Capitol Land Trust secures 2 Eld Inlet properties for conservation
A local land trust has expanded its network of conserved lands around the Eld Inlet.
Capitol Land Trust, a non-profit conservancy, has secured 30 acres on the west, lower end of the inlet and 15 acres directly south of the Triple Creek Farm Conservation Easement and McLane Point Preserve, according to a news release.
The two acquisitions expand on the 325 acres and miles-long shoreline already conserved by the trust.
The 30-acre West Lower Eld Preserve includes 3,375 feet of unaltered shoreline where Puget Sound saltwater mixes with fresh water from McLane Creek and Allison Springs, the release says. This mixture supports a variety of wildlife, making it a focus for conservation.
This new preserve, along with the adjacent Lower Eld Preserve, are frequented by bears, elk and over 130 bird species, according to the land trust. Bald eagles also visit the area to hunt returning salmon each fall.
According to the trust’s website, five types of salmonid species can be found in the area: Eld Inlet fall chum, Puget Sound/Strait of Georgia Coho, Puget Sound fall chinook, native Puget Sound winter steelhead, and anadromous coastal cutthroat trout.
The 15-acre Fox-Dobbs Preserve was home to Russ Fox and Carolyn Dobbs, urban planners that taught at The Evergreen State College. Both worked with the Thurston Conservation District to manage and improve the property.
Dobbs died in 2014 and Fox provided the land-match that enabled the conservation of the West Lower Eld Preserve, according to the release. Fox said in the release that he and Dobbs always planned to permanently preserve the land.
“Carolyn and I, we knew we were going to do everything we could to keep the shoreline undeveloped,” Fox said. “It wasn’t a new idea. I’m happy now that these few more acres are returning land that was very communal land before white settlers arrived back to a community ownership.”
Combined with the two adjacent preserves, the three properties conserve 230 acres and 4.5 miles of shoreline, the trust says.
The Capitol Land Trust incorporated in 1987 and is accredited by the Land Trust Alliance.
