Happy New Year, friends!

As we enter 2023, we want to pause for a moment and reflect on all the good work we’ve accomplished together during the last half of 2022 - and there was a lot of it!

Read about the first half of 2022 at this link.

July

SEALT explored the Montana Creek Wetlands conservation property with our community

SEALT partnered with Discovery Southeast to host a fun and educational nature walk! We are hoping to hold another walk later this summer, so keep an eye out for our announcement.

Learn more about upcoming events on our Events page.

The Bird Genoscape Project utilized conservation lands

Local bird biologist and licensed bird bander, Gwen Baluss, contributed to the Bird Genoscape Project, a project to better understand bird populations. She, with the help of SEALT volunteers, captured Common Yellowthroats and Lincoln’s Sparrows at the Montana Creek Wetlands conservation property.

Read more in the 2022 Fall Newsletter.

SEALT participated in the Juneau Douglas North Crossing Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Study’s Technical Advisory Committee

A transportation corridor that would connect Juneau with the north end of Douglas Island has been proposed by the City and Borough of Juneau. As landowner of properties surrounding the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge that are wetland mitigation sites offsetting impacts from development projects like the Juneau Airport’s expansion in 2009, SEALT joined the PEL Study Technical Advisory Committee to advise on avoidance and protection of those mitigation sites and the Refuge that supports their function.

Public comments on the Preliminary Alternatives are being accepted through February 3rd via an online survey.

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August

The Acquisition Fund was established

The SEALT Board of Directors announced The Acquisition Fund, a dedicated fund to support and expedite land acquisition (landowner outreach, due diligence, site evaluation and selection), and the purchase of land or conservation easements for permanent protection.

The Acquisition Fund puts control of land conservation outcomes in Southeast Alaska where it belongs – with the community.

With your help, we’ve already reached 22% of our goal of $250,000 in the fund! Together, we are making a difference. Thank you!

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September

SEALT celebrated 27 years!

In 1995, Sam Skaggs, then a resident of Juneau, envisioned a non-profit, community organization that would help landowners in Southeast Alaska take actions to ensure that the natural values of the lands that they call home remain in place not just for themselves, but for all generations.

With this vision, and the support of a half dozen volunteers, Deborah Marshall established the Southeast Alaska Land Trust as a member-supported, nonprofit 501(c)(3), tax-exempt organization on September 18, 1995. Since then, we have conserved 42 properties and over 3,600 acres, and counting.

We are fortunate to remain connected to Deborah and many other founding members of the organization who continue to advocate for the conservation of Southeast Alaska’s special places. These connections are what make us strong!

None of this would be possible without our supporters (YOU!). Thank you!

Staff attended Rally, the national land conservation conference, in New Orleans

Rally is an opportunity for land trusts across the nation to gather, collaborate, and share knowledge about advancing the important work of land conservation. Accredited land trusts have conserved over 61 million acres (and counting) across the United States as of 2020, and we're proud to be part of that number.

The Land Trust Alliance has launched an initiative called Gaining Ground to conserve an additional 60 million acres by the end of the decade.

October

SEALT conserved Tract B-3 on Hendrickson Point, in Juneau - our 42nd conservation property!

Our latest conservation property is 14 acres and abuts one of our existing conservation properties - the Grummett Wetlands, as well as the designated City and Borough of Juneau Conservation Area and the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge. Tract B-3 represents some of the last undeveloped, privately-held wetlands along the shoreline of the Refuge, and preserves an important wildlife corridor.

Read more at this link.

Staff and volunteers completed a successful stewardship season of monitoring and property management

Whenever SEALT conserves a property, we take on the obligation to monitor that property at least once every year, and often more than that. It’s a big job, but an important component of responsible stewardship and land management.

Interested in conservation properties near you? Find them all at our interactive map of conservation lands.

November

The Land Trusts of Alaska website was launched

Did you know that there are several other land trusts operating in our great state? There's a lot of territory to cover in Alaska, literally. Thankfully, we can count on our partner land trusts across Alaska to carry out important land conservation work in regions outside of Southeast Alaska.

Find out more on the Land Trusts of Alaska web page!

The Jensen-Olson Arboretum donated over 200 pounds of produce to the Juneau community

SEALT’s first conservation property, the Jensen-Olson Arboretum, features a 111 year-old vegetable garden which is utilized as an educational plot and as a source of food for organizations assisting those in need in the Juneau area.

Organizations that received donations include the AWARE Shelter, The Glory Hall, and the Southeast Alaska Food Bank. They received produce such as kale, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, garlic, and herbs.

SEALT said farewell to Jordan

Our Stewardship Coordinator, Jordan Tanguay, stepped away from SEALT after two and a half years of dedication to this organization and to land conservation in Southeast Alaska. Good luck to you, Jordan! You are missed!

And… we’re hiring! We have opened up the Stewardship position to applicants from all levels of career development, allowing for this position to be at the Coordinator, Specialist, or Manager level. If you have experience in land stewardship, GIS, field work, or building partnerships in Southeast Alaska, apply by January 31st!

December

Our annual Holiday Open House and Wine Pull was a hit

The 2022 Holiday Open House and Wine Pull was our busiest and most successful open house and wine pull ever. We had more attendees, pulled more wine bottles, and had more fun!

Many thanks to our sponsors who donated wine: Duck Creek Market, K&L Distributors, Lemon Creek Breeze In, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, and Specialty Imports, and to everyone who attended.

We can’t wait to do it again!

We debuted the first sticker in our new conservation art program

We are partnering with a local artist to produce a custom sticker or specialty gift each year featuring Southeast Alaska. For our very first sticker, we've partnered with Kia Johns Art.

Anyone who makes a donation to SEALT will be receiving one of these beauties as our thanks to you.

If you are an artist interested in participating in this program, please reach out to us for more information.

Looking ahead

As we enter 2023, we want to express our sincere gratitude for your support of the Southeast Alaska Land Trust. There are some big, exciting things happening this year, and we can’t wait to share more with you. Happy New Year, friends!

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