Did you know that natural shorelines make Bainbridge Island more resilient to the impacts of climate change? With over 60% of the island’s shoreline developed, protecting and restoring shorelines is a high priority for the Bainbridge Island Land Trust.
For example, Little Manzanita Bay is home to coho salmon, cutthroat trout and more. Furthermore, its estuary (the area where the freshwater stream mixes with saltwater at the entrance to the bay) is one of two unaltered areas of its kind on the entire island. With the support of the community, the Land Trust protected this undisturbed landscape as the 13-acre Miller-Kirkman Preserve in 2017.
Thanks to the ongoing Stand for the Land campaign, the Land Trust is excited to announce the protection of the 10 acres immediately north of the preserve! This new acquisition includes a 787-foot stretch of North Fork Manzanita Creek and a rich wetland complex and forest – providing ample room for young salmon to grow into strong, healthy adults.
These salmon head out to Puget Sound and beyond as adults, then return to spawn here on the island. Little Manzanita Bay exemplifies the importance of conservation on Bainbridge Island for the greater Puget Sound ecosystem. “Our community is playing a direct role in the region’s salmon recovery efforts,” said Cullen Brady, Executive Director of the Land Trust, “Miller-Kirkman Preserve and the recent North Fork Manzanita Creek parcel are the beginning of what we hope to be a complex of connected and protected landscapes focused around Little Manzanita Bay.” This property is currently not open to the public.
PSE congratulates the Land Trust on the conservation success!