Land on Hood Canal Off Limits to Developers

As houses continue to fill in the shoreline of Puget Sound, a environmental group tasked with preserving wild flora and fauna has bought a pristine parcel of land on Hood Canal near Quilcene and a half-interest in a strip along the shore.

The land, once marketed as prime for development, will be preserved for future generations of people, animals and plants.

The Nature Conservancy of Washington sealed the deal Aug. 14 on the 28-acre upland piece they bought outright, plus a 30-acre shoreline parcel in which the group bought a half-interest, said Robin Stanton, spokeswoman for the Seattle-based environmental organization.

The owner of the other half-interest uses it for farming oysters, therefore it will not be developed.

A coalition of the Nature Conservancy and two other groups are tasked with finding a total of 10 sites in Puget Sound to purchase, thus ensuring the preservation of the land. The property is located near the northwest corner of Dabob Bay near Quilcene in Jefferson County and is the first of the 10.

The bay has a large salt marsh estuary, one of the largest in Puget Sound, and will remain untouched in perpetuity.

"That's the hope," said Jacques White, director of marine conservation for the group.

The particular piece of land has not been touched by development and is one of the more pristine areas on the Hood Canal, partly because of the upland area, Stanton said.

"The key to healthy shores is healthy upland," she said.

The price of the property was not disclosed, Stanton said, because the group bought the land from a private landowner, a group called World Martial Arts.

The conservancy is a member of the Alliance for Puget Sound Shoreline, which also includes the Trust for Public Land and People for Puget Sound. The group is spending $80 million to clean up the sound and was given a $3 million grant from the Russell Family Foundation to start the effort, which includes purchasing the 10 tracts of land on Puget Sound for preservation.

White said the group is also looking at areas in Whatcom and San Juan counties.

As for the Jefferson County property, the group plans to work with the state Department of Natural Resources and develop a plan for making the remote property accessible to visitors.

"That probably won't be for a couple of years," White said.