DESCRIPTION
Great Peninsula Conservancy will use this grant to acquire approximately 7 acres of coastal inlet estuary at the head of Rocky Bay, Case Inlet, Pierce County (fee simple). This project protects a near-reference condition estuary, benefiting ESA-listed chinook and steelhead, as well as summer and fall chum, coho, and cutthroat salmon. It ensures intact shoreline, estuary, and stream processes, providing critical habitat for rearing, refuge, and transitional and migratory fish habitat. The site includes an active channel migration zone for Rocky Creek, a regionally significant stream and wetland complex, where past restoration efforts have improved fish passage and protected nearly 200 adjacent acres in the Rocky Creek watershed as part of GPC's Rocky Creek Preserve.
Great Peninsula Conservancy will use this grant to acquire ~7acres (fee-simple) of a coastal inlet estuary at the head of Rocky Bay, CaseInlet, Pierce County. This project protects an estuary that is in nearreference condition and is a high regional and local priority, benefittingmultiple species of salmon including ESA listed chinook and steelhead; summerand fall run chum; coho and cutthroat. Protecting these parcels will ensureintact shoreline, estuary and stream channel processes, providing criticalrearing, refuge, transitional and migratory fish habitat.The site includes an active channel migration zone for RockyCreek, a regionally significant stream and wetland complex that has receivedsignificant investment over past decades to replace fish barriers, restore offish passage from the creek estuary to headwater areas, and to protect nearly200 adjacent acres in the lower Rocky Creek watershed now held by GPC as theRocky Creek Preserve.This project benefits ESA listed chinook and steelhead; summer and fall run chum;coho and cutthroat.
