Precedent-setting donation also returns land to the Lummi Nation
— from Tanja Williamson for San Juan County Land Bank —
The San Juan County Land Bank and San Juan Preservation Trust today announced the acquisition and permanent conservation of a 36-acre
addition to the Turtleback Mountain Preserve on Orcas Island. Concurrently, an adjacent six- acre parcel was returned to the Lummi Nation. Purchase of all 42+/- acres (total) was prompted by the vision and generosity of Malcolm Goodfellow, whose $5.2 million gift is thought to be
the largest charitable cash donation in San Juan County history.
Goodfellow, an island resident, took note when a property referred to as “Haida Point” was listed for sale in April. He spent hours researching the background of the area of West Sound where the property is located. “The connection to the Turtleback Mountain Preserve was obvious, and both the Land Bank and Preservation Trust confirmed that they have long considered it of highest priority for land conservation,” Goodfellow said. “But after researching the history of the property, I came to see that it was also an important part of the ancestral homeland of the Lummi people. After talking this through with the Land Bank, Preservation Trust, and representatives of the Lummi Nation, we found a pathway to meet everyone’s objectives.”
The entire 42-acre property will be protected from development, in perpetuity, by conservation easements held by the San Juan Preservation Trust. The culturally important six-acre part of the property, including Haida Point itself, will be owned and managed by the Lummi Nation as
private property (and will remain closed to the public), while the 36-acre upland portion will be added onto Turtleback Mountain Preserve, which the Land Bank owns and manages.
Goodfellow has a history of philanthropic leadership in protecting and expanding Turtleback Mountain Preserve. He helped kick-start the original $18.5 million Campaign for Turtleback in 2006, donating a $1 million lead gift that launched a torrent of grassroots support. He was also a major contributor to the Preservation Trust’s 2012 acquisition of Turtleneck, the property that connects Turtleback with Turtlehead Preserve, and he has been a longtime advocate for land stewardship in the islands.
“Land acquisition is just the first step,” Goodfellow said. “Stewardship is harder because it never ends. It’s now on all of us to support the conservation organizations that will be caring for these beautiful places for generations to come.”
The 42+/- acres acquired, conveyed, and protected today create a permanent wildlife corridor that reaches from ridgetop to ocean shoreline and tidelands. Altogether, there is now a total of approximately 2,275 contiguous acres of protected lands and a natural corridor stretching
between Lover’s Cove on the northwest coast of Orcas Island to West Sound on the south side.
The newly protected conservation values include rare seaside juniper and brittle prickly-pear cactus, Garry oak trees and associated coastal prairie habitat, pocket beaches that are in a Tier I protection area for forage-fish spawning habitat (a critical component of salmon recovery and a
foundation of the marine food web), the only known population of western fence lizards in San Juan County, and abundant habitat for many species of birds, bats and other mammals, fish, reptiles, and marine invertebrates.
“I am honored to be a part of this historic and incredibly significant conservation project,” said Angela Anderson, Executive Director of the nonprofit San Juan Preservation Trust. “The combination of protecting the land’s remarkable conservation values and beauty, along with the opportunity to work with the Lummi Nation in returning a portion of their ancestral lands, will always be a highlight of my career and personal experience. And it’s all thanks to Malcolm Goodfellow, who has earned a place among the most generous and far-sighted supporters of island conservation in the Preservation Trust’s 41-year history.”
“It is remarkable to have the opportunity to make significant conservation gains even now, with so much uncertainty surrounding us,” said Lincoln Bormann, Director of the San Juan County Land Bank. “We are deeply grateful to the donor, Malcolm Goodfellow, and seller, Kathy Dickinson, for remaining steadfast in their commitment to preserving the character and beauty of this place we call home.”
In addition, the Preservation Trust and Land Bank value the partnership they have established with the Lummi Nation on preservation of land. Chairman Lawrence Solomon expressed his wish to acknowledge a continued partnership with the Preservation Trust in preservation
efforts. “The return of our original homeland has deep cultural, historic and spiritual significance to us,” Chairman Solomon said. “I want to acknowledge the many people who worked together with our team to make this happen, including Preservation Trust staff and board members, our friend Kevin Ranker, and of course the generosity of Malcolm
Goodfellow.”
