11Newsletter for Kachemak Heritage Land TrustLANDMARKS

HIGHLIGHTS

Summer Intern Completes Computer Mapping ProjectA Carpenter’s Appreciation of Victor Holm

FALL/WINTER

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T he conservation work performed by land trusts is complex and challenging.

Careful attention to detail is required in the field, in the project selection process, in grant fulfillments, budgeting, and to ensure we fulfill our stewardship responsibilities. The reward is in the knowledge that permanent conservation of significant land is vitally important for all of us, whether or not the full benefits are immediately or universally understood.

In August our summer intern Natalie Shapiro volunteered for Cook Inletkeeper to look at stream temperature and shading on the Anchor River. As river temperatures rise, locating the shady areas on the riverbank is important to understand where the cold spots are for fish to seek refuge from the warming water. As they completed the stream evaluation, they came across spawning salmon right off our new Martin property. Based on thermal imagery from last summer, we believed that the wetland and stream side habitat on the Martin property would be great for salmon. I couldn’t be more pleased that this summer’s ground-truthing established that we were right.

Conservation of land on the Anchor River is a high KHLT priority, as this beautiful roadside salmon stream receives much human use due to its accessibility. It is one of our goals to help sustain the habitat that supports the fish run on this important stream.

In this newsletter you will read about Natalie’s mapping work to help us assess which parcels along the lower Anchor River are most significant to KHLT for conservation. The intensive mapping work was completed with input from many scientists who helped us determine which attributes we should map to determine our priorities. This level of detailed work is important to help us make the best use of funds that you and others have contributed to KHLT.

Strategic work like this is also required to become an accredited land trust. I am pleased to report that KHLT will apply next June for accreditation through the national Land Trust Alliance accreditation program. Land trusts use the accreditation process to fine-tune policies and streamline operations. The Accreditation Commission will conduct an extensive review of the application and will approve land trusts meeting their stringent requirements. The accreditation seal is a mark of distinction in land conservation, recognizing organizations that meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust, and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent.

As a 22-year-old land trust, preparing and applying for accreditation is taking a significant commitment of time from the board and staff. Within the accreditation process, each land trust is required to regularly establish strategic goals for implementing its mission and to routinely evaluate its programs, goals and activities to ensure they are consistent with the mission. It’s another set of those details we must heed so that you know we are doing our best for you.

Marie McCarty, Executive Director

C O N T E N T SDIRECTOR’S COLUMN . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

CHANGING OF THE GUARD IN KHLT DEVELOPMENT POSITION . . . 2

NEW CONSERVATION ASSISTANT . . 2

CONSERVATION DIRECTORGETS ALASKA FIELD TEST . . . . . . . . 3

STEWARDSHIP ASSISTANTENJOYS BUSY SUMMER . . . . . . . . . . 3

YOUTH VOLUNTEERHELPS IN FIELD AND OFFICE . . . . . . 3

SUMMER INTERN COMPLETESCOMPUTER MAPPING PROJECTS . . 4

A CARPENTER’S APPRECIATIONOF VICTOR HOLM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

CABIN CREW CELEBRATED . . . . . . . 6

VICTOR HOLM CABIN MOVESUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED . . . . . . 7

EVENT SPONSORS HELP RAISEUNRESTRICTED FUNDS . . . . . . . . . . 8

COMMUNITY GARDEN NOURISHESMINDS AND BODIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

LANDMARK CIRCLE DONORS . . . . . . 9

NEW GRANT MATCHING . . . . . . . . .10

Join us on Facebook!Search for “Kachemak Heritage Land Trust.”Director’s Column

Marie McCartyEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

KHLT Board MembersDotti Harness-Foster, President John Mouw, Vice PresidentLarsen Klingel, TreasurerScott Connelly, SecretaryMarian BeckRachel LordSam MeansJessica RyanShirley Cox

KHLT StaffMarie McCarty, Executive DirectorMandy Bernard, Conservation DirectorJamie Grant, Development CoordinatorSheryl Ohlsen, Accounting Manager

KHLT Contact InformationKachemak Heritage Land Trust315 Klondike AvenueHomer, AK 99603(907) 235-5263 | (907) 235-1503 (fax)www.KachemakLandTrust.org

CreditsLayout Design | Debi Bodett

On the Cover Professional photographer Mary Frische was fortunate to spot a brown bear sow with two cubs on the outskirts of Homer, foraging on a property with a conservation easement held by Kachemak Heritage Land Trust. photo © Wild North Photography 2011

2LANDMARKS • NEWSLETTER FOR KACHEMAK HERITAGE LAND TRUST • FALL/WINTER 2011 • www.KachemakLandTrust.org

Changing of the Guard in KHLT Development Position

N ina Daley resigned her position as Communications

and Development Assistant in September, having been with KHLT since June of 2008. She is retiring with her husband to the Catskill Mountains of New York, where they plan to take full advantage of excellent and easily accessible fly-fishing streams and proximity to family.

