News from the Society
Last Updated: Dec 17th, 2009
No, we haven't moved!
Some letters to our Vancouver PO Box have been returned to sender with the notation that the Society has moved. Some of our mail to that Box has been getting through to us. We were unaware of the situation until recently and asked the Post Office to investigate. The problem has now been corrected. If you sent mail to the Vancouver PO Box in the last three months that was returned, please resend it with our apologies for the inconvenience."
President's Message, Fall 2009
What do the Winter Olympics and your society have in common? By the end of February 2010, the games and our options to purchase more lands in the Inlet will both be history. The economy continues to adversely affect our fundraising efforts. Contributions to both the Society and our companion Foundation are at the lowest point in the last fifteen years. It appears unlikely at this point that we will be able to exercise any of our options. We will be negotiating with Island Timberlands to extend the term of our options. We will continue to seek another strategic partner. You will recall the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Tula Foundation enabled our 2003 acquisition of 2,221 acres surrounding Mac's homestead.
We have done much to preserve and expand the Marine Park at Princess Louisa Inlet over the years and your executive is committed to continuing our efforts. We will not give up. As we have done in the past, we will continue to work into the future to carry out Mac's direction to "keep it just like it is".
The natural beauty and unique ecosystem that make up the Inlet are too valuable to lose both now and for future generations. We need your help. Whatever you can do to assist us in achieving this goal will be most gratefully received.
We were pleased to have Ming Neil back at the Inlet this year as the Ranger. Her term was shortened slightly as BC Parks budget was reduced by the Provincial Government. Her devotion to the Inlet is obvious to all and appreciated.
The Society continues to support the facilities at the Inlet. Last year, we purchased a basket stretcher and associated rescue equipment to assist with accidents on the higher trails. We received a report early this year that the mooring buoys at MacDonald Island were out of position. We had them repositioned and overhauled to ensure they continue to be safe to use.
For our members from both the US and Canada, this is a time of Thanksgiving. This fall, let us all give extra thanks for Mac's foresight in donating this jewel to the international boating community.
President
"Hanging Out" at Princess Louisa
Labor Day Weekend 2006
Dear Members,
For the second time in as many years, we had the opportunity to introduce people to Princess Louisa. This time it was our daughter, son-in-law and grandsons – 12 and 4. It was a joy – though a bit crowded in our 36’ GB.
Please enrol us in a Life Membership in the hopes that this special place will be ther for Lyle to take his grandchildren to. As his father said, “there aren’t many places that are as special as people say they are… This is definitely one of them”.
Thank you,
Anacortes, WA
P.S. We will be introducing his aunt, uncle (our son), and his 8 year old cousin to the wonders of Princess Louisa over Labor Day weekend this year.
On October 10, 2003, the Government of British Columbia informed us that it was accepting the generous gift of the approximately 2200 acres surrounding the existing Princess Louisa Marine Park. from the Princess Louisa International Society and The Nature Conservancy of Canada.
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Our goal, a dream less than five years ago, has become reality.
Your Directors have worked hard to realize this goal. They are to be congratulated for bringing it to fruition. You will have read in the President’s Message that our President is stepping down. Bill Botham’s leadership of the Society brought (sometimes pulled) us successfully through this fundraising campaign. It was Bill who lead the negotiations with Weyerhaeuser for the original options to purchase. It was Bill who recognized that we could not achieve our goal without a partner. It was Bill who convinced the Nature Conservancy of Canada to join with us in this project. On behalf of the members, Bill, thank you.
Our goal would not have been realized, however, without you, our members. Patrons, Contributors, Donors, Life Members, Annual Members: twelve hundred people share Mac’s vision, now the Society’s Mission, to protect and preserve this beautiful fjord. To keep it “just like it is”.
Many of you gave money through donations or renewed memberships; others bought our store items; still more introduced others to the Society’s aims; many dropped a line of encouragement by e-mail, fax, letters or phone calls to assure us we were on the right track; that in pursuing this dream of further land acquisition in Princess Louisa Inlet we had your support. Each of these meant a lot.
Your financial support contributed more than just the additional necessary dollars. Your contributions convinced major donors that you believed in this project and helped convince them that they should, too.
Your words of faith and encouragement and stories of what Princess Louisa Inlet meant to you seemed to always come at the right time. When the goal seemed too distant or too difficult; when we had fund raising obstacles, your letters or e-mails would arrive and renew our desire to carry on.
The Park is now 50 times larger than Mac’s original grant. You did it. Thank you.
If you are writing to us at the Seattle address, please note that the United States Postal Service has changed our Zip Code. Our Seattle mailing address is now: P.O. Box 17279, Seattle WA 98127-0979
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Princess Louisa International SocietyPO Box 17279
Seattle, WA, 98107-0979, USA
OR
Princess Louisa International SocietyBox 33918 - Station "D"
Vancouver, BC, V6J 4L7, Canada
e-mail :