Island Guardian

Wednesday, September 13th

Million Dollar Matching Grant to Help Save Turtleback Mountain

Deadline To Raise Entire $18.5 Million Dollars Remains November 15
The Partnership to Save Turtleback Mountain announced that a Stuart Island family has offered to match every individual donation made to the Campaign to Save Turtleback for up to one million dollars. This means that each dollar donated will earn an additional dollar from the matching grant.

"Turtleback Mountain means a great deal to our family and to the entire island community," said Sue Cooley and Bob Cooley-Gilliom, Stuart Islanders and longtime supporters of the San Juan Preservation Trust. "We will contribute a one-to-one match for all contributions made to the Turtleback campaign during this final push to raise the funding required for purchase. This "challenge" grant, up to a total of one million dollars, gives everyone a chance to double the impact of their own contribution. The $25 donation becomes $50, the $100 donation becomes $200, and so on. We need everyone – from large donor to small – to save Turtleback and make it accessible to all of us."

"We are humbled by this extremely generous challenge grant," said Tim Seifert, Executive Director of the San Juan Preservation Trust "It will go a long way to helping us reach our $18.5 million goal by November 15, 2006. This campaign presents a tremendous opportunity to permanently conserve a spectacular property for public enjoyment, and we hope this match will encourage everyone in our community to lend support."

Qualifying donations include new gifts made to the campaign and payable before the November 15, 2006 deadline.

Campaign Goal

The San Juan Preservation Trust, The Trust for Public Land, and the San Juan County Land Bank are partners in the effort to purchase and successfully protect the property.

The goal for the Campaign to Save Turtleback is $18.5 million. Turtleback's purchase price is $17 million, and the partnership seeks to raise an additional $1.5 million for trail building, site restoration work, long-term stewardship of the property, and transaction costs. As of August 25, $14,473,600 has been committed by private and public sources, not including this $1 million matching grant. Commitments include $10 million from the San Juan County Land Bank and $1 million from the San Juan Preservation Trust.

Contributions may be mailed to the San Juan Preservation Trust, Box 327, Lopez Island, WA 98261, or The Trust for Public Land, 1011 Western Ave., Suite 605, Seattle, Wa. 98104 (attention Maria Kildall). Credit card gifts may be made over the phone by calling the Preservation Trust office at (360) 468-3202. To donate online, or to learn more about the project, visit "Turtleback Mountain"
[more..]

Tuesday, September 12th

Saving Turtleback Mt: $5.3 Million by November 15

The San Juan Preservation Trust, The Trust for Public Land, and the San Juan County Land Bank today announced that they will hold the "Rally for Turtleback Mountain" on Saturday, September 9, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the Coffelt Farm in Orcas Island's Crow Valley.

The rally is part of the Campaign to Save Turtleback Mountain from development and provide the public with access to its many treasures. "We invite island residents and visitors alike to rally in support of conserving Turtleback Mountain for current and future generations," said Jonathan White, San Juan Preservation Trust trustee and member of the Campaign to Save Turtleback Steering Committee. "A land conservation project as important as Turtleback requires the support of the entire community. So, we encourage everyone who loves the magnificent beauty of the San Juan Islands to join us for this exciting event."

Rally Ticket Sales
Tickets are $15 for adults (includes one glass of wine), $12 for youths (ages 8-20), and free for children under eight. All tickets include food, and may be purchased throughout the islands and in Seattle beginning August 16 at the following locations:

[more..]

Town Buys Solar Powered Circulators For Lake

ig_Solar_Bee-1 (74k image)
(Example of Solar Bee circulators -Solar Bee photo)

Trout Lake on San Juan Island has had a problem over the years with algae blooms -and other problems associated with a lack of oxygen in water- and this has resulted in some impacts on the quality of the water that is the drinking water source for the Town of Friday Harbor. At the Thursday Town Council meeting, the Council voted to purchase three floating solar powered circulators, at a cost of $45.000.00 each, to try and solve the problem.

The units are made by Solar Bee, and are unique in that they rely on sunlight to provide power to on-board batteries to power the units that float on the surface and circulate the lake water. The batteries can store up enough energy from six hours of sunlight to provide eighteen hours of run time. Town Councilman Howe Rosenfield asked if the units could receive adequate solar exposure, given our northern latitude, and was informed by the Town staff that there are units operating at capacity in Canada, and that the units can also generate a charge to the batteries even under a light cloud cover.

According to Solar Bee, the units can eliminate blue-green algae blooms by introducing oxygen into the water, and also are capable of helping to prevent the release of hydrogen sulfide and other problematic materials that can have a negative effect on water used as a source for drinking water.

[more..]