08/28/2007: "Watmough Campaign Passes $400,000 Mark"

The San Juan Preservation Trust reports that it has raised more than $400,000 of the $500,000 it needs to raise from the island community to help purchase and protect a 7-acre property susceptible to development inside Lopez Island’s largely protected Watmough Bight.

“By September 1 we expect to have raised $450,000,” said Sven Haarhoff, director of charitable giving for the San Juan Preservation Trust. “After that, we’ll have to sprint as hard as we can to secure the last $50,000 needed to reach our goal by the September 7th deadline.” (background story)

In an effort to aid this final push, two families with strong ties to Lopez have offered a final $25,000 dollar-for-dollar matching grant. They say they hope this challenge grant will encourage the island community to make the donations that will “Finish the Bight” (the campaign’s slogan) by the fast-approaching deadline. The Watmough campaign is also getting widespread support from other islands in the county, from the Seattle area, and even from the Port Townsend sailing community.

The Preservation Trust and the San Juan County Land Bank formed a partnership earlier this summer to conserve the property on Lopez Island’s southeast coast. Keeping the pristine, popular, and ecologically sensitive Watmough Bight undeveloped and open to the public requires a $1.225 million fundraising effort. The Land Bank has committed $575,000 to the project, and the San Juan Preservation Trust will contribute $150,000 of its funds. The Preservation Trust has been raising the remaining $500,000 from private individuals, families and businesses.

Young Adults Raise More than $13,000 for Watmough Campaign
This week's young adult-organized “Fight for the Bight” event raised just over $13,000 with a concert, a silent auction, a "man auction" and a beauty pageant. "A huge thank you goes to Nicolaj Lasbo, his brother Sebastian, and Nicole Malinoff as well as their friends and family for pulling off this spectacular teen benefit," said Charles Givens, co-chair of the Campaign to Keep Watmough Wild steering committee. "What they were able to pull off is truly amazing, and the community is grateful for their efforts."

About the Campaign to Keep Watmough Wild
Local planning and development officials were prepared to approve an application to develop the 7-acre parcel adjacent to the beach at the head of Watmough Bight. That plan called for the removal of 60 percent of the trees on the property, including trees that are at least 400 years old. It also called for the construction of a house on the slope overlooking the public beach, rocky cliffs, and sensitive wildlife habitat that have already been protected by the Land Bank and the federal Bureau of Land Management

Recognizing the significance of Watmough Bight to the natural and cultural heritage of Lopez Island, Imogene “Tex” Gieling, a neighbor who owns the remaining private property within the bay, has offered to donate adjacent land to the public. This gift, along with the purchase of the property under threat, would keep Watmough Bight free of development and accessible to the public.

How to Help Finish the Bight
To support the Campaign to Keep Watmough Wild, send tax-deductible donations to the San Juan Preservation Trust, Box 327, Lopez Island, WA, 98261. Make checks payable to the San Juan Preservation Trust/Watmough. To make secure online donations, go to www.sjpt.org. For each contribution of $100 or more, supporters may receive a campaign ball cap with the Watmough logo on the front and “Finish the Bight” on the back. For more information about this project, please contact Sven Haarhoff of the San Juan Preservation Trust at 360.378.2461.

(About the San Juan Preservation Trust: The San Juan Preservation Trust (www.sjpt.org), known for its recent acquisition and protection of Turtleback Mountain on Orcas Island, is a private, non-profit land conservation organization that has permanently protected more than 200 properties, 26 miles of shoreline and 12,000 acres on 18 islands, including land now managed as public parks, private nature preserves, working farms and forests. The Preservation Trust was founded in 1979 by a group of island citizens concerned about the future of cherished island places.)