Business owners can band together with community groups to preserve remaining 1,645 acres of pristine timberland for recreation before July 2017 deadline
SEATTLE – March 9, 2017 – Today, Forterra and the Kitsap Forest and Bay Community Campaign announced a Business Giving Challenge in an effort to raise the remaining funds needed to protect the Port Gamble Forest from development. The Business Giving Challenge encourages business owners and managers in Kitsap County and around Puget Sound to engage employees and fellow businesspeople in raising and donating funds. $2,500 permanently preserves one acre within one of the largest lowland forests in the Hood Canal watershed.
Saving the Forest would preserve public access to the entirety of the Port Gamble Forest Block’s 65 miles of trails, where more than 20,000 hikers, birders, mountain bikers, equestrians, cyclists and runners recreate each year.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conserve a large piece of open space in a rapidly growing region,” said Michelle Connor, Forterra’s Executive Vice President, Strategic Enterprises. “It’s a place of respite and recreation that so many of us can access—less than an hour from downtown Seattle. Many, many studies show the benefits of outdoor recreation, and this is a chance for businesses to invest in the health and well-being of both their employees and the community at large.”
Businesses can learn more about the effort to save the Port Gamble Forest, and how to be involved, by visiting savepg.org.
Saving A Regional Treasure
In January 2017, Forterra announced the acquisition of 1355 acres of the Port Gamble Forest Block from Pope Resources. This acquisition was completed on Dec. 30 2016 with $2.3 million in funding from the Washington State Department of Ecology. The Community Campaign aims to raise the last $3.5 million needed to permanently protect the remaining 1,645 acres from development.
The 3,000-acre forest is six times the size of Seattle’s Discovery Park and three times the size of New York’s Central Park. It serves as a cultural resource for the Port Gamble S’Klallam and Suquamish Tribes. It provides habitat for bear, coyote and the red-breasted sapsucker. It protects the Port Gamble Bay marine ecosystem. And it offers the community a large, multi-use recreation site.
The Forest Block has served as timber production for over 160 years. Now its owner, Pope Resources, is providing the public with an opportunity to buy back a piece of land that lies at risk for extensive development. Forterra and key community partners have formed a Community Campaign—with Co-chairs from Kitsap county government, the Port Gamble S’Klallam and Suquamish Tribes and outdoor industry leaders, along with a Steering Committee with representatives from local land trust and user-groups such as Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (West Sound Chapter), local birding groups, and equestrian clubs.
Natural Lands Feel the Pinch
Conserving natural lands is important, particularly in Kitsap County, an area which has lost land to development at a much higher rate than in other places in Washington State. According to recent research by The Conservation Science Partners, Kitsap County lost 9,383 acres of land to development between 2001 and 2011. That annual rate of loss is 737.2% higher than the rate of loss across the West.
Opportunity to Preserve the Land for Future Generations
The 3,000 acre Port Gamble Forest, only a nine minute-bike ride from the Kingston ferry, is a community treasure and cultural resource for the entire Puget Sound region. The Port Gamble Forest’s enormous size and proximity to surrounding metropolitan areas makes it an ideal year-round recreation destination.
- Currently hosting over 60 miles of public use trails, the Forest is a place where over 20,000 hikers, bird watchers, mountain bikers, equestrians, cyclists and runners all recreate.
- A 200-acre mountain bike park with riding loops and skill obstacles will provide opportunities for families to enjoy healthy outdoor recreation together.
- The Sound to Olympics Trail, a shared-use trail that crosses Kitsap County and connects to the Olympic Discovery Trail and Cross State Trail, will run through the property, accommodating cyclists, runners, equestrians and people of all ages and abilities.
Forterra will be leading a guided hike and guided mountain bike ride through the Forest at 10 a.m. on Saturday March 11.
A map of the Kitsap Forest and Bay Community Campaign is available here.
About Forterra
Dedicated to the people and places of the Pacific Northwest, Forterra is a regional sustainability nonprofit working to keep this place we live a place we love. Today, Forterra has permanently protected more than $500 million worth of critical landscapes and improved the quality of life for people in over 94 Washington state communities. Learn more at forterra.org
About the Kitsap Forest & Bay Community Campaign
The Kitsap Forest & Bay Project is a community-based effort to conserve up to 6,700 acres of forest, wetlands, and shoreline surrounding Port Gamble Bay in north Kitsap County, Washington. The Kitsap Forest and Bay Community Campaign is the final phase of a multi-year effort to secure the purchase of the Port Gamble Forest. We must raise $3.5 million to ensure the Port Gamble Forest will not be sold and developed. Learn more at savepg.org.
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