San Juan Islands Prairie and Bald Restoration

Category Overview

The State Lands Restoration and Enhancement category provides funding to two state agencies to help repair damaged plant and animal habitat. These grants focus on resource preservation and protection of public lands. Projects in this category help bring important natural areas and resources back to their original functions by improving the self sustaining and ecological functionality of sites.

Project Highlights

Department of Natural Resources will use this project to restore and enhance 149 acres of grassland balds and prairie habitat on two Natural Areas in the San Juan Island archipelago. Cypress Island Natural Area contains some of the highest quality grassland bald habitats in the north Puget Sound region, however tree encroachment and invasive species threaten to degrade them. This project will remove encroaching trees, control other invasive plants, and restore treated areas with native grassland seeding and planting. Cattle Point NRCA contains patches of native prairie amid a largely degraded grassland that was historically prairie. Restoration will control invasive plants and revegetate areas with native grassland species. The primary habitat restored is grasslands.

Quick Facts

WWRP Applicant: Natural Resources Dept of Category: State Lands Restoration & Enhancement WWRP Grant: $121,000.00 Applicant Match: $0.00 Project Type: Restoration County: San Juan, Skagit Legislative District: 40 Status: Active RCO Project # 18-1893

Location Details

Accessible only by boat. Northwest of Anacortes 4 miles by boat to the Island of cypress (not on a public ferry route). There are mooring buoys at Pelican Beach and Cypress Head.

What is the WWRP

The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) is a state grant program that creates and conserves local and state parks, wildlife habitat and working farms. The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office administers WWRP grants, and the legislature funds the program.