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104 North Laurel,
Suite 104
Port Angeles, WA 98362
Phone (360) 417-1815
Fax: (360) 457-1089
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Port Angeles Downtown Association Selects
NOLT as OCTOBER 2009
BUSINESS OF THE MONTH

North Olympic Land Trust’s first Holiday Celebration at Lazy J Tree Farm will add horse-pulled wagon rides, stream walks, quiet time with Santa, local cider and cookies to Lazy J Tree Farm’s usual opportunities to cut fresh trees and buy other local decorations and foods.

The Celebration will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12. Lazy J’s fields for cutting trees and its store, stocked with wreaths, jams and other foods, are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Lazy J Tree Farm is located at 225 Gehrke Rd., between Port Angeles and Sequim, east of Gasman Road and just west of Lewis Road. A sign on Old Olympic Highway and Wild Currant Way points the way to Gehrke Rd.

Wagon and walking tours will emphasize opportunities to learn how the Land Trust is helping Tree Farm owner Steve Johnson permanently protect important salmon habitat as well as some of the land that produces Christmas trees, fruits and vegetables.

Jim Bower, owner of Jim H. Bower Logging Co. and Blue Mountain Belgians, will drive a team of the horses he uses in his logging operations. For the Holiday Celebration they will pull one of Bower’s wagons with bench seats. Bower, who is donating his own services, his team and his wagon, for the event, said Lazy J Tree Farm’s founder, Steve Johnson’s late father, George Johnson, was his logging partner.

Land Trust Executive Director Greg Good will ride along on the wagon to talk and answer questions about the organization’s services that have protected more than 1,800 acres in Clallam County with special qualities that provide public benefits. The wagon will stop periodically to pick up more riders.

“We want to provide more opportunities for the public to see lands being protected through the commitment of private landowners like Steve Johnson and the time and financial support many individuals, businesses and partner organizations contribute,” Good said. “This event should be full of fun and learning, while also getting more people out to support the local agriculture that is so important to our economy and our quality of life. Christmas tree harvest season is a perfect time to celebrate this outstanding farm and the stewardship of Siebert Creek.”

At 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Land Trust Conservation Director Michele d’Hemecourt, longtime salmon habitat volunteer Dick Goin, Director of the Hoh River Trust’s Land Management Mike Hagen and others with expertise about Siebert Creek will lead walking tours to the salmon stream, which flows through the farm. The Land Trust Conservation Director said Johnson has been an outstanding advocate for salmon recovery, assisting specialists with creating better habitat in the stream and helping with annual counts of young salmon, called smolt, when they are heading for saltwater in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Throughout the Celebration, Land Trust volunteers will serve free cider and cookies and Santa will be available to children in the Lazy J sales barn.

Information about giving “zero waste” gifts of listings on the Land Trust’s plaques at the Clallam County Courthouse and on how to get involved with the Land Trust will be available in the barn.

Johnson said he’s also arranged for a vendor to sell barbecue from a tent set up near the barn.

The Land Trust permanently protects special qualities with public benefits on approximately 1,800 acres in Clallam County. Qualities protected include habitat for salmon and other wildlife, farmland, sustainable commercial timberland, clean water and air, scenic vistas, open spaces and cultural heritage. Most acres are protected through agreements between the nonprofit organization and property owners who voluntarily give up specific property rights with public benefits and continue using the land until they sell it or leave it for heirs. The Land Trust owns a smaller amount of land that has been given to it or purchased with grants and other fundraising efforts.

Posted December 3, 2009