Kitsap County used this grant for the Stavis Estuary Preservation Project, which acquired and permanently preserved parcels in one of the finest estuaries in Hood Canal and the Kitsap Peninsula to aid the conservation and recovery of Chinook, chum, coho, steelhead, and cutthroat trout. This grant purchased nearly 11 acres including over 1500 feet of shoreline for Kitsap's County Open Space Program and protected over 27 acres through a conservation easement. The project was coordinated with the Hood Canal Salmon Sanctuary, a multi-agency effort among WDFW, DNR, UW, Kitsap County, Point No Point Treaty Council, Hood Canal Environmental Council, and the Kitsap Land Trust, which has purchased some 580+ acres in the Stavis and adjacent watersheds. This project was selected based on the prioritized recommendations of the Kitsap Peninsula Refugia Study and classified as a Tier 1 project in the Hood Canal Coordinating Council's Salmon Recovery Strategy. The project site is immediately downstream from DNR's 550-acre Kitsap Forest Natural Area Preserve. This project ensured that potential building sites were not developed in this sensitive area. Recent scientific studies have made a persuasive argument for preserving ecologically functional refugia areas as the cornerstone of a long-term conservation program; this project aims to do just that by preserving the best of the best refugia areas in the region.