By Elliott Menashe
Once forest land has been clear-cut and subdivided, it is usually irrevocably lost.
However, the Whidbey Camano Land Trust has negotiated a remarkable opportunity for us all. We have a rare chance to step in and say “NO” to the normal process of clear cutting, subdividing and development.
For a very short time (until June 10), we have the chance to preserve the 664-acre Trillium property, which represents the largest remaining undeveloped piece of private land in Island County. The property was logged in 1988, planted with young Douglas fir seedlings, and later subdivided for sale as home sites.
The Trillium property is situated on a 300- to 400-foot ridge overlooking Bush Point and Mutiny Bay. It’s over two miles long and holds the origins of three creeks and numerous wetlands in three separate watersheds — one of which is the creek that runs through South Whidbey State Park.
The soils underlying the property are considered by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service to be “prime forestlands of the state.” They are of incalculable value for recharging the aquifers of the surrounding communities, reducing stormwater impacts and fending off saltwater intrusion of the shoreline wells and water systems that serve Bush Point and Mutiny Bay. There are numerous and varied habitat sites within the property, which currently provides space and travel corridors for both wildlife and people.
The present forest, barely 20 years old, isn’t very impressive at first glance. However, as a forest ecologist, I see the potential of this young forest. Already, red alder trees replenish the damaged soil. The Douglas fir trees that were planted now share space with naturally germinated western hemlock, western red cedar, big-leaf maple and Scouler’s willow. A few Pacific madrones established themselves in the sunnier spots. Plants such as sedges, rushes and skunk cabbages recolonized the damaged wetlands. A diverse understory of salal, huckleberry, ocean spray, thimbleberry, salmonberry and sword fern—prime habitat for neo-tropical songbirds and other wildlife — is developing. Old growth stumps, snags and nurse logs — some still showing burn scars from long-ago fires — remind us that the logging of 20 years ago was just another disturbance to the forest’s unending cycle. Nature is healing the scars of past abuses.
If this land is spared from the bulldozer blade, maintained intact and managed, a forest can continue to grow. In less than 50 years, there will be a mature forest similar to the Putney Woods that future generations can enjoy.
If this land is developed, the changes will be permanent and cumulative. There will be increased stormwater runoff and periodic downstream flooding, accelerated erosion and sedimentation, degraded water supplies, displaced wildlife and an end to public access and enjoyment.
If we lose this opportunity, the largest remaining piece of private land in Island County will be lost forever.
Elliott Menashe is an environmental consultant and forester with Greenbelt Consulting.
