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 buy about 381 acres of the most threatened and ecologically important shoreline and forested uplands in the Dabob Bay Natural Area. Located in rapidly growing eastern Jefferson County, Dabob Bay is one of the most ecologically diverse and intact estuarine bays remaining in Puget Sound. The land includes property on Thorndyke Bay, which is a high-quality estuary identified within the Dabob Bay Natural Area for conservation by the Washington State Natural Heritage Program, and property along Anderson Creek, which is the last private land remaining within a high-priority restoration site along Dabob Bay. With this grant, the department can ensure protection and restoration of natural ecological processes and water quality at this site before further development greatly increases the costs and challenges of conserving this exceptional coastal ecosystem.