Johns Legacy | Fox Island Nature Center

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The History of the Fox Island Nature Center

By John Ohlson, FICRA Past President, 2000 - 2010

Summer of 2004
The vision to create a wetlands nature park from the property on 9th Ave began in the summer of 2004, when FICRA President John Ohlson drove past the Nature Center property on the way to FICRA meetings at the Nichols Community Center, often noticing a for sale sign had been posted for quite a while. It appeared that a few previous sales offers had fallen through over the past few months. Noting that the property was in close proximity to the Nichols Center, he decided to take a closer look, to see if FICRA could possibly purchase the property to expand the footprint of the Nichols Center, as a park. He presented the idea to the FICRA Board members at the August 2004 FICRA Meeting, and they agreed to pursue the purchase of the land.

On August 26, 2004, Officers of th... Read More

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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 fai... Read More

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Fox Island Group Eyes Woods, Wetlands

Kris Sherman; The News Tribune
August 31st, 2004

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Fox Island residents are hoping to raise at least $25,000 by the end of September to help buy a 5-acre parcel of deep woods and wetlands and preserve it as a shelter for animals and a sanctuary for humans.

The Fox Island Community & Recreation Association wants to buy the land, which lies on Ninth Avenue, 165 feet south of the Nichols Community Center, 'before someone bulldozes the property to build a home,' association president John Ohlson wrote in an e-mail newsletter to island residents.

Ohlson noticed the 'For Sale' sign on the property while driving to a recent association meeting.

'I thought, 'Hmmm, we should look into th... Read More