Watmough Bay Preserve

Located at the southern end of Lopez Island, Watmough Bay Preserve lies adjacent to a portion of the San Juan Islands National Monument. Together, these public lands protect over 400-acres and are cooperatively managed for trails and habitat preservation. In 1993, a seventy-foot section of beach was generously donated to the Conservation Land Bank in order to ensure public access to this local treasure. A conservation easement added onto the adjacent 8-acre fresh water wetland helps to further protect the area’s fragile ecosystem and prevents development of the adjacent uplands. The Bureau of Land Management purchased the surrounding 390-acres and has designated the property as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. In 2007, the Land Bank partnered with the San Juan Preservation Trust to protect an additional 7.29-acres with approximately 680 feet of high bank waterfront along the south side of the bay. A neighboring property owner generously gifted two parcels in an effort to conserve the character of the bay, protect significant ecological features, and maintain the public access that we enjoy. It was also protected through a grant from the state Salmon Recovery Funding Board.