The view is breathtaking.

From the heart of Donald Borgman’s property, a vast field of tall, yellow grasses bend in the wind. The grass seems to go on like this forever before reaching shrubs, small trees and ultimately a stand of evergreens that part in the center just enough to reveal Mount Baker and all of its splendor.

Borgman was born on this slice of heaven off Strawberry Point Road on North Whidbey. His father was, too. The 125-acre property has been in the family at least four generations, a unique blend of farmland, mature forest, thick underbrush and wetlands.

Borgman wants the property to stay like this forever.

That is why he recently approached the Whidbey Camano Land Trust about donating most of the land in order to ensure its preservation.

“This is just a really incredible place,” said Ryan Elting, conservation director for the Whidbey Camano Land Trust. “Donald Borgman is the landowner and he’s made this incredibly generous offer to donate this property as a preserve and as a conservation easement.”

Borgman is willing to give away more than 85 acres for a nature preserve and donate a restrictive conservation easement on the remaining 40 acres to let a small-scale hay operation continue.

The Borgman Nature Preserve would be accessible to the public for walking and nature viewing and include a small parking area located off Strawberry Point Road. A trail easement through the conservation easement property would allow the public to reach the nature preserve by foot.

Yet, nothing is set in stone.

To accept the land donation, the land trust needs to secure enough funding to provide stewardship, to permanently protect and acquire the property.

The land trust is looking to raise $75,000 by August from private donors before it can formally accept Borgman’s offer, Elting said. After that, an additional $50,000 will be sought in the future to establish parking and trails.

“The land trust wants to be able to make this be a permanent conservation property and it comes with some responsibilities,” Elting said. “So we know that we are going to have to steward this property in perpetuity and look after it and defend the conservation values. So any time we take on a new conservation property, we have to have the financial ability to take care of it.”

Already, one group has stepped forward to kick-start the fundraising effort.

The Whidbey Audubon Society has agreed to donate $10,000.

Kim Shepard, the group’s conservation chair, and fellow member Ann Casey have visited the property on more than one occasion and immediately recognized its abundant and diverse wildlife habitat.

The property makes up much of a 203-acre watershed that drains into Skagit Bay and features approximately 40 acres of forest that consists of Douglas fir, alder, western hemlock, western red cedar and big leaf maple.

“There’s so much here for birds,” Casey said.

“We have as part of our mission to preserve and protect habitat on Whidbey Island and we were able to put together some money and decided that this was something we wanted to make a priority,” Shepard said. “It seemed a perfect match.

“We’re thrilled to be able to help the land trust acquire this beautiful property. It has amazing habitats. It’s going to have public access. It has biodiversity. It’s part of a big watershed. It rings all the bells.”

On a tour of the property last week, Casey spotted a young great horned owl perched on a branch. On a previous trip in late May, she and Shepard saw a barn owl.

However, what really got their attention last month was evidence of one particular animal that they didn’t actually see.

They spotted very large hoof prints.

“This is the place that Bruiser the elk has chosen to spend a lot of time,” Elting said, referring to Whidbey Island’s lone resident elk that came to the island four years ago. “On our site visit out here, we’re pretty sure we found out where he specifically spends a good deal of his time on this property.”

“Hoof prints in the mud,” Casey said.

“Big hoof prints,” Elting said.

With that in mind, Elting said the plan would be to place trails in areas that would minimize the disturbance of nature.

“We want to keep the big chunks of mature habitat for wildlife to do their thing for their needs,” Elting said. “We want to keep trails in a place that is scenic and give people an idea of the kinds of habitats here and leave enough space for wildlife.”

To learn more or contribute to the Borgman Nature Preserve project, go to www.wclt.org. The Whidbey Camano Land Trust is located at 765 Wonn Road, C-201 in Greenbank.