‘X’ marks the footpath

A free treasure map depicting the island’s bounty of pedal, paddle and foot-powered pathways will be in the hands of non-motorized swashbucklers Saturday.

The city Non-Motorized Transportation Committee has produced a full-color map illustrating the walking trails, public paddle boat launches and roadways conducive to biking or strolling.

“All of us involved in developing the map are eager to get our users guide into the hands of residents so we all can make use of these wonderful places we have worked so hard as a community to create and preserve,” said committee member Don Willot.

The 18 x 24 inch map features topographic lines to give hikers and bikers a hint of how steep certain routes are.

Color-coded streets signify the typical volume of auto traffic on certain routes.

For instance, State Route 305 and much of Madison Avenue are a sharp red, while green-colored routes along Point White Drive and Hidden Cove Road suggest a peaceful trip. The shoulder widths of certain popular routes are also marked on the map.

Willot wanted the map to represent the most up-to-date depiction of the island’s non-motorized transportation offerings, including ones yet to be completed.

The map marks a portion of a trail between Grand Forest and Battle Point parks currently under construction but lets readers know the state path’s tenuous state.

“We show some things that are in progress,” Willot said. “But we made damn sure they’re going to happen.”

The Grand Forest to Battle Point stretch is a small part of a larger ‘shore-to-shore’ walking connection between Murden Cove and Port Orchard Bay depicted on the map.

The map also features recent city open space acquisitions not yet marked on many maps, including the new Hawley Cove and Hidden Cove parks, and new trails linking the Close Property on the island’s southwest shore with Schel-Chelb Estuary on Rich Passage.

Small icons mark other attractions, including beach accesses, shore viewpoints, camping, SCUBA diving spots, bathrooms and other amenities.

Willot said many of the map’s features were inspired by similar ones available in Ashland, Ore. and Port Townsend.

The map was produced over the last two years in partnership with Bainbridge Island Metro Parks and Recreation District, the Bainbridge Island Land Trust and the Bainbridge Island Greenways Trust.

Willot and city planner Peter Namtvedt Best managed the project, which cost about $6,000 to produce an expected 20,000 copies.

Copies will be available at the mayor’s table at the Bainbridge Farmers Market on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

– Tristan Baurick

Tax breaks for conservation

For citizens who have ever toyed with the idea of donating a land protection agreement, 2007 could be the year to do it.

Congress recently passed a law to enhance the tax benefits for those who choose the land protection route.

While the tax benefits are nothing new, recent legislation allows conservation agreement donors to deduct up to 50 percent of their adjusted gross income in any year and to carry over deductions for their contribution for as many as 15 years.

Unless Congress reauthorizes these incentives, however, they will expire at the end of 2007.

Since the tax issues surrounding land trust donations aren’t necessarily self-explanatory, the Bainbridge Island Land Trust will host a free tax incentive workshop at 6:30 p.m. May 31 at the Bainbridge Public Library to help illuminate the current legislation.

Seattle attorney Konrad Liegel, a partner at K & L Gates, will speak and answer questions. Land Trust Executive Director Karen Molinari said that Liegel has extensive experience assisting people, organizations and municipalities with conservation, natural resource and land use issues.

“He’s really gracious to come over and do this for us because he’s kind of a big deal in the land trust community,” she said.

Molinari explained the distinction between donating land and entering into a land trust agreement.

In the latter arrangement, the donor maintains ownership, with the land trust protecting the property’s “conservation values” – for example forests, streams, wetlands and other natural features – in perpetuity.

Land trust agreements need not involve public access, and every agreement is unique. The Bainbridge Island Land Trust currently holds 42 conservation easements on over 700 acres on Bainbridge Island, 38 of with private landowners.

To reserve a spot for Thursday’s workshop or get general information about donations to the Land Trust, call 842-1216.

– Lindsay Latimore

New roof, old farmhouse

An ailing home on city-owned farmland is slated to receive the care it needs.

The city last week agreed to pay up to $10,000 to repair the leaking roof topping the two-bedroom Morales Farm house.

Sitting vacant for over a year, the two-bedroom house on the north side of Lovgreen Road suffers from mold and other rain-related damage.

“We really need to get on it if we want to preserve it,” said Trust for Working Landscapes member Ryan Vancil, who has lobbied the city for roof repairs. “We’ve got fungal damage and everything’s getting worse.”

The city Public Works department will likely initiate a bidding process for the repairs. Already behind schedule on other projects, Public Works officials aren’t sure when the work can begin.

Vancil hopes the one- or two-day tear-off and repair project will be completed before fall, when the rainy season begins.

The weather-beaten home sits on the front of the five-acre lot and is visible from State Route 305.

The Morales family, which purchased the property from other Filipino farmers in the 1950s, worked the land for berries and vegetables until about nine years ago.

The couple sold the property to the city in 2003 and moved back to the Philippines.

Overgrown with weeds and Scotch broom, the property sat fallow until last year, when local farmers Brian MacWhorter and John Chang planted vegetables and sunflowers. This year, longtime grower Akio Suyematsu helped reintroduce strawberries to the property.

The property sits near other preserved farm lands, including a donated 13-acre tree farm and the 2.3-acre Crawford property, which was purchased as open space in 2003 after falling out of use over 30 years ago.

The trust, which is helping to steward city-owned farmlands, foresees a handful of possible uses for the Morales home, such as affordable housing for farmers, farm storage or a produce sales stand.

Total estimated costs for fully refurbishing the building for residential occupancy – including roof repairs – could cost up to $50,000, according to Vancil.

“No decision’s been made on what to do with it,” he said. “Right now, we’re trying to save the building so we have options.”

– Tristan Baurick