Fox Island association opens wildlife preserve

Brent Champaco, The News Tribune
Published: August 12th, 2005

It might have taken a year, but the Fox Island Community and Recreation Association finally will open its nature center and wildlife preserve Saturday.
The effort to preserve the 5-acre plot is a product of fundraising and sweat from residents, said John Ohlson, the association’s president.

The push started last summer, when the association raised more than $40,000 in three months to buy the land. Ohlson said it was one of the most successful campaigns in the island’s history.

Keith Buchanan, a Boy Scout with Gig Harbor Troop No. 282, earned his Eagle Scout by building a 60-foot-long footbridge over a stream and a few fallen trees that cut through the property’s trail and wetlands.

A ceremony is scheduled for noon Saturday in conjunction with the association’s fair. That will take place at the Nichols Community Center, 690 9th Ave.For information, visit the Fox Island Nature Center website.

Brent Champaco, The News Tribune