Hikers to get more trails near major Pierce County park after 20 acres conserved
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Great Peninsula Conservancy bought 21 acres for $1.2M and will transfer ownership.
- PenMet Parks will open the conserved land to passive recreation in early 2026.
- Grants prohibit development on the land, which includes forest and a fish-bearing stream.
Hikers and nature-viewers will get more space to roam on the Gig Harbor peninsula following the preservation of 21 acres adjacent to Sehmel Homestead Park.
Great Peninsula Conservancy, a regional land trust, purchased the property from a private seller at just over $1.2 million and will transfer ownership to PenMet Parks, a news release from the organizations said Nov. 24. Great Peninsula Conservancy spokesperson Samantha Hale told The News Tribune that the deal closed on Nov. 21.
PenMet Parks plans to leave the property unchanged, park district spokesperson Brynn Grimley told The News Tribune Nov. 24.
“ ... the really amazing thing about this property is the property owner actually had really taken great care of this land and created walking trails already on site, so our plan is to just continue that use of the property,” she said.
The site is named for the seller’s father, Forrest Butterfield, but flipped: Butterfield Forrest, keeping the double “r.” It includes a salmon-bearing stream and mature forest next to Sehmel Homestead Park, and combined with the park will bring the total acreage of protected land to over 100 acres. Over half a mile of freshwater stream runs through the site, including over 1,000 feet of Nelyaly Creek, the news release said.
“Nelyaly Creek has documented use by coastal trout, coho, and chum salmon,” Great Peninsula Conservancy’s Senior Conservation Project Manager Ali Querin wrote via a spokesperson. “The estuary habitat at the mouth of Nelyaly Creek, which is approximately 1,000 feet from the newly protected Butterfield Forrest, includes habitat utilized by Endangered Species Act-listed (threatened) Puget Sound Chinook Salmon. We’re thrilled that this property can support vital fish habitat while also adding passive recreation opportunities in Gig Harbor.”
The park district plans to open the newly-conserved land to the public in early 2026, according to the news release. Grimley said it’s too early to share a more specific opening date, and assessments of the property to ensure it’s safe and ready for public use are ongoing.
The park district is still determining the best way for visitors to access the forest, but their goal is for folks to start from Sehmel Homestead Park, she said. Sehmel has parking and the park district will also consider adding smaller lots in other places, based on their assessment of the newly-conserved property, to accommodate potential increases in foot traffic. The trail systems will link together, she confirmed in a follow-up email.
Grimley said the acquisition “aligns perfectly” with PenMet Parks’ mission and vision. The news release notes that the park district identified conservation and passive recreation as among the community’s highest priorities in their 2023 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan.
“ ... this was a win-win for us in that it’s coming from a family that really loved the land and has taken care of it for decades, and they saw an opportunity to pass on their love to the larger community,” Grimley said.
The news release said that the former property owner purchased the land in the 1990s and “worked hard to restore the former timberland into a healthy, diverse forest.”
Grimley also expressed the park district’s gratitude for their partnership with the Great Peninsula Conservancy. Acquiring the land on their own would have been much more difficult because of the cost, she said, and as far as she’s aware the park district won’t face any costs related to the transfer in ownership from GPC.
Two large grants are funding the property purchase: $1.09 million from Pierce County Conservation Futures and $92,623 from the Salmon State Riparian Program administered by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, according to the news release.
The land trust also drew upon funds from their fundraising committee, the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula Land Fund; and the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor also contributed funds toward the total purchase cost.
The grants include restrictive covenants dictating that the property be used for passive recreation only, such as hiking and nature-viewing; and prohibiting future development on the property.
Great Peninsula Conservancy “maintains hundreds of acres and miles of publicly accessible lands in Kitsap, north Mason, and west Pierce counties,” according to their website. Elsewhere in the Gig Harbor area, the land trust played a key role in facilitating deals between the city of Gig Harbor and private landowners to conserve some 50 acres mainly confined to the area between the Cushman Trail and Harborview Drive. The city acquired the last parcel of that conservation area in August 2024, The News Tribune reported.
This story was originally published November 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
