Description
Why You Should Visit
Near the very northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula, a stand of 70-foot-tall red alders welcomes visitors to the Foulweather Bluff Preserve. Just beyond this stand is another grove, where second-growth western red cedar and western hemlock share space with the occasional Douglas-fir. Foulweather Bluff's most vital natural feature is its brackish marsh, a sheltering, moist haven for insects, fish, birds and mammals. The combination of forest, marsh, and 3,800 feet of beach makes the Foulweather Bluff Preserve one of the most valuable wildlife havens on the Kitsap Peninsula.
Why TNC Selected this Site
The marsh is as close to a pristine coastal lagoon as can be found in the entire Puget Sound basin. Once common in the wet bottomlands of Western Washington, old-growth forests containing red cedar have declined significantly during the 20th century. These cedars, protected from future logging by The Nature Conservancy, will eventually dominate the preserve's forest.
This preserve was established in 1967, when the Rawson family donated the land to the Conservancy and established a trust fund for the long-term management of the preserve. Today the preserve contains 100 acres of marsh, beach and woodland. It stands as a testament to the vision of Dr. Rawson and a committed group of landowners who ensured wildlife a continuing home at Foulweather Bluff.
What TNC is Doing
Dedicated volunteers answer visitors’ questions and monitor this site for inappropriate uses, such as shelling, driftwood removal, fires and camping. Stewardship on the site includes removal of non-native plants such as bull thistle, ivy and holly.