Category Overview
Conserving land along our waterways protects important habitat and helps keep our rivers healthy, clean, and more resilient to drought. Riparian Protection projects conserve and restore fresh and saltwater habitat while protecting fish habitat. In doing so, the grants help provide our families, farms, and fisheries with clean water across the state.
Project Highlights
The Department of Natural Resources will use this grant to acquire approximately 381 acres of the most threatened and ecologically important shoreline and forested upland properties within the Dabob Bay Natural Area, located in Jefferson County within the Hood Canal region of Puget Sound. Dabob Bay is one of the most ecologically diverse and intact estuarine bays remaining in Puget Sound. The project’s target area consists of two priority parcels in Thorndyke Bay (a high quality estuary identified for conservation) and Anderson Creek which is the last remaining private inholding within a high priority restoration site along Dabob Bay proper. The primary conservation opportunity provided by this project is protection of saltmarsh, shoreline, and adjacent forested upland, which will ensure protection of estuarine and riparian processes and water quality, as well as provide opportunities for appropriate low-impact public use.