SILVERDALE, WA – Clear Creek Trail, the community trail that runs from Trigger Ave to the mouth of Clear Creek at Dyes Inlet, needs new volunteers to support and lead the Clear Creek Task Force (CCTF) into the future.
Community leader Mary Earl has volunteered nearly three decades of her time and energy supporting the environmental education programs and stewardship of the trail and will retire from her leadership role in June. Over the last 15 years, she has led the volunteers of the Task Force, an alliance of Kitsap County citizens, businesses, and service organizations that operates as an independent program under Great Peninsula Conservancy (GPC), the local land trust.
“Since I joined the Task Force 27 years ago, a lot has been done to preserve, protect, and restore Clear Creek. Our educational programs included water quality, bug, vegetation, and elevation monitoring of the stream, Discovery Play Days, Kitsap Salmon Tours, and Salmon in the Classroom field trips. Combined, they have educated thousands of students, citizen scientists, military personnel, trail lovers, volunteers, and local service groups,” said Mary Earl, CCTF leader.
The CCTF mission is to create and maintain a community-wide network to mobilize support, educate, and focus actions to preserve, protect, and restore the Clear Creek ecosystem. The Task Force meets the first Thursday of the month at 9:30am at the Clear Creek Sa’qad Interpretive Center.
During the next several months, Great Peninsula Conservancy will assist the Task Force in recruiting more volunteers and forming a new leadership team. Those interested in joining CCTF in a leadership role should contact Nate Daniel, Executive Director of Great Peninsula Conservancy; nate@greatpeninsula.org, (360) 373-3500. The next CCTF meeting will be held on Thursday, June 1st at the Clear Creek Sa’qad Interpretive Center (red barn). All are welcome to attend.
“The community has deeply benefited from Mary Earl’s commitment to the trail, and we’re excited to work together to find the next group of leaders to carry on her legacy, and the legacy of the many volunteers and founders that have made this special trail what it is today,” said Nate Daniel, Executive Director of GPC.
About Clear Creek Task Force
The Clear Creek Task Force is an all-volunteer, community-based grassroots effort that formed in 1993 and operates under the aegis of the 501(c)3 land trust, Great Peninsula Conservancy. Members and supporters envision a future with Clear Creek as a healthy stream ecosystem with clean water, a healthy salmon run, native plants and animal habitat, providing quiet enjoyment and evoking sensitivity and respect for the stream, a part of our natural heritage. More at www.clearcreektrail.org.
About Great Peninsula Conservancy
Great Peninsula Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust working to protect the natural habitats, rural landscapes, and open spaces of the Great Peninsula – a region encompassing Kitsap, north Mason, and west Pierce counties, Washington. Great Peninsula Conservancy has protected over 11,000 acres of this spectacular region of west Puget Sound, including magnificent forests, saltwater shorelines, salmon streams, and wildlife-rich estuaries. More at www.greatpeninsula.org.