The Bainbridge Island Land Trust with the support of the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation have launched a campaign to raise funds to protect 39 acres at Grand Forest East, allowing purchase by the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District.
The Park District on February 21, 2025, announced its intent to purchase the property, contingent on a successful fundraising campaign. With negotiations now underway, the fundraising campaign, Stand for the Grand Forest, is expected to be over $2 million, said Cullen Brady, Executive Director, Bainbridge Island Land Trust.
The Board of the Bainbridge Island School District voted to surplus the 39-acre property.
“This is an urgent campaign,” Brady said. “The School District’s January 9, 2025, action to surplus and sell this property, among their first order of business in the new year, started the clock ticking. We need the community to join us in protecting the Grand Forest as we know and enjoy it.”
The parcel is adjacent to Grand Forest East and has long been maintained as part of the Island’s park, trail, and nature preserve networks. Partners hope to complete the fundraising campaign and purchase by the Park District this spring.
For more information on the Stand for the Grand Forest Campaign, contact the Bainbridge Island Land Trust (bi-landtrust.org) or Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation (biparksfoundation.org).
“Acquiring this property and formally protecting it for conservation and recreation has been a longtime goal of the Park District, and this is an opportunity to realize that goal,” said Dan Hamlin, Executive Director of the Park & Recreation District. “We can’t make this purchase without the community’s help, so we’re thrilled that the Land Trust and Parks & Trails Foundation are partnering on this fundraising campaign.”
The property holds significant conservation value for forest, wildlife habitat, and climate resilience. This campaign is associated with the Land Trust’s ongoing acquisition movement, dedicated to conserving the Island’s most cherished natural habitats. The Land Trust’s Stand for the Land campaign has a history of successful conservation efforts, protecting 166 acres of high conservation value lands through community support since 2017.
“This is one of the last remaining undeveloped and unprotected parcels of its size on the Island, situated at the heart of a vital forest core area,” said Cullen Brady, Executive Director of the Land Trust. “It sits within a major wildlife corridor that stretches across the island from east to west. With abundant snags and logs, a tall tree canopy, and a diverse native understory, this special place offers crucial foraging and nesting habitat for a range of important species, including the pileated woodpecker, great horned owl, and flying squirrel.”
Current public uses of the property would be maintained with Park District purchase.
“We recognize this parcel is used as a beloved public park,” said Mary Meier, Parks & Trails Foundation Executive Director. “This land, once conserved, will continue to provide access for hikers, runners, cyclists, horseback riders, and birdwatchers to use the established trail network. It fosters recreation, education, and community well-being while inspiring future generations to protect the environment.”
The BISD School Board voted in January to surplus, or sell, the 39-acre parcel south of Koura Road and east of Mandus Olson Road. The Land Trust and Parks & Trails Foundation at that time announced their intent to work together to conserve the property.
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About the Grand Forest and this 39-acre parcel – This parcel and the surrounding lands, known today as the Grand Forest, were originally managed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to generate revenue for public education through timber harvests or land sales.
In the late 1980s, plans by the State to sell the land prompted local activism. The “Committee to Save the DNR Forest” joined the Bainbridge Island Land Trust and Park District to fundraise through a bond levy, successfully protecting the first 240 acres of the Grand Forest, including the original Grand Forest West, North, and East (southern tract) parcels.
At the same time, this 39-acre parcel was acquired by the Bainbridge Island School District (BISD) to serve as a potential school site based on projected population growth. As growth slowed and demographics shifted, a new school was no longer needed— allowing it to serve as a valued community space for recreation and nature. The Park District has since maintained the 39 acres and its trails as part of the greater Grand Forest system. Today, this land remains unprotected and undeveloped.
The Bainbridge Island Land Trust’s mission is to conserve and steward the diverse natural environments of Bainbridge Island for the benefit of all.
The Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation builds on community creativity and inspiration, by mobilizing resources to improve parks and trails on Bainbridge Island.
