North Olympic Land Trust’s 12th-annual Conservation Breakfast

When: 9 a.m. Thursday, April 2

Where: Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles

Featured speaker: Wildlife Program Manager Kim Sager-Fradkin, presenting on cutting-edge local cougar research

Cost: Free (donations accepted)

RSVP: At northolympiclandtrust.org or 360-417-1815; deadline is March 24

More than coffee and a light breakfast are in store for attendees of the North Olympic Land Trust’s annual Conservation Breakfast.

Kim Sager-Fradkin, Wildlife Program Manager for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, will talk about her ongoing and cutting-edge field research on cougars of the North Olympic Peninsula at the event set for 9 a.m. Thursday, April 2, at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.

This free event invites the community to celebrate local land conservation and hear about the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe partnership with Panthera, the only organization in the world devoted exclusively to the conservation of wild cats.

RSVP online at at north olympiclandtrust.org the or by calling 360-417-1815 by March 24; he event is expected to fill up quickly, organizers said.

Sager-Fradkin holds a bachelor’s of science degree in wildlife biology from Humboldt State University and an master’s degree in wildlife resources from the University of Idaho. Her work has two primary tracks: the first, to explore wildlife response to removal of the Elwha dams; the second, to contribute to tribal subsistence harvest activities by monitoring populations of elk and deer and the predators that rely upon them. Her current research focuses on cougar genetics, dispersal patterns and diet.

In 2018, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe initiated a cougar research project, leading to a partnership with Panthera. Together they created the Olympic Cougar Project, a large-scale collaborative effort to assess cougar connectivity in western Washington state. This project is currently expanding to establish additional partnerships and study a larger area of the Olympic Peninsula.

Sager-Fradkin has lived in Port Angeles since 1999, and along with her husband is raising two young children in the community. She is also a member of the North Olympic Land Trust Board of Directors and Conservation Committee, as well as the NatureBridge regional Board of Directors.

The breakfast will also highlight the recipient of North Olympic Land Trust’s 2020 “Outstanding in the Field” award; the award recipient will be announced in mid-March. For the past six years, the Land Trust has presented this award to highlight the work done within an individual or organization’s field of expertise that has positively impacted the North Olympic Peninsula and its communities.

Annual sponsors to make possible this free event (donations are accepted) include Country Aire Natural Foods, Ennis Arbor Farm, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Natural Systems Design, Sound Community Bank, the customers of Sunny Farms and Suzi Schuenemann Real Estate Broker, along with event sponsors Jason & Anna Bausher, Koenig Subaru, North Olympic Development Council, Peninsula Environmental Group and Waypoint Law Office.

About the Land Trust

North Olympic Land Trust is “dedicated to the conservation of open spaces, local food, local resources, healthy watersheds and recreational opportunities.” The trust’s mission is to conserve lands that sustain the communities of Clallam County.

Since 1990, the Land Trust has conserved more than 3,505 acres across the North Olympic Peninsula for farms, fish and forests, organization representatives said.

For more information, visit www.northolympic landtrust.org.

Learn about cougars on the North Olympic Peninsula at the North Olympic Land Trust’s annual Conservation Breakfast on April 2. Pictured is “Charlotte.” Photo by Dave Shreffler

Learn about cougars on the North Olympic Peninsula at the North Olympic Land Trust’s annual Conservation Breakfast on April 2. Pictured is “Charlotte.” Photo by Dave Shreffler