The Chairman added his respect for the seller, Kathy Dickinson, who purchased this parcel and preserved it in its natural state: “Hy’shqe.”
About the San Juan Preservation Trust
Founded by a group of island citizens in 1979, The San Juan Preservation Trust is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nationally accredited land trust dedicated to helping people and communities conserve land in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. The Preservation Trust is not affiliated with any government agency and does not receive tax revenue. Financial support comes from the voluntary contributions of more than 2,000 private individuals, families, and foundations. Connect with us online at www.sjpt.org.
About the San Juan County Land Bank
The San Juan County Land Bank is a local land conservation program, created by voters in 1990, and funded by a 1% real estate excise tax paid by purchasers of property in San Juan County. Through conservation easements or outright purchases, the Land Bank protects special places in the Islands including coastlines, farmland, forests and wetlands. For more information,
contact the Land Bank at 360-378-4402 or visit www.sjclandbank.org.
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THIS IS FANTASTIC AND MEANINGFUL THANK YOU SO! MUCH!
nicely done!
Great day for orcas island. Thanks to all of those involved! Thank You
Wow!
Congratulations ! Thank you for your good work.
Amazing! Thank you Malcom Goodfellow, the Lummi Nation and all those involved in this preservation!
Thanks and congratulations to all! We love the good work of the Trust and the Land Bank, and many many thanks to Mr. Goodfellow.
It sounds wonderful, thanks so much to Mr, Goodfellow and all concerned.
Thank you, Malcolm and all! A spectacular gift for us now and those who follow.
An amazing acquisition is service to preservation and restoring ancestral lands to the Lummi. The benefits to future generations, with the Land Bank, Preservation Trust and Lummi Nation working together to care for these sacred lands is extremely important, as well.
Thank you, Malcolm Goodfellow, for your generous and visionary philanthropy. Our Island is indebted to you.
Here is to the brightness and hope as these lands are held in intention for Seven Generations
Thanks Malcolm! What a kind and thoughtful gift.
Mr. Goodfellow has certainly lived up to his name!
Thank you, sir!
But a couple of things bother me.
First, if it’s Haida Point, why did the Lummi get involved? Was it because, to the early settlers, “all them Injuns look alike,” and the place was mis-named? Or was it really, originally, a Haida settlement, or maybe a Haida fishing camp? The answer to that question really is a serious matter.
Second, notwithstanding Mr. Goodfellow’s intentions, Land Bank money, whatever its source, is a public fund (and its funds include our contributions). But the six acres of either Haida or Lummi involvement is now permanently closed to all public access. Is this an appropriate use of public funds? I don’t think so. How ’bout you?
Of all the places I love on Orcas this is the place I hold most sacred. This is land that does, and should forever, belong to itself. I take Mr. Goodfellow’s comment about stewardship very seriously.
I hope that in the near future a true dialog will open to help Orcas residents come to understand the meaning of such places to the people who preceded us.
To Steve Henigson’s question about the name “Haida Point”: A bit of Googling indicates that the name refers to attacks by Northern tribes (all of whom the pioneers referred to as “Haida” even if they were from other tribes). https://crosscut.com/2009/04/dealing-with-pirates-in-pacific-northwest, https://www.jstor.org/stable/40474004
Steve Henigson: According to the “Origin of Washington Geographic Names” (1919) and many other sources, Haida Point was named in reference to “attacks by the northern Indians,” in particular the Haida, whose own native territory was far to the north.
For generations, Lummi settlements in the San Juans were the targets of raids from northern tribes. A Haida raid in 1858 wiped out an entire Lummi village on what is now called West Sound. The names Massacre Bay, Victim Island, Skull Island, and Haida Point all derive from this attack.
So much for your first concern. As for your second, about “Land Bank money,” the 6 acres now returned to the Lummi Nation in accordance with Mr Goodfellow’s wishes have nothing to do with the Land Bank, except that they’re adjacent to the 36-acre addition to Turtleback Preserve, which the Land Bank owns. Haida Point continues to be privately owned and closed to public access, just as it has been under previous private owners.
Proud to call you friend, Malcolm. What an incredible gift to the living world!
Thanks again Malcolm. Step by step it goes, using our efforts to get our nature lasting a bit longer.