Category Overview
As Washington continues to grow, many of our most beautiful areas are threatened with development. In addition, native ecosystems are receding, and important wildlife habitat and migratory pathways are being cut off. The Natural Areas category helps combat this by funding projects that protect wildlife habitat and rare geological features while also preserving public access for back-country recreation.
Project Highlights
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to protect 48.17 acres of nearshore, riparian, & upland forest habitat within the Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area (NRCA) boundary, located in Thurston County within minutes of Olympia and Lacey. DNR’s goal is to acquire the Priority Property for permanent protection in the NRCA, enhancing landscape-level connectivity between existing NRCA lands & the Henderson Inlet shoreline. The NRCA was one of the first designated in 1987 under the NRCA Act (RCO 79.71). It protects a diverse array of salt & freshwater habitats & wildlife species on the periphery of one of the state’s faster growing urban areas. It is a regionally significant refuge for wildlife, hosting shorebirds, songbirds, harbor seals, river otters, bald eagles, a heron rookery, a colony of double-crested cormorants, native Olympia oysters, & one of the largest maternity bat colonies in the State. With its unique tribal, logging, & restoration history, the NRCA is a popular destination for people to connect with nature, as well as for environmental & cultural resource education, frequently visited by K-12 students & higher education classes. The NRCA is included on the National Register of Historic Places as a rural historic landscape for its rich human history involving tribes & early settlers to southern Puget Sound, as well as logging & shellfish industries. More than 20 archeological sites are identified for protection within the NRCA boundary.