JOYCE — Festivities are planned for the grand opening of the Lyre Conservation Area on April 23.
Activities will begin at 12:30 p.m. and continue through the afternoon, according to the North Olympic Land Trust.
They will include opportunities to explore the land and learn from local experts about area birds, habitat restoration and the cultural history of the surrounding property.
The grand opening ceremony will be at 2 p.m. on the waterfront.
Guests are encouraged to arrive early to have time to shuttle to the land from Crescent School in Joyce and walk the three-fourths-mile to the water.
Because parking is limited at the conservation area, parking will be provided at Crescent School in Joyce 20 miles west of Port Angeles on state Highway 112.
A shuttle will run continuously from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. from the school to the conservation area.
The North Olympic Land Trust announced in December 2014 it had purchased property near the Lyre River to permanently conserve the 280-acre estuary ecosystem.
$3.15M purchase price
The total purchase price, much of it acquired through grants, was $3.15 million, said Tom Sanford, land trust executive director.
The land includes the estuary at the mouth of the Lyre River, streams, wetlands, tidelands, kelp beds and bluff-backed beaches, as well as a large upland area with a diverse forest at various ages of growth.
The area opened to the public late last year. It is closed to motor vehicles, but visitors can walk to the beach for such day-use activities as bird-watching, wildlife viewing, surfing and picnicking.
The area on the Strait of Juan de Fuca about 20 miles west of Port Angeles is important to several salmon species, said land trust officials.
To RSVP for the grand opening celebration, email brad@northolympiclandtrust.org or call 360-417-1815, ext. 4.
For more about the land trust, which is at 104 N. Laurel St., Suite 104, see www.northolympiclandtrust.org.
