Priority Areas for Protection

intro Maxwelton Useless Bay Cranberry Lake Monroe Landing North Penn Cove Smith Prairie Smith Prairie Ebey's Reserve Farmland Crockett Lake English Boom Elger Bay Swede Hill North Camano Farmland Livingston Bay Kristoferson Creek Sunset Wetlands South Camano Chapman Creek Glendale Creek Cultus Bay South Whidbey Forest Double Bluff Freeland Mutiny Bay Greenbank Strawberry Point Crescent Harbor Swantown Dugalla Bay cranberry dugalla swantown crescent strawberry monroe northpenn ebeys smith crockett sunset greenbank mutiny swforest freeland useless umaxwelton doublebluff southcamano elger lmaxwelton swede cultus glendale english ncfarmland livingston kristoferson chapman

  • Protected Areas

  • Please click on the highlighted area on the map to view details of the protected area.
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  • The Whidbey Camano Land Trust focuses its land protection efforts on landscapes that have high quality and high priority coastal shoreline and wetlands; freshwater wetlands and streams; working farms; mature forests; lands with species, habitats or ecosystems of significance; and/or areas that are used for open space enjoyment. Our "Land Protection Priority Areas" were specifically identified using scientific and natural resource data, information from natural resource experts, and public input. Below are brief descriptions of these areas.

  • Cranberry Lake

  • These Priority Area wetlands are directly south of Deception Pass State Park and drain into Cranberry Lake. This freshwater wetland near the shoreline has significance due to its size, quality and proximity to estuarine waters.
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  • Dugualla Bay

  • The east side of this Priority Area is one of highest ranked areas for potential salmon recovery in Island County in part because its tidelands and eelgrass beds are important feeding grounds for juvenile salmon migrating from the Skagit Delta.
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  • Dugualla Flats
  • Dugualla Bay
  • Dugualla Heights CE
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  • Crescent Harbor

  • The stream in the center of this Priority Area flows into Crescent Harbor. Protection of the identified upland area would offer significant salmon and riparian habitat benefits. The area also includes prime farmland soils and farmland soils of state importance.
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  • Strawberry Point

  • Strawberry Point has shoreline, forested shoreline bluffs, and farmland. It has been identified as a high priority site for the protection of juvenile salmon and forage fish.
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  • Chamberlain CE
  • Strawberry Point TLT
  • Nearby - Hayes CE and Mitchell CE
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  • Swantown

  • Encompassing the lower reaches of a 3,793-acre watershed, this area functions as an important filtration system for runoff originating in Oak Harbor. The area includes important prime and historic farmland, mature forests and freshwater streams draining into Swantown Lake and Puget Sound.
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  • Swantown TLT
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  • Monroe Landing Farmland

  • The farmland northeast of Penn Cove is well suited for farming due to its prime agricultural soils and agricultural soils of state importance. The southern edge of the Priority Area includes Blower's Bluff, where Peregrine Falcons and Pigeon Guillemot nest.
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  • Monroe Landing TLT
  • Scenic Heights TLT
  • Nearby - Del Fairfax Preserve
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  • North Penn Cove

  • The farmland in this Priority Area is the northern gateway to Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve. These lands include working farmlands and scenic vistas, and the northern Penn Cove shoreline. Woodlots scattered throughout the area provide benefits to wildlife.
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  • Libbey Beach Tidelands
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  • Ebey's Reserve Farmland

  • Farms in this Priority Area have been cultivated for over 150 years; most have prime soils and are designated as farmlands of statewide significance. Farmland protection provides for current and future local food production. Protecting "holes" in the middle of protected farmland areas helps retain connectivity and keep agriculture economically viable. In addition, these farmlands provide critical wildlife habitat, especially for raptors.
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  • Kruegar Farm CE
  • David Engle CE
  • Engle-Brown CE
  • Moon CE
  • Kahn CE
  • Borden CE
  • Purdue CE
  • Harvey CE
  • Nearby - Heath CE
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  • Smith Prairie

  • Includes a small native prairie remnant. Some of the land is used for agricultural purposes, including two conifer seed orchards. As the southern gateway to Ebey's Reserve, protection of the farmland and open space would help maintain historic integrity of the landscape.
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  • Longview CE
  • Sierra Pacific CE
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  • Crockett Lake

  • Includes several habitat types, including the lake itself, surrounding freshwater and estuarine wetlands, and mature riparian forest as well as two prairie remnants, coastal bluffs and an old-growth forest in the adjacent uplands. This area is an Audubon Important Bird Area.
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  • Naas NAP
  • Crockett Lake CE
  • Crockett Lake II
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  • Greenbank

  • The area provides significant benefits to wildlife and provides public recreational opportunities. Within the Priority Area are public walking trails, public beach access, forest land, and open pastures. Additional land protection would add critical forest buffer to Island County's ownership.
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  • Mutiny Bay

  • This Priority Area encompasses a portion of the Mutiny Bay watershed. Protection is a priority because of the mature forest stands and the importance of stream headwaters and wetlands.
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  • Trillium
  • Nearby - Smugglers Cove TLT and Wilbert Trail
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  • South Whidbey Forest

