2008 Conference Overview
Click here for 2009 Conference Information.

Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve tells important stories about our nation’s rural roots and the history of the Pacific Northwest. It is a twenty-four square mile mosaic of working farms, iconic barns-, and hedgerows framing soils and historic structures of national significance. At its heart a vibrant Coupeville, tucked along the shores of Penn Cove. Ebey’s Reserve is an intricate patchwork of old and new—a community striving to protect what is timeless while accommodating change.

Join us as we celebrate the first 30 years of protecting and sustaining Ebey’s Reserve. Whether you are a longtime resident or a first-time visitor to the
Reserve, the Ebey’s Forever Conference will educate and inspire you. Experience Ebey’s through two days of field trips, workshops, keynote speakers, panels, local foods, exhibitions and music—discovering, exploring and celebrating an American cultural landscape.

Friday, November 7: Experience Your Ebey’s – Field Trips
Our guided field trips will provide conference attendees the opportunity to experience the Reserve up close and personal. Morning and afternoon field
trips are offered. Get a rare inside tour of the Reserve.

Friday Night: Celebrate Rural Character(s) Reception
Celebrate the pioneer spirit in all of us!
A community potluck for all Reserve residents and friends at the historic
Crockett Barn. Some of the original visionaries who helped create the Reserve
are still with us, and many others have participated along the way. A night honoring these efforts with live skits, Ebey’s Reserve History Day documentary, live music by the “Prairie Ramblers,” a juried photo exhibition, and more.
Bring your favorite local dish.

Saturday, November 8: Ebey’s Forever Conference
Participants convene at Coupeville High School Performing Arts Center for a morning of keynote speakers, a lunch discussion in the Commons, and panels
and breakout sessions in the afternoon. Hosted by our partners, the panels
and sessions feature leading and compelling voices in historic preservation, sustainable agriculture, education, interpretation, and other disciplines.
An exhibit area will be open throughout the day.

Saturday Night: Barn Dance
Saturday evening will conclude the celebration with Coupeville’s own
“Johnny and the Bulldogs” raising the roof at the historic Smith Barn
for a traditional barn dance. Families welcome!

2008 Keynote Presentations

Click here to download a transcript of this presentation. (51k)

John J. Reynolds
Ebey’s Reserve is our nation’s first National Historical Reserve. Mr. Reynolds will talk about why this place matters— locally, nationally and internationally. What does the future hold for this American cultural landscape, and what is your role in helping to secure its legacy?

Mr. Reynolds has served 39 years in the National Park Service. His distinguished career includes serving as the Deputy Director of the National Park Service, and Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic and Pacific West Regions. He is a co-founder of North Cascades Institute.

“I am excited to be a part of the celebration of the success of Ebey’s Landing. Ebey’s is an integral part of the history in the United States of the creation of a conservation ethic that directly connects significant landscapes and the people who live and work within them. Ebey’s is a forerunner of the enlightened national heritage area movement, and enjoys a significant place in the ongoing history of the evolution of the relationship between conservation and preservation and the lives and livelihoods of people. It is a noble, beautiful place, but its value cannot be understood without paying homage to the community and its endeavors, both inside and outside the boundary, that give Ebey’s its essential vibrancy and life.”—John J. Reynolds

Click here to download a PDF from this presentation. (33mb)

Arlin Wasserman
“The ‘Taste of Place’ reflects the unique qualities of each small and special place on the earth. Soil, climate, and the skilled hands of artisan farmers differ from one side of the hill to another. Our industrial economy wants us to believe that all foods are the same—yellow corn, winter wheat—but when we learn to taste and discern we can savor the taste of sun and mist and rich earth. The value we truly gain from this taste of place is one of preservation of rural working landscapes, culinary traditions, and agricultural communities.”—Arlin Wasserman

Mr. Wasserman will draw from his deep experience in the agricultural and marketing fields, to talk about creating an American taste of place. Learn how we might cultivate Ebey’s Reserve as our place to grow this emerging taste in sustainable agriculture.

Arlin Wasserman is the founder of Changing Tastes, a consultancy that provides brand strategy and management consulting to food companies and community organizations that market sustainable and artisan food products. He is a recipient of a Food and Society Policy Fellowship, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, through which he explored food marketing practices across the world that emphasize place. He is the vice president of corporate citizenship of Sodexho, a Paris-based hospitality company whose 340,000 employees help make it the world’s leading food service provider.

Program Schedule

Click here to download a PDF of the 2008 program schedule.

Click here to download a PDF of the 2008 program schedule.

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The 2008 Ebey's Forever Conference
was sponsored by:

Need more information or have questions?

Please contact Emi Gunn at:
emi_gunn@partner.nps.gov

or 360.678.6084.

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Please call or email us with your contact information.
360.678.6084 or karen_hossfeld@partner.nps.gov