Samish Island - Skagit Land Trust

[48.566780,-122.503950]

Property Type: Easement, Trust-Owned
Date Added: 2019

Samish Island
97 acres
Open to the Public, Featured Property
Bird & Wildlife Watching
Hiking & Walking

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Samish Island Conservation Area is made up of the end of the isthmus that connects Samish Island, and the forested “coming home” view for islanders and visitors. The 100+ year-old forest that encompasses both sides of Samish Island Road, provides nesting, roosting, perching, and foraging habitat for a variety of raptors such as the Bald Eagle, Osprey, Cooper’s Hawk, and owls, as well as migratory song birds. It is used as a staging and feeding area for herons that nest nearby. The property also features 1,600 feet of natural shoreline on Padilla and Samish Bays.

Conservation Story

The creation of the Samish Island Conservation Area is a testament to the community’s love and support for this unique property. Over the course of four years The Trust was able to purchase 34.25 acres of the forested uplnads known as the Samish Flower Farm, and then 50 acres at the entrance to Samish Island.

More than 500 families, businesses, and organizations donated towards the purchase of these properties. The Conservation Fund provided the Trust a partial bridge loan while the Trust awaited grant funds from the National Coastal Wetlands grant program and Washington State’s Estuary & Salmon Restoration Program. Without conservation ownership, the property could have been cleared and subdivided into numerous smaller lots. The purchase of these 84.25 acres ensures that the land will remain forever undeveloped.

In addition, 14 adjacent acres were donated as a conservation easement in 1995 and 2004 by the Squires family. This area formerly hosted a large Great Blue Heron nesting site, which may again be occupied under protection.

Site History and Ecology

The Samish Island Conservation Area has ecological qualities that are increasingly rare in Puget Sound. The Conservation Area protects wetlands and freshwater emergent wetlands, a large sand and gravel beach adjacent to Padilla Bay tidelands, and over 24 acres of complex mature forest (130+ year old trees). Read more about our ongoing restoration project.

The marine shoreline along the Samish Island Conservation Area is part of Padilla Bay, which hosts the second largest eelgrass meadows in the western United States. These meadows provide a number of important ecosystem functions, including foraging areas and shelter to young fish and invertebrates, food for migratory birds and spawning surfaces. Herring, crab, and juvenile Chinook salmon rely on these eelgrass beds. In turn, resident Orca Whales rely on the Chinook for a substantial part of their diet.

This area is considered a birding hotspot, with 220 species identified on Samish Island. One of the largest concentrations of waterfowl and dabbling ducks in the Pacific NW use Padilla Bay during fall and spring migrations. The maturing forest and intertidal areas of the Samish Island Conservation Area are a haven for owls, raptors and numerous shorebirds. Thousands of Brant geese can be seen just offshore, including the gray-bellied (High Arctic) Brant, one of the rarest geese, yet common in these waters.

Samish Island Conservation Area is also adjacent to the Trust’s Samish Island Great Blue Heron colony, which was established in the 1930s. While the rookery became abandoned in 2017, herons can return to former nesting sites even after many years, and herons still use this area for foraging and roosting. By protecting this property, we ensure that additional nesting trees are available to the herons as well as ensuring a protected buffer area to prevent disturbances.

*Madrona and Oceanspray on the hillside of Samish Island Conservation Area.*

Access

Samish Island Conservation Area is home to an upland, forested trail through the ‘Flower Farm’. Across Samish Island Road there is another trail with benches that takes you to the beach. There are two parking spaces on the upland part of the property, please be courteous of the neighbors who share the driveway.