Lyre Conservation Area – by John Gussman
December 10th, 2015 – What do you love most about living on or visiting the Olympic Peninsula?
If you’re like much of our community, you deeply value our vast forests, free-flowing river corridors, productive farmland, dynamic shorelines, and the strong community that actively works to steward this land.
25 years ago, community members founded North Olympic Land Trust on the belief that our community’s land base is the bedrock of our culture, our economy, our homes and our daily lives. We all depend on this land. We make our living and live our lives on this land. We know that by conserving land for farms, fish and forests, it will pay direct dividends back to our own quality of life.
It is with this in mind, that I would like to ask you to consider a donation to local land conservation today. Your contribution helps ensure that our community will continue to conserve lands that define this place for the generations to come.
In the coming weeks, before the end of 2015, we will announce that the Lyre Conservation Area will be open to the public! This 280 acre property, just 20 miles west of Port Angeles, is an ideal spot for non-motorized daytime activities like bird and wildlife viewing, surfing, picnicking, and beach walking. We acquired the land late in 2014, and have since been preparing it for you to enjoy. This Conservation Area features the estuary at the mouth of the Lyre River, streams, tide-flats, kelp beds and a ½ mile of Strait of Juan de Fuca shoreline. It also includes a large diverse upland forest. The property has excellent habitat for salmon and a variety of migratory and resident birds and wildlife. While the property will open before the end of the year, an official Grand Opening Celebration is planned for April 23rd, so please save the date!
Historic Ward Farm – by Lindsey Aspelund
In other news, we are excited to announce that we have secured an initial $300,000 grant to kick off efforts to permanently conserve the Historic Ward Farm. This 60-acre working farm is adjacent to the Dungeness River along Woodcock Road. It has been in farming since 1858, and in the coming year we will ramp up efforts to make sure it remains available for farming forever.
These are just two examples of your contributions at work. In our first 25 years, the Land Trust has permanently conserved over 3,100 acres across Clallam County, including:
- more than 460 acres of local farmland,
- 11 ½ miles of steam and river habitat,
- over a mile of shoreline along the Strait of Juan de Fuca,
- more than 1,800 acres of forest land, including 460 acres of working forests, and
- over 650 acres of land open for public recreation.
Since 2007, the Land Trust has worked with willing landowners to conserve over 14.5 million dollars’ worth of property across Clallam County. For every unrestricted dollar invested by supporters to run the Land Trust, we have leveraged over $16 of land conservation.
Please consider a gift today to reaffirm your commitment to the North Olympic Peninsula. For your convenience, we have added an option for sustained giving through an automatic monthly gift.
Thanks to your continued and valued investment in conservation, we will continue to work on your behalf ensuring that the reasons we love to live and play on the North Olympic Peninsula remain a lasting legacy for the future.
Sincerely,
