Here are five Nature Conservancy preserves in Washington that you can visit anytime to immerse yourself in the beauty of nature, while learning about The Nature Conservancy’s conservation efforts.
Celebrating 2022: Successes and Fun
Rock Creek Acquisition
The Yellow Island Experience
Grant will support taking youth to TNC preserves
The Nature Conservancy’s Partners to Preserves program has been awarded a grant through Washington’s No Child Left Inside grant program to support bringing 400 youth to TNC preserves across Washington over the next two years.
TNC’s Partners to Preserves program works with organizations serving youth to bring their outdoor programs to TNC preserves in Pacific, Jefferson, Okanagan, San Juan, Island, Kitsap, Snohomish, Kittitas, Grant, and Douglas counties. Youth will participate in science and learn natural and cultural history, art, hiking, and camping.
Gift of Land Will Aid Pygmy Rabbit Recovery
Exploring Moses Coulee/Beezley Hills
Exploring Moses Coulee I walk past a Say’s phoebe nest in the rafters of the patio. The parents seem to have adjusted to my common intervention into their space. I follow the edge of the lake to the trailhead and as I enter the trail, my attention shifts from the mallards and American coots diving in the water to the tall sagebrush and rubber rabbitbrush. Remnants of several different animals remind me of the varying wildlife that also call the Preserves home. I step over mule deer and sage thrasher tracks in the dried dirt, pass jackrabbit scats, and hike around large badger holes that are likely now home to smaller mammals.
Conservancy’s Washington Lands Reopening with Caution
In alignment with Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision to partially reopen state recreational lands incorporating social distancing guidelines, lands owned or managed by The Nature Conservancy in Washington will reopen May 5 with some important exceptions.
Both the Yellow Island Preserve in the San Juans and the popular Bluff Trail at the Robert Y. Pratt Preserve at Ebey’s Landing on Whidbey Island, will remain closed for the safety of our staff, volunteers and visitors, and for preservation of fragile lands.
We Can Be Champions for Biodiversity
Shrub-steppe Explorations: Our Stewards bring the Coulee To You
By Lane Justus and Emily Crabill, AmeriCorps members serving TNC
Our most recent day working in the field was particularly bittersweet, as our mission for the day was to post temporary closure signs at all major access points of the preserves. Being that this is just the beginning of our service, we are especially sad to see the preserves close, but at the same time, we are truly grateful that The Nature Conservancy is taking serious and thoughtful action during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we both completely understand and support the fact that we must work to protect people just as we protect our lands, we were excited to get out there, observe new places and become more familiar with the preserves.
With only a couple days of Moses Coulee/Beezley Hills field experience under our belts, the preserves are still elusive to us. While receiving our field orientation, and later using ArcGIS to navigate the area to put up closure signs, we’ve gotten to see quite a bit of the preserves from the comfort of our vehicles. However, every time we learn something new about the landscape, we’re struck by how vast these preserves actually are.
Even though our time, thus far, hasn’t encompassed exploring the preserves as much as we would like, we remain totally amazed by the scenery at our lodge. We feel a little lucky to be quarantined in an environment that most others would dream of being in. We’d love to virtually share our front door excursions with you.
Wildflowers push through the rugged landscape at McCartney Creek in Central Washington. Photo by Emily Crabill.
Since beginning our AmeriCorps service about three weeks ago, we’ve seen temperatures drop to the mid 20s and several inches of snowfall, but in contrast, we’ve also experienced warmer temperatures, sunshine and high winds. When out in the field to post closure signs, conditions seemed to change by the hour. It was sunny one minute and then ominous clouds gloomed over us. We even experienced a dense snowfall that quickly turned to rain.
Because spring is arriving, we were on the lookout for wildflowers in bloom throughout the day. Near Cowboy Camp, we spotted woolly-pod locoweed and yellow bell, and at McCartney Creek Falls, we saw sagebrush buttercup nestled between the rocks, along with some desert parsley and woodland star. As the wet snow landed on top of the moss blanketing the soil crust, we stared in awe as the moss’ classic dark green color slowly shifted to that of a bright, vibrant green.
As the day came to its end, we headed back to our lodge. We continued up the driveway, and like always, we were quickly reminded of how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy all the nature that the preserves have to offer, from right outside our doorstep. With a small lake nearby, we are almost always able to hear and see our natural environment at work. Amongst the array of wildlife, we’ve been able to identify a couple of normal visitors: Say’s phoebes, red-winged blackbirds, California quails and American crows, to list a few. By day, the duck calls and bird songs are our working soundtrack, and by night we are reminded that we aren’t alone by the deep croaking of Pacific tree frogs.
Banner photo by Anna Snook
We filled in the last puzzle piece at Foulweather Bluff
This latest acquisition protects the Preserve’s second-most important physical feature, after its namesake 50-foot feeder bluff, a brackish marsh which is fed by a freshwater drainage from the northeast. This site has been identified by the Washington Natural Heritage Program as one of the top 20 most significant coastal wetlands in the Puget Sound region. The driftwood berm separating the marsh from Hood Canal is breached periodically by winter storms and high tides, introducing a more saline element into the marsh.
San Juan Islands - Yellow Island and the islands beyond
Less widely known is the fact that The Nature Conservancy also stewards three other islands in the San Juan Islands and holds the conservation easement on a fourth island. Each month, I hop in the Conservancy’s trusty aunty green boat, to check on these islands and monitor the flora and fauna throughout the year.
Come with me on a quick tour of the Conservancy’s San Juan Island properties. Along the way, I’ll highlight the works of a few local authors who have written about the area.
