News

Hiking with a Local Videos Showcase Three Great South County Trails

In addition to being a County Commissioner for District 3 in Jefferson County and on the board of the North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce, Greg Brotherton is a storyteller. He’s written fiction, screenplays, and many silly songs that he claims to play badly on a host of different instruments. And at one point, he […]

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Local Poet’s Work Informed by Tidelands to Timberline Natural History Course

Jayne Marek wrote “River Triptych,” a poem in three connected parts, shortly after participating in the Land Trust’s Tidelands to Timberline natural history course in 2016. She and her husband Joe moved to Port Townsend in mid-2015. According to Jayne […]

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Celebrating an Additional 25 Acres at the Duckabush Riparian Forest Preserve

Jefferson Land Trust has been working on conservation projects along the Dosewallips and Duckabush Rivers since the mid-90s. In 1994, long-time locals, Vern and Ida Bailey donated a conservation easement on their 187-acre property on the Dosewallips River, our first project in the area. That act alone protected a significant portion of beautiful open space […]

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The Conservation Bell – a Joyful Sound

When we get official notice that a new property deed has been recorded at the county, Sarah Spaeth, Director of Conservation and Strategic Partnerships, rings a special bell at Jefferson Land Trust’s office. This tradition, which started about 10 years ago, is our way of acknowledging and celebrating that another important place in Jefferson County […]

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K-12 Educational Field Program is Growing Fast

The thank you notes and poems arrived soon after Port Townsend first and second graders visited Illahee Preserve to learn about salmon. Inside were messages filled with warmth and gratitude. “Thank you for the experience of being in the forest,” Addie H. wrote. “Thank you for saving the salmons,” said Laverna. “I loved being a […]

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A Monumental Cleanup at Duckabush Riparian Forest Preserve

Protected in late 2015 by the Land Trust in partnership with Trust for Public Land, the Duckabush Riparian Forest Preserve includes 140 acres of vibrant, forested wildlife habitat along the Duckabush River. Unbeknownst to anyone, a portion of the property had been used to dump a substantial amount of trash over several decades. Fortunately, some […]

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Our Top 3 Reasons to Visit the Duckabush Oxbow & Wetlands Preserve

In the Duckabush River Valley, more than 3,250 acres of permanently protected land create a corridor of wildlife habitat. This greenbelt corridor hosts a wide variety of species – fish, insects, amphibians, mammals and birds – that have relied on this land for thousands of years. In addition to providing important spawning and rearing habitat for […]

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Roosevelt Elk Herd Expanding in the Duckabush River Valley

The Duckabush River greenbelt hosts many animals that have relied on this land for thousands of years. In addition to providing important spawning habitat for endangered salmon, wildlife such as bear, beaver, and cougar have all been observed there recently. And one more common, but no less magical, sighting on the Duckabush is its herd […]

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Just Duckabush Mid-Reach Preserve

We’re celebrating a great success for wildlife on the Duckabush River this winter! Local sculptor Mark Fissler and his family worked with Jefferson Land Trust and our partners to protect 15 acres of their longtime family land in the middle reaches of the Duckabush River as a permanent wildlife preserve.

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Report from the Field: Mission Creek Corrections Center Partnership

A big shout out to the Department of Corrections Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women work crew for their dedicated stewardship work on the Duckabush.

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