BAKER MOUNTAIN RANCH
PROTECTED!
Lummi Island Heritage
Trust, the San Juan Preservation Trust, and the Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife have succeeded in permanently protecting the 435 acre
Baker Ranch on the west side of Lummi Island. This conservation
partnership raised the $3.67 million necessary to complete the project
with the help of Heritage Trust and Preservation Trust members, state and
federal grants, and a league of private donors.
The Baker Ranch was
one of the largest and most visible unprotected shoreline properties in
the San Juan Islands. The Ranch includes a diverse mix of old growth and
mature forest, grassy balds, wetlands, farmland, and over one mile of
saltwater shoreline. As of July 18, 2007, conservation easements limit
residential use of the 435 acre property to one house and one guest house
and ensure permanent protection of the land’s natural values. The San Juan
Preservation Trust holds conservation easements on 355 acres of the Ranch
and the Department of Fish and Wildlife holds a conservation easement on
the remainder of the property.
Creating the Baker
Preserve
An 80 acre portion of
the Ranch is now owned by Lummi Island Heritage Trust and will become a
nature preserve. A member of the Baker family will continue to manage the
rest of the property, which is not open to the public. At the end of the
landowner’s lifetime, approximately 269 acres of the Ranch will be added
to the Heritage Trust’s Baker Preserve.
The Heritage Trust is
developing a management plan for the Baker Preserve. The new preserve will
include 49 acres previously owned by the organization and will open in
summer of 2008. Currently, the property is not open to the public. Once
trail construction is complete, the Baker Preserve will be accessible to
the public by permit available at the Heritage Trust Resource Center on
Lummi Island. For more information, please call the Heritage Trust at
360-758-7997.
Combined with land previously protected by Lummi Island Heritage Trust and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Baker Mountain Ranch conservation partnership has created a contiguous protected area of more than 1,000 acres on the wild western coastline of Lummi Island. Thank you to all who helped make this extraordinary land conservation effort possible!
Make a tax-deductable donation to the Heritage Trust to further land protection efforts on lummi Island: