DESCRIPTION
The Department of Natural Resources owns 472 acres with over a mile of nearshore along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This is part of the Whale Trail and is a spot to see gray whales and the occasional orca. The DNR manages this as an NRCA, a natural resource conservation area. According to the DNR's website, "Natural Resource Conservation Areas (NRCAs) protect outstanding examples of native ecosystems, habitat for endangered, threatened and sensitive plants and animals, and scenic landscapes." This is the only NRCA is Clallam County. The DNR conserved this land because of its nearshore habitat, and its second growth and old growth forestland.
There is the potential for acquisition of properties on the Strait of Juan de Fuca and adjacent to the NRCA, thereby expanding this conserved area. To the west is privately-owned commercial timberland, and to the east is a property that used to be an RV park, also privately owned. If there were a willing seller, expansion of this conservation area could enhance the habitat values of Shipwreck Point NRCA.
There is also potential for restoration, though the properties along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and adjacent to Shipwreck Point have seen limited impacts, other than logging to the west and use as a RV park to the west. Some restoration would be beneficial, but it will likely be minimal.
The lands adjacent to Shipwreck Point also rank high on the climate resiliency analysis completed by the North Olympic Land Trust in 2021. In that analysis, one of the pillars was community. The lands adjacent to Shipwreck Point on the Strait, which are proposed for conservation here, emerged as important for our community's climate resiliency because they are highly visible, they are part of a wildlife corridor, it's privately owned undeveloped shoreline, and there is conserved land adjacent to it.