We appreciate Nina’s deep commitment to conservation and will miss seeing her in the office. We wish Nina and her husband Phil the best of luck on their new adventure and hope they send us photos of autumn in the Northeast soon.

J amie Grant joined the KHLT staff in September to replace Nina.

She has a B.S. in Natural Resource Management and Environmental Chemistry and a certificate in GISci from the University of Colorado. Her background experience as business owner and founding board member of a Colorado non-profit will assist her in her new position with KHLT as the Development Coordinator. Jamie will be working with Executive Director Marie McCarty and the Development Committee to help increase outreach efforts and funding resources for KHLT’s current and future stewardship goals. She loves to read and paint on quiet days, but prefers to be outdoors gardening, fishing, hiking, skiing and playing with her dogs.

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Nina Daily Development Assistant

New Conservation Assistant

G reg Goforth accepted a temporary Conservation Assistant position with KHLT beginning in September, to complete management plans for seven of our properties ranging from

riparian land on Soldotna Creek to land in Neptune Bay on the south side of Kachemak Bay. Greg comes from California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and Natural Resources Planning, with coursework in natural sciences, land-use planning and management, and environmental policy. He most recently worked with the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project, a special program of the California Conservation Corps to conserve anadromous watersheds for the benefit of salmonids. He is interested in landscape-scale efforts to preserve networks of wildlands by conserving wildlife corridors and linkages.

Greg GoforthConservation Assistant

Jamie GrantDevelopment Coordinator

photo © Joseph Breno

Photo captured on conservation land protected by KHLT. © KHLT

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My boss, Executive Director Marie McCarty, frequently

describes certain situations as “Very Alaskan.” Unsure of how to take this when I started in February (isn’t everything in Alaska very Alaskan?), I filed it away as one of those regional nuances.

Over the past six months as Conservation Director for Kachemak Heritage Land Trust, my duties have ranged from title review and land acquisition to memorizing the color-coordinating response to a potential bear attack (black = fight for your life, brown = lie on your stomach unresponsive with your vital organs covered, preferably, by a backpack, and hope for the

best). I held in my hand a quarter-sized amphibian that freezes solid in the winter and learned that “break-up” is an interchangeable term for spring. I experienced the brief novelty of moving through grass taller than

myself, finally understanding the true purpose of the machete located behind the door to my office. I rescheduled monitoring visits due to torrential rain and territorial female moose, and – a first in my career – conducted an initial landowner visit in a skiff.

I also discovered that traversing a 258-acre hummocky wetland is akin to some form of Olympic training, and that I serve as an enormous source of intern amusement when repeatedly plummeting into mysterious hydrologic features that were previously hidden by a deceptive ¼” of peat.

As we’re approaching the end of 2011 and KHLT’s period of annual and strategic half-decade planning, I find myself eagerly focusing on my work plan and the experiences I’ll be having over the next five years. Every new job comes with its own set of learning curves. But I think I’ve got this whole “Very Alaska” thing down.

Conservation DirectorGets Alaska Field Test By Mandy Bernard

Stewardship Assistant Enjoys Busy Summer By Anna Meredith

For three months of summer 2011 while serving as the

KHLT Stewardship Assistant, I helped fulfill KHLT’s duty to provide quality land monitoring to their conservation easements and fee-owned land. With help from volunteers, I was able to cover twenty-eight parcels of preserved land, roughly 2,000 acres, on foot. Local high school student and volunteer intern Ethan Kizzia assisted me in monitoring the majority of these parcels and offered a great deal of competence and spirited young energy in the sometimes rugged settings.

