clockwise around Whidbey Island
- This property is jointly managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources and the Whidbey Camano Land Trust.
- Admiralty Inlet Natural Area Preserve (dnr.wa.gov)
This preserve is jointly owned by the state Department of Natural Resources, which owns a conservation easement, and Whidbey Camano Land Trust, which owns and manages the land. The NAP is located within Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve and protects one of only 11 remaining populations of golden paintbrush, a federally listed threatened plant species. Recovery goals at this site support a multi-agency effort to restore this species to a viable population size and to its former health and vigor. You can visit Whidbey Camano Land Trust Admiralty Inlet Preserve website at http://www.wclt.org/projects/admiralty-inlet-preserve/.
- Upper Dry Gulch Natural Area Preserve (dnr.wa.gov)
This 3,087-acre preserve protects the largest known population of Whited’s milkvetch, a state-listed “endangered” plant species that is found only within a 3-square-mile area. Situated in the arid mountains southeast of Wenatchee, this site is dominated by a native shrub and bunchgrass (shrub-steppe) ecosystem that is recovering from past land uses. The drainage that flows through the site carries water seasonally and is subject to torrential flows during spring. The loggerhead shrike, a bird species known to be highly dependent on shrub-steppe habitat, is also known to frequent this area.