Whidbey Camano Land Trust Contact:
Patricia Powell, Executive Director, (360) 222-3310

Island County, WA - “This is not for the people,” Gene Zema said. “It’s for the wildlife.” But people will be grateful, too—grateful that Zema and his wife, Janet, have assured protection for 40 wildlife-rich acres of their Crockett Lake property by donating it to the Whidbey Camano Land Trust.

The property includes four parcels at the lake’s northwest corner near the Keystone Ferry dock. It is made up of pasture, wetlands, tidelands, brush, mature forest, and estuarine habitat and is home to numerous wildlife species. In fact, nineteen bird species classified by the state or federal governments as threatened or “sensitive” have been identified on the property, including peregrine falcons, bald eagles, olive-sided and willow flycatchers, northern goshawks, and merlins. When asked her reasons for the donation, Janet Zema said, “I feel it (the land) should never be developed. It’s too rich a habitat for the plants and birds that have almost disappeared on the island.”

“This wonderful donation will preserve a vital piece of the Crockett Lake ecosystem,” said Patricia Powell, Land Trust executive director. “It’s an important refuge area for wildlife and will provide a corridor to the rest of Crockett Lake. It has excellent shorebird, waterfowl, songbird, and raptor habitat.”

The property also affords excellent views of Admiralty Inlet and the Olympic Mountains. “The public should be very grateful to Gene and Janet Zema for their desire to preserve this exceptional area,” she added.

The donation includes four lots adjacent to Engle and Fort Casey Roads, appraised at $510,000. The Zemas will retain ownership east of the donated land, where they have their residence. Gene Zema is a noted architect who designed numerous structures in the Seattle area.

The Land Trust plans to donate the Zema property to Fort Casey State Park, which already owns 300 adjacent acres at Crocket Lake. However, the Land Trust will retain a conservation easement on the property that reflects the Zemas’ desire to continue to preserve the natural attributes of the property and to allow only “passive” recreation, such as bird watching. The donated property is contiguous to 355 acres of critical habitat area that the Land Trust recently secured $850,000 in federal funding to try to acquire from willing sellers. The Land Trust is carrying out all the real estate and land protection work for acquisition by Washington State Parks. With the Zema property and this additional 355 acres, if acquisition efforts are successful, almost the entire Crockett Lake wetland system (700 acres) will soon be permanently protected.

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