Act now to acquire Sakai property and protect Bainbridge Island’s farmland | GUEST VIEWPOINT

Published 11:51 am Friday, February 6, 2015

BY JOE MENTOR JR.

Bainbridge Island voters soon will decide whether their city will acquire the Sakai Property, one of the largest remaining farmland parcels on the island. They should approve the bond, as acquisition of the Sakai property represents a unique opportunity to expand outdoor recreation opportunities for Bainbridge residents.

The Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park & Recreation District also should work to restore at least a portion of the property as commercial farmland. Farming is an important part of Bainbridge history, and it’s a legacy islanders should protect for future generations. Shinichi Moritani, one of the island’s first Japanese farmers, first planted strawberries in 1908. By 1939 Japanese farmers, with help from Filipino and Native American pickers, cultivated over 800 acres in strawberries alone. At one time, more than 200 people were employed at Winslow Berry Grower Association’s cannery at Eagle Harbor. The farmers also grew produce for the island’s thriving timber industry, including the world’s largest lumber bill at Port Blakely. At the peak of agricultural production, more than 3,600 acres of land on the island were dedicated to farming.

All this changed when in 1942 the United States government removed the island’s Japanese population, regardless of the U.S. citizenship of many of those who were sent away.

Bainbridge Island’s agricultural industry never recovered from the forced removal of its farmers. Today, only about 320 acres of farmland remain available for commercial agriculture. Much of the formerly-cultivated land was lost to residential and commercial development.  Much of the rest was lost to unplanned reforestation. In fact, many of the small forest properties that cover the island today were once cleared and cultivated.

I grew up in Kitsap County, and I have fond memories buying strawberries when my parents took us to visit their friends on Bainbridge or on occasional trips on the ferry to Seattle. The island was a different place then, rural in character except for the towns of Winslow and Lynwood.

But the need to protect farmland is not just rooted in nostalgia. There is a new twist to the goal of farmland preservation, which is to protect a community’s ability to grow its own food. This movement has demonstrable health benefits, and Bainbridge Island is a leader.

Small-scale farming is rebounding in recent years, thanks in large part to the local foods movement. Thanks to organizations such as the Bainbridge Island’s Friends of the Farms, it is possible to recover and restore Bainbridge Island’s agricultural land base.

But the opportunities are fleeting, and the Sakai acquisition represents a unique opportunity to protect one of the largest agricultural parcels that remain on Bainbridge Island. Given the island’s traditional farming practices, such parcels are few and far between. Unlike most other areas of the state, this is not because larger farms were broken up into smaller parcels. Instead, the small size of farm parcels on the island reflects the fact that they were small in the first place.

By acquiring the Sakai property, Bainbridge Island can provide much needed outdoor recreation opportunities and critical wildlife habitat. Working in cooperation with its small but determined commercial farm community, the parks district also can help continue the city’s laudable efforts to protect an important part of the island’s cultural heritage.

Joe Mentor Jr. currently serves as President of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, a state wide organization that promotes funding for outdoor recreation, wildlife habitat and farmland preservation.