Natural Resources Conservation Area
- Star Tales - Pavo (ianridpath.com)
The peacock is one of the 12 figures introduced into the southern skies at the end of the 16th century from the observations by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. Pavo seemingly represents not the common blue, or Indian, peacock commonly seen in parks but its larger, more colourful, and more aggressive cousin, the Java green peacock which Keyser and de Houtman would have encountered in the East Indies. Pavo was first depicted in 1598 on a globe by Petrus Plancius and first appeared in print in 1603 on the Uranometria atlas of Johann Bayer. As visualized by Plancius and Bayer the peacock had a more expansive tail, but its feathers were later trimmed by Lacaille to make room for his own invention Telescopium to the north.
- Maury Island Aquatic Reserve (www.dnr.wa.gov)
The Maury Island Aquatic Reserve is located in central Puget Sound and includes 5,530 acres of state-owned aquatic lands in Quartermaster Harbor and along the eastern shoreline of Maury Island. Designated in 2004, the reserve protects extensive eelgrass beds, mudflats, forage fish spawning grounds and includes an Audubon Important Bird Area. The Aquatic Reserve is also a popular recreation area with numerous adjacent public access areas managed by King County Parks and Vashon Park District.
- Point Doughty Natural Area Preserve (dnr.wa.gov)
Located on the coast of Orcas Island, this 57 acre forested preserve protects natural examples of dry-site forest communities dominated by Douglas-fir, Pacific madrone, salal and ocean spray, representing the “rain shadow” vegetation that occurs in the San Juan Islands. Bald eagles feed and nest on the preserve and seals haul out on the rocky shoreline. A small state-owned recreation site on the point is used for marine mammal study, kayak and small boat camping, as well as outdoor education through nearby, privately owned Camp Orkila.