The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will use this grant to buy 112 acres on Harstine Island to protect the riparian areas and provide recreation facilities to serve the growing population of south Puget Sound. Acquisition will connect Harstine Island State Park to other public tidelands, creating 2 miles of shoreline open to the public. It also will provide an upland access for McMicken Island State Park, which you can get to only by boat. The property is rich in habitat, containing four salmon streams, nearly 10 acres of wetlands, a beach, bluffs, pocket estuaries, and a forest. At low tide, a sand spit, or tombolo, connects the beach to McMicken Island. The tidelands are rich with seabirds, marine mammals, and shellfish including mussels, geoduck, horse, manila, and butter and littleneck clams. State Parks will contribute $2,550,250 from a federal grant. (08-1330)