Dramatic cliffs and towering old growth Douglas firs frame the stunning Watmough Bay Preserve at the south end of Lopez
Island. In 1993, a seventy-foot section of beach was generously donated to the Land Bank in order to ensure p
ublic access to this local treasure. A conservation easement added onto the adjacent 8-acre fresh water wetland helps to further protect the area’s fragile ecosystem and prevents development of the adjacent uplands. The Bureau of Land Management purchased the surrounding 390 acres and has designated the property as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. In 2007, the Land Bank partnered with the San Juan Preservation Trust to protect an additional 7.29 acres with approximately 680 feet of high bank waterfront along the south side of the bay. A neighboring property owner generously gifted two parcels in an effort to conserve the character of the bay, protect significant ecological features, and maintain the public access that we enjoy.
NYT 2011 places to visit mentioned Watmough
Some smaller parcels have the air of a secret about them, like the spectacular Watmough Bay Preserve on Lopez, with a trail that leads to a strip of beach on a wooded inlet, its moody water as magically lighted as a Bierstadt painting.
— SARA DICKERMAN
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