Other News
Apr 11, 2024: Community Meeting: Sea Level Rise Adaptation for Outer Bay and Agate Beach Areas on Lopez Island
Mar 11, 2024: Queers in Unexpected Places: Searching for (and Finding) Gender and Sexual Non-Conformity in the Rural and Early PNW
Mar 7, 2024: DRAFT Richardson Marsh Preserve Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
Dec 5, 2023: County Council Member Jane Fuller and Senator Liz Lovelett to Host Public Meeting on Lopez
Nov 3, 2023: County and Town Send Open Letter to State Officials Regarding Impacts of Poor Ferry Service
Sep 29, 2023: Conservation Land Bank Announces Special Meeting to Discuss Watmough Bay Preserve Addition
Sep 14, 2023: The mobile dental van is coming to Lopez! // ¡La camioneta dental móvil ya llega a López!
Aug 22, 2023: San Juan County Adopts 32-Hour Work Week in the Name of Fiscal Health, Recruitment, and Islander Wellness
May 25, 2023: Recap of Lopez Neighborhood Meeting Regarding the Relocation of Public Works Facilities
May 23, 2023: District 3 Councilmember Jane Fuller Opens Office on Lopez and Hosts Community Conversation
Apr 17, 2023: Give Lopez Starts April 17th - A two week fundraiser benefiting 15 Lopez Island Non-Profits
Sep 22, 2022: Interim Watmough Preserve Addition Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
San Juan County Land Bank Partners with Local Student for Community Discussion
Jun 30, 2021
By San Juan County Land Bank
Discussion participants’ opinions help shape the direction around controversial land conservation topics in real time.
Kaj Litch, a Spring Street International School Junior recently approached the Land Bank to collaborate with him on an internship project - a new and innovative way to gauge public opinion by using the digital tool Pol.is. Kaj is an intern with Pol.is and has spent the past semester working with Pol.is CEO and Co-founder Colin Megill. Using real-time machine learning, Pol.is acquires and interprets input from local participants on a large scale, for the purpose of identifying consensus around controversial questions.
Such a tool fits directly into the Land Bank’s next step to improve the organization’s conservation programs for and partnerships with our island communities. According to Mr. Lincoln Bormann, the Land Bank’s Director, “The Commission and the Staff are very excited about the possibilities that Kaj’s work can provideâ€
Director Bormann said, “This spring we completed our Community Conversation Series where we gathered ideas from small groups of residents about the benefits and needs of the Land Bank’s programs. Kaj’s work will help us engage more of the community and expand these conversations about our part in land conservation. We are asking for and hope many residents will join the effort and inform our understanding of what they want for this area, now and for future generations.â€
Here’s how it works. The discussion will be open to any local resident through the Island Sounder Website. A series of short statements will be presented where a person can select “agree,†“disagree†or “pass/unsure.†Participants will also be able to add their own statement about the topic or policy being discussed, on which other users may comment. As comments accumulate and receive votes, Pol.is algorithms will sort participants into clusters and reveal areas of strong consensus.
The discussion is now open and available through the Island Sounder Website and via Facebook. It will run for four weeks. If you have any questions, please email Kaj Litch at kajlitch@gmail.com.
About the San Juan County Land Bank
The San Juan County Land Bank is a local land conservation program, created by voters in 1990, and funded by a 1% real estate excise tax paid by purchasers of property in San Juan County. Through conservation easements or outright purchases, the Land Bank protects special places in the Islands including coastlines, farmland, forests and wetlands.
Such a tool fits directly into the Land Bank’s next step to improve the organization’s conservation programs for and partnerships with our island communities. According to Mr. Lincoln Bormann, the Land Bank’s Director, “The Commission and the Staff are very excited about the possibilities that Kaj’s work can provideâ€
Director Bormann said, “This spring we completed our Community Conversation Series where we gathered ideas from small groups of residents about the benefits and needs of the Land Bank’s programs. Kaj’s work will help us engage more of the community and expand these conversations about our part in land conservation. We are asking for and hope many residents will join the effort and inform our understanding of what they want for this area, now and for future generations.â€
Here’s how it works. The discussion will be open to any local resident through the Island Sounder Website. A series of short statements will be presented where a person can select “agree,†“disagree†or “pass/unsure.†Participants will also be able to add their own statement about the topic or policy being discussed, on which other users may comment. As comments accumulate and receive votes, Pol.is algorithms will sort participants into clusters and reveal areas of strong consensus.
The discussion is now open and available through the Island Sounder Website and via Facebook. It will run for four weeks. If you have any questions, please email Kaj Litch at kajlitch@gmail.com.
About the San Juan County Land Bank
The San Juan County Land Bank is a local land conservation program, created by voters in 1990, and funded by a 1% real estate excise tax paid by purchasers of property in San Juan County. Through conservation easements or outright purchases, the Land Bank protects special places in the Islands including coastlines, farmland, forests and wetlands.