With this grant, Capitol Land Trust acquired a conservation easement that permanently protects Gull Harbor, a high quality 30-acre estuary including 2.2 miles of surrounding shoreline vegetation and 64 acres of adjacent upland. Gull Harbor is located on the east side of Budd Inlet, north of Olympia. It is one of southern Puget Sound's most intact estuarine environments, providing high quality habitat suitable for chum, coho, sea-run cutthroat, Chinook, and prey species such as sand lance, surf smelt and Pacific herring. Gull Harbor is threatened by residential development. Current threats include construction of bulkheads and docks; clearing of shoreline vegetation; and contamination from septic systems, surface erosion, and storm water runoff. Nearshore and estuarine habitat in Budd Inlet has been heavily impacted (approximately 50% of the marine shoreline has been armored) and development is encroaching on the area. This project adds to habitat already protected by Capitol Land Trust through a conservation easement with an adjacent landowner. When all project phases have been completed, the entire estuary, 3 miles of shoreline and 700 acres of upland-riparian habitat, will be protected. The total project will encompass an entire small ecosystem, including the forested tributaries with beaver ponds and wetlands in the headwaters, the sheltered estuary and surrounding vegetation, and shoreline along the open waters of Puget Sound.