Please donate directly to the Land Trust’s Stand for the Land campaign. Ways to donate include online via credit card, mailed check, gifts of stock, IRA-qualified charitable donations (QCDs), required minimum distributions (RMDs), or gifts from donor-advised funds or private foundations.

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The Bainbridge Island School District owns this 38.7-acre parcel, but will soon surplus (sell) the property.

The School District is surplusing the property to raise needed funds for their capital budget.

The Bainbridge Island Metro Parks and Recreation District typically relies on partnerships with organizations like the Bainbridge Island Land Trust to acquire and protect properties. While the Park District manages many public lands, the Land Trust has been instrumental for more than 35 years in fundraising, acquiring, and transferring over 400 acres of land to the Park District. 

This partnership has allowed the Park District to focus on stewardship and recreation while the Land Trust leads efforts to conserve land through fundraising and community support. For example, the Land Trust played a critical role in assembling the Grand Forest complex, a beloved community resource, by securing and transferring properties for permanent protection. This collaboration allows each organization to leverage its strengths—land conservation expertise for the Land Trust and recreational management for the Park District—ensuring the community benefits from both. 

 

The Land Trust is working toward an agreement with the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District to purchase a Conservation Easement on the property, aiming to permanently protect its conservation and public access values.

The Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District has managed the property since it was acquired by the Bainbridge Island School District. A verbal agreement was made between BISD and the Park District, allowing them to build and maintain the trail network and take care of the vegetation while the property remained undeveloped.

The property is currently designated as “surplus land” by BISD and reserved for potential use as an additional school site. It is not yet permanently protected. Once the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District acquires the property and the Land Trust places a conservation easement on it, the property will be safeguarded from development, ensuring its conservation and recreational values are preserved forever.

The School District could sell the property for development, with the potential for up to 16 homes to be built. This would fragment a vast area of intact forest and vital wildlife habitat at the center of the Island. Additionally, the public would lose access to the existing trail network, often used by those looking to connect with nature on foot, bike, or horse.

In this case, a “conservation easement” is a voluntary legal agreement between the Land Trust and the Park District that will protect the “conservation values” of this piece of land in perpetuity. Conservation values can include forests, shorelines, wetlands, wildlife habitat, streams, farmland, scenic views, public access, and open space. The Land Trust agrees to protect and steward the conservation values on the property forever, and the agreement is recorded with the deed to the property. Even if the property changes hands in the future, the agreement remains in force. Conservation easements can also allow for public recreational use. 

A conservation easement will guarantee continued public access to the Park District’s mapped multi-use trails in the Grand Forest East. Through these trails, user groups like hikers, runners, bikers, horseback riders, and leashed dogs will continue to enjoy this beautiful, protected, public natural space. Some unauthorized trails may be closed or rerouted as necessary, consistent with the Park District’s established trail management practices in the Grand Forest.   

Partner negotiations are ongoing.

Cross-agency transactions are quite common when the purpose of public land changes. In this instance, the property is currently owned by the School District (BISD) but is no longer required for educational purposes. Since the land was originally acquired as a potential school site, it now has the potential to serve a different public use.  

The process of transferring property between government agencies often involves payment, even when both are public entities. This is because the land remains an asset with financial value, and the original owner (BISD) has a fiduciary duty to manage its resources responsibly. By selling the land, BISD can recover some funds to reinvest in its educational mission.  

The new owner, in this case, the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District, will take ownership of the property and convert it into public parkland. This ensures that the land is preserved for conservation and recreation, benefiting the community while safeguarding it from commercial development.  

This approach aligns with the public interest and allows various government agencies to concentrate on their respective priorities while maximizing the use of shared resources.  

Stand for the Land is the Bainbridge Island Land Trust’s initiative dedicated to protecting and preserving the island’s most vital natural spaces. Through community support, this campaign secures ecologically significant lands, ensuring they remain safeguarded for future generations. By conserving forests, shorelines, wetlands, and wildlife habitats, Stand for the Land helps maintain the island’s natural beauty, biodiversity, and resilience against climate change. 

The Grand Forest Complex includes several interconnected parcels that form an expansive and ecologically significant natural area and is the second-largest contiguous protected area on Bainbridge Island after Gazzam Lake Nature Preserve. 

1. Grand Forest East – One of the largest and most-visited sections, featuring wetlands, dense forests, and trails. 
2. Grand Forest West – Located on the western side, this section has trails and connects to other parts of the complex. It’s known for its scenic wooded areas and accessibility.
3. Grand Forest North – A smaller, quieter section that contributes to the overall network of trails and conservation.  
4. Hilltop – A vital 10-acre addition that acts as a bridge between Grand Forest East and West. Acquired in 2015, this area creates a continuous wildlife corridor and trail system while expanding the Grand Forest’s ecological and recreational impact. 
5. Heart of the Forest – Further enhances the Grand Forest Complex. It strengthens the conservation value of the area. 

Additionally, the Grand Forest system is adjacent to the Wildlife Corridor and Meigs Park & Farm. Together, these areas make up a conserved network of more than 580 contiguous acres at the heart of the Island, providing a mix of conservation, recreation, and community values.  

Since 1989, the Bainbridge Island Land Trust has worked with the community to conserve and steward the diverse natural environments of Bainbridge Island for the benefit of all.

The Land Trust safeguards lands having significant or potentially significant conservation values, such as shorelines, streams, wetlands, forests, tidelands, and unique plant and animal habitat networks. In over 35 years, the Land Trust has conserved 1,529 acres on Bainbridge Island— with 1,150 acres open to the public. The Land Trust works with a variety of partners to acquire, steward, and restore lands and waters for preserves, parks, trails, and public use. Through the Community Education program, the Land Trust also provides opportunities to learn about and connect with nature.

The Land Trust was instrumental in the initial campaign to protect the Grand Forest in 1991, working closely with the Committee to Save the DNR Forest to advocate for a bond levy sponsored by the Park District. Conserving the northern tract of Grand Forest East has since been a long-standing priority of the Land Trust. In 2015-2017, the Land Trust led a fundraising campaign to “Make the Grand Forest Grander,” successfully acquiring 30 acres adjacent to the existing conserved lands. The Land Trust has continually strived to expand the contiguous, protected area around the Grand Forest in conjunction with the Park District, overseeing the protection of Hilltop, Heart of the Forest, Wildlife Corridor, Meigs Park and Farm, and adjacent conservation easements. The Land Trust has a long history of partnership with BIMPRD to conserve land across the Island and maintains conservation easements on many lands now owned by the Park District, such as Gazzam Lake Nature Preserve and Hilltop. 

The Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation builds on community creativity and inspiration, by mobilizing resources to improve parks and trails on Bainbridge Island. The Foundation is a leader in the stewardship and conservation of public parks and natural spaces on the island.   

The Foundation has given hundreds of thousands of dollars in conservation grants to BIMPRD, to fund Student Conservation Corps, EarthCorps and other programs for paid and volunteer stewardship. Their ParksCorps program provides grants to local nonprofits and clubs for stewardship events. The Foundation has led more than 100 community stewardship events over the past decade. 

The Foundation supports acquisitions for park use, such as acquiring adjacent parcels to double the size of Strawberry Hill Park to nearly 40 acres, and recently facilitated the gift of 8 Acre Woods by a conservation-minded donor, creating a new passive park in the Skiff Point neighborhood.  

Over the past decade, the Foundation has also helped add 10 miles of new trails by acquiring easements and funding permitting, construction and maintenance.