Brian Wiese of Orcas Island, and Amanda Wedow, of Lopez Island had been appointed to serve as Land Bank Commission, effective immediately.
Wedow was appointed to the post most recently held by Nancy Greene, who served on the commission for 14 years. Her commission term expires in 2018.
Wiese was appointed to fulfill the unexpired of Lisa Botiller, a served on the commission of the publicly owned land conservation agency for six years. The term expires in 2017.
“I’m really pleased to be able to be part of the effort to steward the best of our natural land while providing opportunities for islanders and visitors to enjoy it,” Wiese said in a press release about the appointment, ratified recently by the County Council.
A former planner on the island of Nantucket, Wiese’s career has been in the field of planning, preservation of the open space preservation and public access. Created in 1991, the San Juan County Land Bank was modeled after a similar land conservation agency in Nantucket, the first land bank conservation program of its kind in the U.S.
An Orcas Island property owner since 2004, Wiese and his wife relocated to Orcas a year ago, on the heels of retirement from his profession.
Wedow began a career in conservation at Evergreen State College, where she studied botany, environmental sciences and received a dual Bachelor of Art and Science. She moved to Lopez Island in 2010 and is director of the Lopez Island Conservation Corps.
As the panel’s newest appointees, Wedow and Wiese will join commissioners Amanda Azous, Christa Campbell Doug Strandberg, Matthew Wallrath and current Chairman Jim Skoog on the seven-person panel of volunteers, tasked with oversight of Land Bank operations.