Robbie Mantooth, talked about Dr. Lydiard’s inspiring example through his dedication to conservation and volunteerism, on top of his career as a veterinarian. His daughter, Ann Martin, Seattle; son Brian Lydiard; and grandson Jonathan Lydiard, both of Bellingham; talked about the dedication to conservation that led their father and grandfather to become North Olympic Land Trust’s largest conservation agreement donor, with nearly 300 acres of sustainable commercial timberland west of Port Angeles and the 40-acre Bell Farm, north of Sequim.
“The Land Trust truly embodies his values,” Martin said. She said the family is planning a celebration of his life on Dec. 22, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Vern Burton Center, Port Angeles.
Sweeney said this year’s annual meeting location was chosen to show appreciation for The Bushwhacker’s major StreamFest Sponsorship, which included food preparation and facilities for the September fundraiser.
Official business at the meeting included unanimous approval of the Nominating Committee to re-elect Board members whose terms are expiring: Rob Onnen, Jim Mantooth, Dave Hurd, John Willits and Anna Shields, Port Angeles; and Crane Miller, Sequim. An operating budget of $116,113 recommended by Treasurer Dave Hurd and the Land Trust Finance Committee also received unanimous approval.
This entry was posted on Monday, December 17th, 2007 at 11:55 am and is filed under Latest News.