Make a special year-end gift to SEAL Trust and protect land for current and future generations!


With the support of our members, SEAL Trust has been able to continue to fulfill its mission to protect vital, natural areas throughout Southeast Alaska. Since 1996, SEAL Trust has protected more than 3,000 acres of open space, natural habitat, and recreation area. We hope you will consider renewing or beginning a membership in 2012 to ensure the continuation of this critical mission.

But first, let me tell you about what we’ve achieved in the past year, the opportunities ahead, and how you can help out!

In-Lieu Fee Program
SEAL Trust is one of the first organizations in the nation now to be operating under the US Army Corps of Engineers’ new, tough standards for in-lieu fee mitigation. This program supports our continued efforts to preserve critical wetlands and the clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities they sustain. Learn more.

Progress on the Mendenhall Wetlands Refuge
Speaking of wetlands, SEAL Trust remains committed to preserving additional accreted Mendenhall wetlands and is currently working to protect 16 acres along the Mendenhall Peninsula. Preserving these lands will help maintain their critical estuarine values, support regional fisheries, and expand protection of a globally recognized ‘Important Bird Area.’ Learn more.

Expanded GIS Mapping Capacity
Did you know you can now explore SEAL Trust properties virtually? Over the past year, we have improved our ability to make rich, detailed maps and to digitally analyze regional conservation priorities. To thank you for your year-end contribution of $35 or more, I’ll send you a digital file that displays the location of our properties on Google Earth. Discover remote areas like our Kake-Gunnuk Creek easements from the comfort of your desk!

Sitka Crescent Bay Easement
Contributions like yours also helped protect the last open, natural shoreline on Sitka’s urban waterfront, which you can see in the photo above. I hope that you are now as eager as I am to see this area between the Sitka Sound Science Center and the National Totem Park as a centerpiece of the Sitka Sea Walk. Learn more.

I hope you are proud of what we’ve accomplished together in 2011. And just think how much more your year-end contribution to SEAL Trust can do to help protect vital natural areas in 2012! Your membership ensures that the areas you cherish remain in place for future generations.

P.S. Remember your gift is tax deductible!

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Introducing a new SEAL Trust employee!

Bethany Wylie
Conservation Assistant

Bethany comes to Juneau from Washington by way of California. In 2010, she graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology. Though she became increasingly interested in environmental issues, Bethany wanted to continue to study people. Since she was not quite ready to leave California, Bethany stayed on another year to get a Master’s of Science in Earth Systems focusing on socially conscious conservation policy. To explore this topic, she did thesis research on the local values of an undeveloped, private coastal property on the south shore of Kaua’i, Hawai’i. Through this research, she found that easements are often the most useful conservation tools to mitigate the impact of protected areas on local people. Determined to work for a land trust, Bethany spent a summer researching farmland preservation for the Peninsula Open Space Trust in Palo Alto, CA. She has also, in the past, worked on ecotourism, recycling education, and local fisheries management.  Bethany is excited to be back in the Pacific (far) Northwest and to explore beautiful Southeast Alaska!

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