While in the field I enjoyed witnessing the limited Alaskan blooming time of the native vegetation and discovering the rich wildlife habitat abundant on the carefully selected properties preserved by KHLT. Overall it feels as though the summer field season was a success, and having had the opportunity to meet and engage with some of Homer’s most prominent conservation-minded landowners has been my privilege. Each emitted a good sense of confidence concerning their decision to do their part in conserving rich local grounds in collaboration with KHLT. I am happy to have done my part.

Mandy BernardConservation Director

Anna MeredithStewardship Assistant

Youth VolunteerHelps in Field and Office

Homer High School junior Ethan Kizzia spent

his summer as a volunteer intern for KHLT. In addition to assisting with monitoring conservation land, and doing trail work, he dug through stacks of documents to compile information for individual KHLT conservation property summaries and management plans. He looks forward to winter snow as well as playing hockey and eventually soccer in the spring. Ethan’s volunteer work for KHLT follows in the footsteps of his mother, Sally Kabisch, who was instrumental to KHLT’s success in our early years. Thanks for all your help, Ethan!

Ethan Kizzia, Youth Volunteerphoto © Tom Kizzia

4LANDMARKS • NEWSLETTER FOR KACHEMAK HERITAGE LAND TRUST • FALL/WINTER 2011 • www.KachemakLandTrust.org

We were fortunate to have Natalie Shapiro as this summer’s Alaska Conservation Foundation / U.S. Fish &

Wildlife Service-sponsored intern. Natalie recently earned an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, with a focus on watershed science and geographic information systems (GIS). Along with her GIS skills, she brought to Kachemak Heritage Land Trust a background in environmental advocacy and land monitoring fieldwork.

Natalie wanted to intern with KHLT because she believes that protecting land through conservation easements and land purchases is one of the most effective methods to ensure wildlife and fish values are protected forever. “I had a very hands-on experience working for KHLT,” she notes. “I helped KHLT staff monitor conservation easements and KHLT properties, and this really helped me understand the processes involved in working with these lands.”

Her field work also included a volunteer day with Cook Inletkeeper on the Anchor River, where she learned how stream shading and temperatures are measured and was excited to see salmon spawning.

Natalie completed two complex computer mapping projects for KHLT, to build on our 2008 “Focused Conservation” land prioritization project. The project had two components, identifying priority land (1) on the lower Anchor River, and (2) adjacent to existing conservation land and owned by the Kenai Peninsula Borough or municipalities.

ANCHOR RIVERWe chose to update our resource mapping work on the lower Anchor River because KHLT was entrusted in late 2010 with a court settlement of $850,000 to acquire and permanently conserve land significant for water quality and salmon habitat on the lower Kenai Peninsula. The new mapping project will help ensure that we make the best use of these one-time funds.

BOROUGH AND MUNICIPAL PROPERTIESWithin this portion of the project, Natalie assessed Kenai Peninsula Borough and municipal properties adjacent to protected land that is significant to fish and wildlife. These properties were targeted for landscape connectivity assessment because of the large quantity of land owned by the Borough and municipalities.

Pursuant to recommendations from biologists and ecologists, some of the key attributes considered were:

• Habitat for rare, threatened or endangered wildlife and birds• Streams containing anadromous fish• Stream areas providing cool water• Wetlands contributing to Coho salmon habitat• Properties adjacent to protected land• Vulnerability to development• Large floodplains

The resulting maps provide KHLT with new, improved tools for prioritizing potential land protection projects. Thank you Natalie, for choosing KHLT for your internship!

Summer Intern CompletesComputer Mapping Projects

A Solar Pathfinder measures the shade an area receives

over a year.

Summer Intern, Natalie Shapirophoto © KHLT

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A Carpenter’s Appreciation of Victor Holm By Joey Allred

Early this spring rumbling started about a job up Kasilof way. Lynn Whitmore, a dear friend, called and spoke to me about a cabin situated on the Kasilof River a couple

of miles from the mouth. This cabin is supposedly almost a hundred years standing. Immediately my ears perk up. Seems eight to ten years ago, word of a cabin that was original and contained almost all of its apparently original accoutrements came to my attention. At that time I was really interested in that news, being who I am.

Many of my best friends have been older than I am. History and people who came before interest me. I’m a fellow who likes old guys, always have. They tend to be wise and have a lot to offer, as far as problem solving, life skills and common sense. It’s good for me to study these old timers and spend time with them because if I’m not too hard headed I might actually learn something.

