DISCOVERY BAY – The Jefferson Land Trust has acquired about 20 acres of tide flats and salt marsh estuary where Salmon and Snow creeks enter the bay near U.S. Highway 101.
The L. Brown Trust parcel at the head of Discovery Bay, which is surrounded by other state Department of Fish and Wildlife and land trust lands, offers habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife.
It’s well-known to North Olympic Peninsula motorists because U.S. 101 wraps around the headlands where the two creeks empty into the bay just west of the highway junction with state Highway 20.
The acreage was purchased, for $23,000 with the help of the Coastal Estuaries Program, administered by the Cascade Land Conservancy, said Sarah Spaeth, the land trust’s conservation director.
“We do pay the appraised amount, so we got an appraiser out there to make sure we pay the fair market value,” Spaeth said.
The Jefferson Land Trust owns a small amount of acreage. Most of its habitat protection is through conservation agreements with landowners.
