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 will use this grant to purchase about 127 acres of habitat on Cypress Island, including about 108 acres of uplands and 19 acres of Riparian Protection and tidelands. These acquisitions will help to protect a native grassland bald, one of the best examples of the Roemer’s fescue-field chickweed-junegrass plant community and help to conserve habitat for more than 130 species of shore, wetland and forest resident migrant birds known to inhabit Cypress Island. This project supports passive recreational opportunities in Skagit County.