So my attention is focused. I’ve been a carpenter 43 years plus or minus, real rewarding and fulfilling work. Most days when I leave work to head home, a glance over my shoulder is usually rewarded with a view of something tangible that wasn’t there before I arrived in the morning. Sort of a cool way to make a living, hands on, and some family will ultimately reside in each project.

So as communication about the project continues, Mike Ryan’s name is thrown into the mix. Ok, I’ve worked with him before. We get along; he’s very accomplished as a builder and has special talent as a timber framer, not necessarily my strong suit. Mike and I talk. It’s a long commute but an interesting project, an inside look into the way craftsmen did things a hundred years ago. They didn’t have electric tools, not tractors or forklifts, nail guns, etc. Heck, there wasn’t even a road - the river was the highway.

Work crew members (from left to right) Mike Ryan, Joey Allred, and Alex Wilcoxphoto © KHLT

6LANDMARKS • NEWSLETTER FOR KACHEMAK HERITAGE LAND TRUST • FALL/WINTER 2011 • www.KachemakLandTrust.org

The two of us agree to go look at the job. The day is agreed upon and off we go. When we arrive it’s this cool, gray, two-sided-log building sitting on a high bluff just above a bend in the Kasilof River. The river bottom is a half mile wide and is frozen: wintertime in Alaska. Wonderful setting.

The cabin, upon closer look, is in remarkably good shape. The bottom two logs are pretty compromised. Back in the day concrete was in short supply, especially in Alaska on the Kasilof River. Spruce and damp ground and time work their magic, and nature takes back what is hers. But the craftsmanship is special. The horizontal joints between logs are really tight. Hmmm.

Pull the corner trim off and magic: the dovetails are perfect. A look up at the eaves and one sees the remains of these really cool gutters, fashioned out of wood. Special little metal brackets attach them to the rafter tails. The rafters were small saplings 2”-3” in diameter selected for their taper and length. They held up amazingly well - very little sagging. The ceiling joists are supported in the middle with a large beam the length of the building. Very little deflection there as well.

The wall logs are all hand hewn. Whoever these men were, they had heart: lots of work just hewing to say nothing of falling and transporting. Did they get the logs right near here? Probably. The dovetail work, as I mentioned, is amazing. I don’t believe a playing card would fit between any of the joints now. Pretty humbling considering it was all done with hand tools. Whoever this guy was, he has my attention now.

The sub-floor was built as a floating system (on the ground, inside the walls). The flooring boards still look good and turn out to be straight grained Douglas fir tongue and groove. We were able to save this - it’s hard to find trees capable of producing this quality lumber today. This fellow knew what he wanted. The material that the walls were lined with turns out to be heart redwood: Victor and his friends only used the finest. Mike and I agree that we will take up the project.

We must remove the mudroom and exterior deck with a screened-in meat house, elevated nine feet in the air. Much later after selecting twelve logs and two-siding them, we jack up the house and start fitting the new logs under the lifted cabin. This is backwards and takes a bit of head-scratching, but soon a system is figured and it’s going back together. Enter Alex Wilcox, whose talents are many, one of which is lifting and moving buildings. We’ll rely on him for the building’s safety, and ours, in this process. His unique approach to problem solving will be an asset on this project. In my mind, he and Victor shared these strengths.

In taking the old, compromised logs out we found one and one-half inch holes drilled vertically between logs. Each had a perfectly fitting peg, and most looked brand new. Even with our modern tools it’s interesting trying to match the integrity of Victor’s dovetails. The log under the door had this very complicated mortise and tenon system. Mike replicated this on the new log and spent more than a few hours. I’m in awe of a man doing this work with a brace and bit and chisels. The fit on this joinery is perfect, and 80% of it is never seen. The man was an artisan.

Off to one side of the yard is an old Quonset hut that was the shop. Inside is more evidence of this man’s talent: a hand-made wooden skiff, skis for winter travel (under construction). During this project, having conversations with Gary Titus and others, I heard rumors that Victor was the ‘go to’ guy about hunting destinations inland, etc. He picked a lovely spot to build and live.

During our sojourn there we were able to watch winter relent to spring. From quiet to raucous noise as the various waterfowl and songbirds arrived back for rearing their young. Seagulls, Canada and lesser geese, all varieties of ducks, Sandhill Cranes and of course the ever present eagle keeping everyone on their toes. The bluff was home to a pair of kingfishers. The huge broken relic of a birch beside the house had a chickadee using the hole of a rotted branch as her entrance to the nursery. I can imagine that Victor appreciated all these seasonal comings and goings for many a year.

