Dugualla Bay Preserve
- Status: Protected in 2009
- Location: North Whidbey Island
- Acreage: 39 acres upland + 45 acres of tidelands
Public Benefits
Wetlands, forest, scenic vistas, wildlife habitat, aquifer recharge areas, potential for restoration to juvenile salmon rearing habitat
Description
On a clear day, the open fields of the Dugualla Bay Preserve frame beautiful views of Mount Baker to the northeast. The low-lying fields east of Dike Road are protected from the Bay by the dike. They are extremely wet in the winter and spring, attracting birds and other wildlife throughout the year. Less than 5 miles from the Skagit River Delta, this property provides a potential opportunity to restore critical rearing habitat for a significant number of juvenile Chinook salmon that are carried to Dugualla Bay within a day of leaving the Skagit River, riding on currents driven by the River’s spring snowmelt.
The property also includes part of a forested slope sheltering seasonal streams that flow through the property from the south.
PROJECT STORY
2009: Protection
The Dugualla Bay Preserve is one of three Dugualla Bay properties (the other two are Dugualla Flats and Dugualla Heights Conservation Easement) protected in a complex set of negotiations over three years.
Dugualla Bay has long been identified as one of the most important salmon habitats in Puget Sound. The Bay lies approximately five miles due west of the mouth of the North Fork of the Skagit River. Out-migrating Skagit River juvenile Chinook and other salmon are carried to the shallow waters of this potentially productive nearshore habitat within a day leaving the Skagit Delta, making the Land Trust’s shoreline properties a top priority for Island County’s salmon recovery strategy. Dugualla Bay also provides habitat for a variety of shorebirds and waterfowl migrating through the area, including Snow Geese, Western Sandpiper, Dunlin, and several duck species.
The three properties, owned by the historic North Whidbey Ducken family, were just days away from being placed on the market when the Land Trust got involved. Together, these three properties protect over 4,500 feet of Dugualla Bay shoreline, which abuts nearly four miles of public coastal tidelands.
With the exception of one acre, the properties were purchased from the Ducken Family LLC, managed by John Ducken. Ducken’s grandfather came to Whidbey in 1911 and purchased land with money he had earned in Alaska’s gold fields. He also helped build the dike along Dugualla Bay and developed the Dugualla Heights neighborhood.
Funding to acquire and protect all three Dugualla Bay properties (152 acres total), valued at $2.3 million, was made possible by a number of competitive grants that the Land Trust wrote and secured. These included grants from the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board, Island County Conservation Futures Fund, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Northwest Wildlife Initiative, and other sources, including private funds raised by the Land Trust. The Ducken Family LLC also helped make the transaction possible with a generous donation of land value.
2010 – 2011: Restoration Feasibility Study
A month after the last purchase papers were signed, the Land Trust began a feasibility study to explore ideas and options for restoring former estuarine habitat to benefit salmon and other wildlife. The study included both the Dugualla Heights Conservation Easement site and the Land Trust’s Dugualla Bay Preserve site just east of Dike Road.
The old fields were once part of an extensive sand spit and estuary complex associated with Dugualla Bay. The dike was completed in 1918. The feasibility study, funded by Washington State’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board, was intended to consider the options and engage the community in the conversations. The Land Trust has been working with many other organizations and neighbors, including the Marine Resources Committee, Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, WSU Beachwatchers, Skagit River System Cooperative, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Island County, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Diking District 3, and the Dugualla Heights community.
