DESCRIPTION
The overall goal is to preserve roughly 10,500 feet of the Point Heyer drift cell, one of the few highly functioning drift cells in Central Puget Sound, located on the east shoreline of Vashon Island. This funding would be used to target four parcels within the fifty parcels of the drift cell.
King County Water and Land Resources will purchase two properties in the S reach of the Pt. Heyer Drift Cell (PHDC) shoreline on the E side of Vashon Island. Together the target parcels include approximately 2,775 ft of high-quality shoreline, 990 ft of actively eroding bluff-backed beach, 24 acres of intact habitat with the largest intact barrier lagoon in the county (5+ acres w/ salt marsh), 13 tideland acres, and 3.8 riparian acres. All the parcels in the PHDC are prioritized for acquisition; if the county is unsuccessful in acquiring the target parcels, they will move on to other Tier 1 and 2 parcels. Acquiring this property will preserve the sediment supply to the largest (and last) remaining barrier lagoon in King County which provides important refuge and rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids. These acquisitions will make the PHDC one of the most protected, high-functioning drift cells in central Puget Sound. The long-term goal of this project is to protect roughly 10,500 feet of the PHDC, which begins at the feeder bluffs at Vashon Landing and terminates 2.2 miles to the south at the Pt. Heyer barrier lagoon. As of March 2019, the county has protected 13 parcels with 72 acres and 3,646 feet of marine shoreline. Chinook, chum, coho, cutthroat, pink, and steelhead are known or expected to be present along PHDC. Forage fish, which are a key food source for salmon, also spawn there. Ongoing stewardship maintenance, including invasive species and litter monitoring and removal, will continue indefinitely.
NOTES
Protecting healthy beach-bluff drift cells on Vashon-Maury Island is a top priority in the WRIA 9 Salmon Habitat Plan. This winter, King County made its first two purchases of high-quality nearshore habitat north of Pt. Heyer (KVI) on the east shore of Vashon Island. The two contiguous parcels total over 20 acres and include 600 feet of high quality, unarmored beach. The purchase was funded with grants from the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, Conservation Futures, and the King County Parks levy. King County expects to purchase additional properties in this reach as willing landowners are identified. This long-term drift cell conservation effort has ranked high among potential funders and further grants are anticipated.
