1-5-08 Illahee Preserve Awards Banquet

This is a report on the Illahee Preserve's annual awards banquet (potluck) held Friday evening (1/4/08).

The group recognized:
• Dori Leckner of the Kitsap County Parks Department for her excellent support, quick responses, and dedication to the Illahee Preserve, a Kitsap County Heritage Park.
• Judith and Irwin Krigsman for essentially sharing Illahee Creek with the community and for all their activities in support of the Preserve, Illahee Creek, and the community.
• Port of Illahee Commissioners, Dennis Sheeran, George Schaefer, & Don Deitch for their continued support of the Preserve.
• Illahee Preserve Stewardship Committee Chairman, Dale Boyle, Vic Ulsh & Eugene Brennen for their collective effort as chairpersons, along with their individual and extensive contributions to the Preserve such as trail work and coordination with the East Bremerton Rotary Club.
• Audrey Boyer for faithfully publishing articles about the Preserve in the Illahee Community Newsletters.
• Cynthia Brakstad, the IFP treasurer, for not only handling the finances, but also for preparing the income tax returns.
• Jim Trainer for his donation of 285 tree saplings for ripaian planting and for all the things he does for the community.
• Jim Aho for his work with the Preserve and the Preserve's support group, the Illahee Forest Preserve (IFP).
• All the volunteers who helped in 2007 with trails, invasive plant control, tree planting, water quality monitoring, etc.
• The Preserve's financial supporters for contributing to the very significant expenses in 2007.
• The newly reorganized Illahee Community Club (ICC) for their community involvement and for preparing to help with Preserve issues.
• The Illahee Forest Preserve (IFP) 501.c.3 corporation, described as a mighty and effective organization in 2007, for the following successes:
1. The Coastal Protection Grant that purchased the Jessica Williams property.
2. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant that did water quality checks for almost 2 years, removed invasive English Ivy along Illahee Creek, planted tree saplings along the creek corridor, and funded an assessment of the creek and the reservoir.
3. The hiring of an attorney to help protect the Preserve's wetland buffers.
4. The hiring of the best wetland expert available to survey the wetland areas.
5. For providing material and financial support for the Illahee Preserve, which helps keep our taxes lower.

The group previewed: a new video presentation narrated by Jim Trainer entitled "Forest Trails and Critter Tales" that will be distributed soon locally. Portions were filmed within the Illahee Preserve and Illahee.

The Illahee Preserve's goals for 2008 include:
• Completion of a parking lot and primary Preserve entrance at Almira and Fuson.
• Kiosks and Illahee Preserve trail maps..
• Updating the Stewardship Plan.
• Progress with the golf course.
• Success with grants for targeted properties.
• Success with grants for salmon restoration projects..
• Success with construction grants to start working on Illahee Creek sedimentation problems.
• Success with protecting the Illahee Preserve wetlands.

We thank the Illahee Preserve Stewardship Committee, and their support organization, the Illahee Forest Preserve, for their work in 2007, and wish them another successful year in 2008.

Dennis Sheeran & Jim Aho .