Wildlife Habitat Corridor Connection

The Preserve provides a connection with a network of wetlands, streams, forests, and shorelines already conserved in nearby Blakely Harbor Park, IslandWood, Pritchard Park, and the Cougar Creek Preserve. On this bluff and plateau, some of the Island’s largest grand fir, Douglas-fir, and bigleaf maple tower over Pacific yew and the dense and diverse mixed understory featuring over 40 documented native species such as sword fern, salal, Oregon grape, red huckleberry, vanilla leaf, Colley’s hedge nettle, and much more.

Over 500 homes exist within 1 mile of the preserve, highlighting this preserve as an important reservoir of interior forest habitat.

Snag and Cavity Habitat! 

Snags and logs can be especially scarce on the Island, but here the supply of these features allows species such as salamanders, bats, and pileated woodpeckers and all the birds and mammals that rely on the large cavities they create to find a home. As an important local keystone species, pileated woodpeckers are a target species for shaping our management goals, particularly for large trees and snags. Humboldt’s flying squirrels (recently discovered to be a different species from northern flying squirrels) are another keystone species, and our modeling of the Island’s interior forest habitat network was based on this species’ need for contiguous stands with high canopy cover. Flying squirrels are charismatic animals and ecologically important species as prey for forest predators such as hawks, owls, weasels, and coyotes, and as dispersers of fungal spores and nitrogen-fixing bacteria from the truffles they eat. The Land Trust’s camera trap studies have verified this species occurrence on the Island, and the Preserve provides suitable habitat.

Climate Resiliency

By protecting a number of preserves with different habitat types (shorelines, streams, wetlands, forests, etc.), the Land Trust strives to preserve Island environments that can withstand climate changes and continue to provide habitat for diverse animal and plant communities.   Protection of intact and complex large landscapes that become a part of a network of habitat types is a conservation strategy of the Land Trust.

We all need nature. 

Working with an engaged and determined neighborhood group, the Land Trust is fortunate to build on a foundation of enthusiasm for the protection of this forested plateau. With its proximity to other preserved Island natural areas with public access, the Rockaway Bluff Preserve serves as a new area opportunity to explore and connect with nature through passive use. These connections to nature improve our mental, physical, and social health, thus creating a thriving and healthy community.

Learn more and get involved!

Learn more about our Stand for the Land campaign and how you can get involved!