All in all I came away from this project wishing I could have spent some time in close proximity to Victor and his friends. I probably could have learned much from them. We all agree that we made a good choice to walk the same bailiwick as this man from another time.

Cabin CrewCelebrated at Saltry

On August 24th, KHLT board member Marian Beck and her husband Dave hosted a special appreciation dinner for

the Jay-Brant partners and project crew at The Saltry in Halibut Cove. The guests enjoyed a wonderful evening of fine dining and camaraderie at a location that takes a bit of extra time and effort to access. Many thanks to Marian and Dave for their generosity in donating the transportation and dinner for this special celebration.

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As reported in our last issue of Landmarks, work began this spring on a special project to move the historic Victor Holm cabin away from the edge of the eroding

bluff above the Kasilof River. The delicate process, requiring compliance with Federal historic preservation standards, was undertaken by a special group of people who demonstrated a remarkable personal commitment to seeing that the job was done right.

Jay-Brant General Contractors took the lead in the project, scoping out the project requirements and putting together a team of expert carpenters and a project manager who worked under the general guidance Gary Titus, a Cabin Manager and Historian at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Jay-Brant General Contractors generously donated the use of equipment for the job, while partner Bob Brant and project manager Lynn Whitmore selflessly donated many hours of their professional time and the use of equipment. These were extraordinary in-kind donations.

The carpentry crew was undaunted by the painstaking requirements of the job. The interior walls and flooring had to be dismantled and tagged piece-by-piece before the cabin could be lifted and blocked for the move. Eight deteriorated logs from the cabin had to be removed and replaced with new ones matching the diameter, length, notching, and tool markings of the originals, no easy task since the deteriorated logs were of course the bottom ones! An exterior stairway and meat cache were also removed for the move.

At the end of May the cabin was successfully moved to its new site, where it rests safely away from the edge of the Kasilof River bluff. Kachemak Heritage Land Trust is indebted to all of the fine people who demonstrated the highest level of skill and integrity in their work to move this historically significant cabin.

Kachemak Heritage Land Trust accepted donation of the historically significant 1.37-acre Victor Holm property in 1999, to maintain for its historic and cultural values. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Funding for the cabin move was received through the Alaska State Historic Preservation Office, the Rasmuson Foundation, the Kasilof Regional Historic Association, and several generous individual KHLT members and supporters.

The cabin lifted and ready to movephoto © KHLT

Victor Holm Cabin MoveSuccessfully Completed

8LANDMARKS • NEWSLETTER FOR KACHEMAK HERITAGE LAND TRUST • FALL/WINTER 2011 • www.KachemakLandTrust.org

Current Project Funders

Thank you to our most recent and current funders:

» Alaska State Historic Preservation Office

» City of Homer, through the Homer Foundation

» Cottonwood Fund of the Homer Foundation

» Jensen Fund of the Homer Foundation

» Kasilof Regional Historic Association

» Land Trust Alliance

» Rasmuson Foundation

» The Marilyn and Ralph, Doing the Right Thing Fund of the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

» The Mountaineers Foundation

» The Pacific Coast Joint Venture

» Tin Roof Fund of the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

» True North Foundation

» U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Coastal Program

» Webb Family Fund of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation

Event SponsorsHelp Raise Unrestricted Funds

KHLT thanks Oasis Environmental, Inc. of Anchorage for their generous cash sponsorship of Birding Through Art

during the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. Thanks also to the great local artists who volunteered their time and talents for this event to raise funds for KHLT: Marian Beck, Catie Bursch, MaryBee Kaufman, Conrad Field, Bill Kitzmiller, Mossy Kilcher, Taz Tally and Toby Tyler. 

Thanks also to Homer Electric Association for being a cash sponsor of our 2011 Annual Auction, taking place October 22nd at Wasabi’s.

Board member Shirley Cox hosted yet another horseback trail event in June to raise funds for KHLT. This was the fifth year for the event, which requires a huge amount of planning and ground preparation. Thank you once again, Shirley, for your great efforts to benefit KHLT!

