Is that the rare purple-backed beaver impersonator at Silver Reach Preserve?
Silver Reach Preserve on the Big Quilcene River is protected forever as rich habitat for wildlife — as demonstrated by the signs of beaver on the property. (And is that the rare purple-backed beaver impersonator?) The preserve’s name is inspired by the numerous silver (coho) salmon that travel this stretch of the river. Hood Canal summer chum salmon, Puget Sound Steelhead, Puget Sound Chinook, fall chum, pink salmon, cutthroat, and bull trout also use these river reaches as spawning, rearing and feeding habitat.
Sarah says, “This is a really beautiful property that spans both sides of the Big Quil River. It has a great gravel bar, floodplain and channel migration zone. Its 14 acres of forest are in a pretty natural, healthy condition — the previous landowners did a lot of invasive species control, so though there are some invasive weeds to remove and some replanting to do, all in all it’s a nice, intact piece of river and forest.”
Maple, alder, Doug fir, western redcedar, noble fir, and Sitka spruce are the most prominent trees in the mature second-growth forest that dominates the property. A network of footpaths will make this preserve accessible for passive public recreation once habitat restoration work is complete. Funding for the purchase and restoration of this land was provided by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office Salmon Recovery Funding Board and Jefferson County Conservation Futures Fund. During restoration, an area that was cut for timber over a decade ago will be replanted. Eventually, after we are all gone and new generations have taken on the care of this land, it will be an ancient forest again.
