The Whidbey Camano Land Trust is applying for a Riparian Protection grant to help acquire and permanently protect 31 acres of tidal lagoon and wetlands at Deer Lagoon located off of southwest Whidbey Island in Island County. This project will protect the last private property in Deer Lagoon, the most extensive estuarine marsh on Whidbey Island. Deer Lagoon is more than 500 acres in area and has an unusually favorable combination of freshwater and saltwater habitats in an array that includes bay and tidal marshlands, brackish ponds, small islands, and scrub-shrub uplands. This rich habitat is an Audubon Important Bird Area and an Island County Habitat of Local Importance used by concentrations of plovers, sandpipers and waterfowl among other federal and state sensitive bird species. Protection here also provides rearing habitat for juvenile salmon and forage fish. The Land Trust will either acquire a conservation easement or fee simple interest. There is no need for restoration outside of weed control.

Loss of estuarine habitats to development in the area has had a significant impact on the availability of habitat for migratory birds. This property is a vital connection between the Deer Lagoon wetlands protected by Island County and WA State Parks, 54 acres of farmland protected by the Land Trust, and adjacent farmland that birds and mammals need for critical parts of their life cycle. The cost of the project is an extremely small investment to protect the integrity of the larger ecosystem.

2012 WWRP Alternate