Event sponsors help KHLT raise vital unrestricted funds for operating expenses that are not covered by grants from foundations and other sources. If you would like to be a valued event sponsor, please contact Jamie or Marie at 907-235-5263, Jamie@KachemakLandTrust.org, or Marie@KachemakLandTrust.org.

Community Garden Nourishes Minds and Bodies

For the past three years, local educators have worked with schoolchildren to grow potatoes in KHLT’s Community

Garden. This volunteer project is dear to our hearts because it gets kids involved with both the land and philanthropy, as the produce they plant and harvest is donated to the Homer Food Pantry.

Our thanks go out to 2011 sponsors of the potato project. Lance Williamson of Bobcat Services donated his time and equipment use to till the soil; Spenard Builders Supply donated filter fabric to suppress weeds in the large potato-growing area; and the Sons of the American Legion made a generous cash donation to support other costs of the project. Thanks also to Lyn Maslow, Jessica Ryan, and of course all of the kids who get their hands in the earth and learn the value of growing healthy food for others.

Our kids harvested around 375 pounds of potatoes.

photo © Lyn Maslow

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KHLT’S LANDMARK Circle2011 Membership Donors

Their generous annual membership support at the one hundred dollar plus level allows KHLT to meet growing opportunities for land conservation.

$100 + LeveL

» Donna Aderhold » Alderfer Group » Susan Alexander & Carl Ramm » Applied Archaeology International » Robert Archibald & Roberta Highland » Ed Bailey & Nina Faust » Bay Excursions LLC » Bay Realty Inc. » William Bell & Mary Lou Kelsey » Ed & Sara Berg » B. Frederica Billingslea » Margi Blanding & Arthur Kettle » Betty Branson » Alan & Mary Brooks » Deb Lowney & Ralph Broshes » Sherman Burson & Linda Franklin » William G. Campbell » Catherine Cassidy & Erik Huebsch » Sue Christiansen » Diana Conway » Cosmic Kitchen, Inc. » Shirley Cox » Agnes & Maurice Coyle » Sandra & Elmytra Cronland » M. Lorraine Davis » Derry & Associates » Bill DeVries » Nora Elliott » Charles & Nancy Lee Evans » Martha Jane Fair » Will Files & Martha Ellen Anderson » Billie Fischer » Tamara Fletcher » Rick Foster & Dotti Harness-Foster » Mike & Diane Frank » Bill & Dorothy Fry » Allison & Malcolm Gaylord » Betty Jo Goddard » Nancy Gordon & Stephan Williams » Mary Griswold

» Mari Anne & Maynard Gross » Karen & Rod Grove » Steve & Kat Haber » Mako Haggerty » Pauli & Harmon Hall » John & Shawn Hamilton » Kirk Hoessle » Home Run Oil » Homer Veterinary Clinic » Gabriela Husmann & Konrad Schaad » Roger Imhoff & Peggy Pittman » Chuck & Joan Jackson » Jay-Brant General Contractors » David Johnson » Dorothy Kabisch » Kachemak Bay Ferry, Inc. » Kilcher Family Trust » Peggy Ellen & Rich Kleinleder » Larsen Klingel » Melvyn Strydom & Nadya Klingel » Ken Landfield » Law Office of Daniel Westerburg » Mary & Jack Lentfer » Ned & Charlissa Magen » James & Dianne Mahaffey » Marine Services of AK, Inc. » Sue Mauger & Mike Byerly » Diane & Mike McBride » Mike & Cathy McCarthy » Martha McNeil » Robert S Means » Mitch Michaud & Jane Fuerstenau » Graydon & Lawrence Moss » John & Rika Mouw » Frank Mullen » Marge Mullen » Peggy Mullen » Ed & Loraine Murphy » Mary Lynn Nation & Donald McKay » Mike Navarre

» Wilderness Garden Day Spa » Clay & Jackie Norvell » Robert Oates » Jon & Nelda Osgood » Mary E Pearsall & Mark Henne » Roger & Marlene Pearson » Barbara & Lance Petersen » Jim & Susan Pfeiffenberger » George Rhyneer & Marilyn McKay » Joyce Robinette » Don & Arlene Ronda » Robert & Tara Ruffner » Jessica Ryan » Jean A. Ryland » Barbara Seaman » Paul & Tina Seaton » Paul & Tina Seaton » Martha & Carl Siebe » Hal Smith & Susan McLane » Tobben & Tania Spurkland » Julia Clymer & Karl Stoltzfus » Jim Stratton & Colleen Burgh » Jim Thiele & Sue Pope » Clem Tillion » Renn Tolman » Randall Wiest & Giulia Tortora » Don & Julia Triplehorn » Dave & Marcia Trudgen » Ulmer’s Drug and Hardware » Neil & Kyra Wagner » Alaska Timberframe Inc. » Bob Shavelson & Miranda Weiss » Charles E. Welles » Toby Wheeler & Indira Mukambetova » Stewart & Gloria White » Bill & Jane Wiebe » Laura Sievert & Curt Wilcox

