KECP: The Future of Kitsap's Forests | 10.19.2025

KEC • October 4, 2025

KEC Presents at the Village Green

The Future of Kitsap's Forests

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!


SNACKS: Share your favorites (cookies, desserts)


FLYER: Download and share


SPEAKERS:

  • Frank Stricklin
      Founder and past President of Friends of Newberry Hill Heritage Park 


  • Sue DeArman
      Naturalist Photographer 


  • Connie Reckord
      Program Director of Preservation, Friends of Miller Bay

Frank Stricklin, a WSU Stream Steward, Native Plant Advisor, forest Steward, and lifelong learner, begins our series on ecological forest restoration. But first, a little background on the history of our wooded landscape.

 

In the 1850s, the forests of the Kitsap Peninsula, and indeed the whole Pacific Northwest, began a dramatic transformation. In 150 years, the original old-growth forests, integral to the indigenous tribes of the region for centuries, had been replaced by managed monoculture plantations of densely planted Douglas Fir, grown as a commercial crop on a tight rotation. In the face of current environmental challenges, we are now embarking on a new transformation aimed at restoring healthier, more natural forest conditions, with increased diversification to promote sustainability and enhance wildlife habitats. Learn more as we explore the Future of Kitsap’s Forests


We also have special guests, KEC Member Sue DeArman, sharing her recent wildlife and forest photography. And Connie Reckord, sharing an important announcement about the Friends of Miller Bay Trust Lands Transfer project. 


BookWorms Book Club graphic
By KEC April 20, 2026
Nature & Environment Book Club - Love learning about the natural world? Want to read some great books & connect with your community? KEC & GPC are starting a book club!
Red flowering currant and pollinator
By KEC Member April 14, 2026
Stories from the trail and why we like to walk. Escaping the noise of modern life and finding yourself in the quiet sounds of nature.
A woman in waders enters marshland at Islandwood
By Jennifer Jacobsen April 2, 2026
Learn more about amphibian monitoring at Islandwood where volunteers log amphibian reproductive data in iNaturalist. These observations help program administrators understand where our local amphibians are – and aren’t – breeding across the region.