Washington state aquatic reserves

Eight aquatic reserves, managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources, have been established to protect important ecosystems on state aquatic lands.

In most reserves, area residents work with state, local and tribal officials and nonprofit groups to develop and carry out management plans, including scientific research.

The aquatic reserves in the order they were established include: 

  • Maury Island 2004
  • Cypress Island  2007
  • Fidalgo Bay 2008
  • Cherry Point 2010
  • Protection Island 2010
  • Smith and Minor Islands 2010
  • Nisqually Reach 2011
  • Lake Kapowsin 2016
Location of eight aquatic reserves in Washington. Map: WA DNR
Location of eight aquatic reserves in Washington. Map: WA DNR

Maury Island Aquatic Reserve

Established: 2004
Size: 5,530 acres
Location: Around Maury Island, including all of Quartermaster Harbor, in Central Puget Sound
Habitat goals: To protect 78 species of birds, a migration corridor for salmon, forage fish spawning, eelgrass and kelp habitats, and numerous marine mammals that pass through.
Threats: Excess nitrogen from human and animal wastes, marine debris, oil spills, and loss of nearshore habitats caused by bulkheads and docks.
Citizen science: Maury Island Citizen Stewardship Committee, led by the Vashon Nature Center, participates in ongoing shoreline restoration monitoring, seastar surveys, forage fish monitoring and cliff-nesting bird surveys.

Cypress Island Aquatic Reserve

Established: 2007
Size: 6,065 acres
Location: All around Cypress Island, which is part of the San Juan Archipelago in North Puget Sound.
Habitat goals: To protect the largely undeveloped shoreline and waters surrounding Cypress Island, which contains pocket estuaries used by salmon; rocky reefs important for rockfish; and kelp beds used by crabs and birds such as loons, scoters and grebes.   
Threats: Illegal or inappropriate uses of land or water.

Fidalgo Bay Aquatic Reserve

Established: 2008
Size: 781 acres
Location: Just east of Anacortes in North Puget Sound
Habitat goals: To protect breeding, nesting and feeding habitats for more than 230 species of birds seen in the area; haul-out areas for harbor seals and foraging areas for numerous marine mammals; spawning areas for three species of forage fish; and sheltered habitats for six species of juvenile salmonids.
Threats: Excess nitrogen from fertilizers and human and animal waste; oil spills from vessels; pollution related to operations at two nearby oil refineries, marine debris; loss of natural vegetation along the shoreline; and alterations of shoreline habitat by bulkheads.
Citizen science: Fidalgo Bay Citizen Stewardship Committee, participates in ongoing surveys forage fish spawning, intertidal species and marine birds.

Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve

Established: 2010
Size: 3,050 acres
Location: Strait of Georgia, north of Bellingham, in North Puget Sound
Habitat goals: To protect spawning habitat for Cherry Point herring and other forage fish, “significant” nesting and feeding areas for birds, rearing habitat for salmon and numerous marine mammals.
Threats: Chemical pollution from oil refineries and ships passing through, shoreline modifications that affect bird habitats, and invasive species from international vessel traffic.
Citizen science: Cherry Point Citizen Stewardship Committee participates in ongoing surveys of intertidal species and marine birds.

Protection Island Aquatic Reserve

Established: 2010
Size: 23,778 acres
Location: All around Protection Island, Strait of Juan de Fuca, near Port Townsend
Habitat goals: To protect the diverse habitats, including undisturbed shorelines that produce large numbers of forage fish and marine birds. The area supports about 70 percent of the nesting seabird populations in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Submerged eelgrass and kelp provide habitat for a variety of birds and fish, while protected haul-out areas support the largest population of seals in Puget Sound — including the first known birth of an elephant sea in Puget Sound.
Threats: Impacts related to fishing, commercial shipping and future energy development, such as wind and tides, as well as potential oil spills from underwater pipelines.
Citizen science: Protection Island Citizen Stewardship Committee participates in surveys of intertidal species, marine birds and marine mammals.

Smith and Minor Islands Aquatic Reserve

Established: 2010
Size: 36,308 acres
Location: From Whidbey Island to the west, surrounding all of Smith and Minor islands
Habitat goals: To protect diverse habitats, including undisturbed shorelines that support one of the most important nesting areas for seabirds in the state. Also, Smith Island is home to the state’s largest persistent bull kelp bed in the state. Harbor seals, elephant seals and Steller sea lions use the beaches of Smith and Minor Islands for resting and pup rearing.
Threats: Marine debris, potential spills by commercial ship traffic, shoreline armoring for development, and invasive species from international vessel traffic.
Citizen science: Surveys of forage fish and human uses of the shoreline.

Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve

Established: 2011
Size: 14,826 acres
Location: From Nisqually River delta across Nisqually Reach, around Anderson Island and Ketron Island to the shores of McNeil Island in South Puget Sound
Habitat goals: To protect a wide variety of diverse habitats, from tall bluffs that provide sand and gravel for healthy beaches to small pocket estuaries that serve as forage, refuge and nursery areas for many kinds of fish, birds and marine mammals.
Threats: Excess nitrogen from fertilizers and human and animal waste; oil spills from vessels; marine debris; loss of natural vegetation along the shoreline; and alterations of shoreline habitat by bulkheads.
Citizen science: Nisqually Reach Citizen Stewardship Committee participates in ongoing pigeon guillemot and forage fish surveys.

Lake Kapowsin Aquatic Reserve

Established: 2016
Size: 475 acres
Location: All but a small portion of Lake Kapowsin, a 512-acre lake in eastern Pierce County. It is the first freshwater aquatic reserve.
Habitat goals: To protect the natural shorelines with intact riparian vegetation and diverse wetland complexes that support fish, amphibians, reptiles and migratory birds.
 

Note: Information about threats and purposes are derived in part from www.aquaticreserves.org, a project funded by the Environmental Protection Agency in a grant to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

About the Author: 
Christopher Dunagan is a senior writer at the Puget Sound Institute.