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Page A-IO - Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 5, 2014
Johns Creek Estuary l00¢ads back to nature
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun corn
The Johns Creek estuary was once
prime habitat for summer chum salmon
and other wetland animals.
For the past 65 years, it has been
home to the nine-hole Bayshore Golf
Course.
On Tuesday, the Capital Land Trust
celebrated its recent acquisition of the
property, which it plans to revert to a
natural saltwater estuary.
About 50 people turned out for the
event. Capital Land Trust purchased
the 74 acres of land at the mouth of
Johns Creek last year for $2.3 million.
The property includes 4,000 feet of
marine shoreline and 27 acres of salt-
marsh habitat.
"We have closed on a lot of different
projects during my time as an executive
director ... we don't do celebrations like
this for every one," said Eric Erler, the
former executive director for the private
land trust.
Capital Land Trust has conserved
more than 14 miles of Puget Sound
shoreline and 5,000 acres of wildlife
habitat in Thurston, Mason, Grays Ha-
bor and Lewis counties during its 27
years in existence.
Erler called the land "one of the most
intact, beautiful saltwater marshes," in
the South Puget Sound.
The mouth of Johns Creek is the site
of a Squaxin village, according to the
land trust.
"This or near here is the site of the
largest, or one of the largest, longhouses
ever built," Erler said.
Capital Land Trust plans to work
with the Squaxin Island Tribe and
other agencies to remove a 1,400-foot
dike and restore the Johns Creek Estu-
ary, returning the land to prime salmon
habitat.
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
Project manager Laurence Reeves leads a tour of the Bayshore Golf Course, which was recently purchased by the
Capital Land Trust. The trust plans to remove a dike and plant native plants to restore the land to its natural state
as the Johns Creek estuary.
The trust is working with Mason
Conservation District to develop a resto-
ration design for the land. Project Man-
ager Laurence Reeves said they would
likely start major work in 2015.
"At this point, we don't have specific
engineering designs," he said.
Plans will include removing bridges
on the property, planting native plants
on fairways and removing the dike,
Reeves said.
The restoration project is part of a
I. 6th Annual Day of Caring
Tuesday
June 17t"
Volunteer as a
Group or
Individual
It's easy!
It's fun!
It's Living
United!
Download volunteer registration forms at
ww00v.unitedwaymasonco.org
or call us at 360-426-4999.
To help match volunteers to projects & ensure enough lunches,
please RSVP by June 6th/
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LIVE UNITED
larger effort by the Capital Land Trust
and the Squaxin Island Tribe to pre-
serve key locations on Oakland Bay.
The Bayshore project involved a
partnership between the land trust, the
Squaxin Island Tribe, the Washington
state Department of Ecology, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Salmon
Recovery Funding Board, Taylor Shell-
fish Farms, Mason Conservation Dis-
trict and Mason County and the Trust
for Public Land. A portion of the fund-
ing for the purchase of the property
came from the Washington Wildlife and
Recreation Program.
Preserving the land will reduce wa-
ter pollution, keeping Oakland Bay safe
for swimming, fishing, shellfish farming
and other activities, according to the
land trust.
"It's important to preserve the wa-
ter quality here and that will keep our
shellfish industry thriving," said Bill
Taylor of Taylor Shellfish.
Taylor thanked the Capital Land
Trust for preserving the property, which
he called one of the "crown jewels" of
Oakland Bay.
Ar the restoration project is com-
pleted, Reeves said the public will be
invited to explore the property for "pas-
sive recreation" activities, such as bird-
watching. The finished property will
likely include walking trails, he said.
herell be an opportunity for people to
come in and see what we've done," he said.
Think no one reads the newspaper anymore?
t00TH I N KAGAI N
80%
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