  • Predominantly forestland held in private and public ownership. The focus of this Priority Area is to protect a large forest system with functional stream systems and relatively intact wildlife habitat.
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  • Brainers Road TLT
  • High Point TLT
  • Skyline West TLT
  • Boose CE
  • Saratoga CE
  • Forest Forever CE
  • Putney Woods TLT
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  • Freeland

  • Located north of Freeland, this Priority Area is a mosaic of forest, farmland, and wetlands. Of particular significance is a sphagnum bog - a rare wetland type.
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  • Double Bluff

  • Includes feeder bluffs, forests, and freshwater wetlands, streams and lake. There are also small pockets of farmland. Excellent opportunities for low-impact trails to connect to protected areas, including Deer Lagoon, Double Bluff Beach, and the Wahl Road Forest, all owned by Island County.
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  • Wahl Road TLT
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  • Useless Bay

  • Includes a valuable combination of freshwater wetlands, coastal estuarine habitat, forest, and farmland with forest edges. The diked farmland has prime farmland soils and farmland soils of state significance. Deer Lagoon, which lies adjacent to the Priority Area, has been identified as an Audubon Important Bird Area.
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  • Useless Bay East CE
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  • Upper Maxwelton

  • Located in the upper reaches of the Maxwelton Watershed, the largest watershed on Whidbey Island. This Priority Area includes extensive wetlands, forests, riparian habitat and Maxwelton Creek, one of just two salmon-spawning streams on Whidbey Island.
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  • Maxwelton TLT
  • Maxwelton Preserve
  • Whidbey Institute
  • Nearby - Zimmerman CE
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  • Lower Maxwelton

  • Includes most of the wetlands in the lower reaches of Maxwelton Creek - one of two salmon-spawning streams on Whidbey Island and the county's largest watershed. Protecting land in this area will help maintain and enhance ecological targets and riparian function. Some farmlands provide an "edge effect" for wildlife, increasing habitat diversity and food sources.
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  • Swede Hill

  • While some farmland soils of statewide importance are found in this Priority Area, the primary conservation targets include forests with old-growth characteristics and high bluffs along the Cultus Bay/Possession Point shoreline.
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  • Cultus Bay

  • Located in the lower part of the Cultus Bay watershed, this Priority Area includes large forest and estuarine wetland tracts, waterbird habitat, potential salmon habitat, feeder bluffs, and eelgrass beds.
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  • Glendale TLT
  • Hammons Preserve
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  • Glendale Creek

  • Glendale Creek is one of two salmon-spawning streams on Whidbey Island. Because of its importance to salmon and other wildlife species, protecting the riparian area is crucial to the health of the creek and quality of salmon habitat. The headwaters of the creek are within the Priority Area and include a large wetland complex.
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  • Dalzell CE
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  • Sunset Wetlands

  • Wetlands, streams, ponds and forests all help maintain a healthy, functioning watershed in this Priority Area which also serves as an aquifer recharge area. Protecting this land is important for water quality. The coastal shoreline includes feeder bluffs important to forage fish and salmon.
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  • North Camano Farmland

  • Comprised of prime farmland soils and farmland soils of state importance, this Priority Area is the largest continuous stretch of farmland on Camano Island. It is a source for local food production as well as offering scenic views along the only route onto and off of Camano Island.
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  • English Boom

  • Located along the Pacific Flyway, this Priority Area provides critical habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife. Along the shoreline, eelgrass beds provide habitat for forage fish, which in turn provide food for salmonid species migrating from the nearby Skagit and Stillaguamish Rivers as well as herons from the adjacent Davis Slough Heronry (65 acres protected by the Land Trust).
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  • Davis Slough CE Phase II
  • Nearby - Davis Slough
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  • Kristoferson Creek

  • Kristoferson Creek is currently the only salmon-bearing stream on Camano Island. This Priority Area includes a large working farm, a freshwater pond, extensive stream and riparian areas and Triangle Cove, a large estuarine ecosystem.
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  • Camano Ridge TLT
  • Kristoferson Creek
  • Kristoferson Creek II
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  • Livingston Bay

  • The Livingston Bay Priority Area covers the western half of Port Susan Bay from the Camano shoreline to the Snohomish County line. It also includes diked agricultural land and forested uplands. This area is a federally-recognized important bird area as it is a critical stopover point for shorebirds and waterfowl migrating along the Pacific Flyway.
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  • Livingston Bay
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  • Chapman Creek

  • This Priority Area covers about half of this watershed and encompasses the creek's riparian area from its headwaters to Saratoga Passage. Land protection in this area will help maintain and improve watershed functions and allow for future salmon passage up the creek.
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  • Elger Bay

  • Protecting land within this Priority Area would provide opportunities to restore estuary habitat and maintain current forest and shoreline conditions. The area is near Cama Beach State Park, Camano State Park, and Elger Bay County Park.
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  • South Camano

  • The forest of the South Camano Island Priority Area contains a rare big-leaf maple/fringe cup forest plant community that is listed as a Natural Heritage Element Occurrence by the Washington State Natural Heritage Program. This Priority Area also includes Camano Head, a feeder bluff that is crucial to migrating salmon heading to and from the Skagit and Stillaguamish Rivers.
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