In 2023 and 2024, directly adjacent to the Land Trust’s Livingston Bay Tidelands, the Land Trust facilitated the acquisition of 149 acres, consisting of three different properties, by the Tulalip Tribes at Livingston Bay. These properties are part of a historic estuary that was diked and drained for agricultural use in the late 1800’s.

Through these acquisitions, potential future restoration of this former estuary is a step closer to reality. Livingston Bay is part of Port Susan Bay, a regionally important area for fish and wildlife, particularly salmon and the forage fish they eat. Despite extensive conservation efforts, intact estuaries for juvenile fish have become rare throughout the region due to land conversion. Loss of these estuarine “nurseries,” where juvenile fish shelter and feed before their journey to the Pacific Ocean, is now one of the major limiting factors in the recovery of Puget Sound salmon.

While acquisition of these properties makes potential restoration more feasible, it is likely additional land will be needed before restoration can begin. A restoration feasibility study commissioned in 2022 determined that the most cost-effective restoration scenario, and the most beneficial for habitat, is full-scale restoration of the 300-acre project area. However, now that the Tulalip Tribes own a contagious 149-acre block of land, more studies can be conducted to explore whether additional restoration scenarios, ones that were not considered previously, might prove feasible.