Washington state department of ecology, in partnership with subrecipient great peninsula conservancy will acquire and permanently protect 13.1 acres and 530 feet of eastern hood canal shoreline in…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration program (CFDA 15.614), awarded a $1,333,334 Project Grant to the Washington State Department of Ecology in partnership with the Great Peninsula Conservancy. The funding will support the permanent protection and conservation of 13.1 acres, including 11.1 acres of coastal wetlands, along 530 feet of the Eastern Hood Canal shoreline in Kitsap County, Washington. The protected habitat features eelgrass beds, tidelands, and the lower 400 feet of Johnson Creek, providing vital spawning and nursery grounds for threatened Puget Sound Chinook and Hood Canal summer chum salmon. The grant will help ensure the long-term preservation of this ecologically significant coastal wetland ecosystem through land acquisition and habitat restoration activities.

Washington state department of ecology, in partnership with subrecipient great peninsula conservancy will acquire and permanently protect 13.1 acres and 530 feet of eastern hood canal shoreline in kitsap county, washington. Over 85 (11.1 acres) is coastal wetland, including freshwater wetlands, stream and ponds, estuarine intertidal emergent wetland, aquatic beds, and unconsolidated shore bottom. The coastal wetlands on this property provide vital habitat for many species of fish, coastal-dependent birds, migratory birds, and species listed as threatened or endangered on both a state and federal level. The project site contains several rare and highly significant habitat features including eelgrass beds, shallow tidelands, and the lower 400 feet of johnson creek. The marine nearshore provides eelgrass beds and pocket beaches for juvenile salmon with rich feeding grounds and protection from predators. This quality nearshore habitat is important to puget sound chinook salmon and hood canal summer chum salmon (both listed as threatened under the endangered species act), which spawn in nearby streams. The project site provides important foraging, refuge and saline gradients for juvenile salmon to grow, survive and adapt to the marine environment.