The new preserve was a high priority for protection, as it linked two previously-protected habitat preserves to make a total of nearly forty contiguous acres of protected wildlife habitat.
Fifteen acres nestled between our five-acre Duckabush Oxbow Preserve and our 22-acre Duckabush Wetlands Preserve have now been permanently protected as wildlife habitat, thanks to funding through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the Jefferson Land Trust volunteers, donors, and supporters who care about nurturing a landscape that sustains all living things.
The Duckabush is rich habitat for many species. Its waters are a haven for spawning salmonids–chinook, cutthroat, coho, pink salmon, and federally-endangered summer chum and steelhead. Harlequin ducks breed here. Elk, bear, and beaver are resident–along with many other species. Spotted owl occur in the area too.
The new preserve was a high priority for protection; not only is it rich riparian habitat in itself, but this land also linked two previously-protected habitat preserves to make a total of nearly 40 contiguous acres of protected wildlife habitat.
Riparian habitat corridors like this one are important to wildlife. As a link in the corridor between the Hood Canal and the Olympic National Park and National Forest, this river allows animals to move through contiguous forest cover, water and floodplains—especially important for resiliency of wildlife populations in the face of climate change. Come out with us on May 18 to visit these rich wildlife preserves!