Thank you to our Landmark Circle Members

for your continued generous support!

Please consider joining these friends at higher membership levels.

10LANDMARKS • NEWSLETTER FOR KACHEMAK HERITAGE LAND TRUST • FALL/WINTER 2011 • www.KachemakLandTrust.org

New Grant Matching Opportunity

Kachemak Heritage Land Trust has just completed a busy and exciting field season thanks to two generous match grants that we were honored to receive. Although the field work is

done for this year, work on the projects funded by these grants continues as we move into fall and winter.

And now you have the opportunity to contribute to these two exciting conservation projects, by making a grant match donation.

Stariski Meadows: A matching grant from the Pacific Coast Joint Venture (PCJV) is helping us to complete the management plan and develop signage for our 258-acre Stariski Meadows property. The PCJV is one of 18 habitat joint ventures across the U.S. and Canada that work to protect, restore and enhance habitats for birds and other wildlife.

The Stariski meadows property provides habitat for moose and migratory birds, and contains significant wetlands surrounding over 8,000 feet of anadromous Stariski Creek. In just one field survey this spring, local biologists identified 27 species of birds, including nesting Greater Yellowlegs and Northern Hawk Owls.  In another field outing, a wetlands ecologist verified peat depths in excess of 12 feet throughout the property. A portion of the matching funds for this PCJV grant have been received from the Mountaineers Foundation, and we are the seeking the remaining funds to complete this important project.

Implementing KHLT’s Conservation Land Acquisition Strategy: Under a match grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Coastal Program, KHLT has been creating a conservation land acquisition strategies, specifically for lower Kenai Peninsula riparian properties, continuing to develop land protection projects within the coastal zone, and refining guidelines for our stewardship activities. These measures will increase the amount of significant fish and wildlife habitat preserved and managed by KHLT.

To meet our grant match requirements for these important projects, we must still raise $10,350.00. Your contribution will ensure that KHLT can continue to strategically select the very best land for permanent conservation.

You can contribute to our Grant Match Appeal by mail, or through our secure online donation service at www.KachemakLandTrust.org.

315 Klondike Avenue • Homer, Alaska 99603www.KachemakLandTrust.org

Printed on 50% recycled paper.

Preserving, for public benefit, land on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula with significant natural, recreational, or cultural values by working with willing landowners.

www.KachemakLandTrust.org

315 Klondike AvenueHomer, Alaska 99603

KHLT’s Business Members

Non-ProfitPRESORT

STANDARDU.S. Postage

PAIDHomer, Alaska

Permit #67

» 2-2 Tango » Alaska Rivers Company » Alaska Timberframe Inc. » Alaska Wildland Adventures, Inc. » Alaskan Gamefisher » Alderfer Group » Applied Archaeology International » Bay Realty Inc. » Best Western Bidarka Inn » Bobcat Services » Chihuly’s Charters » Cosmic Kitchen, Inc. » Derry & Associates » Eayrs Plumbing & Heating

» F/V Kelsey » Home Run Oil » Homer Air Service » Homer Electric Association » Homer’s Jeans » Homer Theatre » Homer Veterinary Clinic » Jay-Brant General Contractors » Kachemak Bay Ferry, Inc. » Kachemak Country Publications » Law Office of Daniel Westerburg » Loopy Lupine Distribution LLC » Magic Canyon Ranch B&B » Marine Services of AK, Inc.

» Moose Run Metalsmiths » Oasis Environmental, Inc. » Preventive Dental Services » Seaman’s Adventures » SeaULater Charters » Seldovia Bay Ferry » Smokey Bay Air » Spenard Builders Supply » Ulmer’s Drug and Hardware » Wild North Photography

Thank you to ourBusiness Members for their

continued support!