Little Skookum Inlet Preserve

Conserved in 2025

Property Overview:

• Little Skookum Inlet Preserve protects 66 acres of forest, wetlands, and shoreline on the north shore of Little Skookum Inlet, a narrow waterway that connects the Skookum Creek estuary to Totten Inlet and the greater Puget Sound
• The property features a 1.6-acre pocket estuary, 3,200 feet of marine shoreline, 1,900 feet of a fish-bearing stream, 6.3 acres of freshwater and marine wetlands, and a forest that was partially harvested in 2019. Harvested areas have been replanted, and stream-side buffers preserved
• The forest is made up of lowland tree species such as Douglas-fir, western redcedar, western hemlock, red alder, and bigleaf maple. The understory supports plants like salal, Oregon grape, huckleberry, ferns, and trailing blackberry
• The stream and nearshore support salmon species including coho, chum, and cutthroat trout. Juvenile Chinook are known to use pocket estuaries in this area. The shoreline also provides habitat for forage fish, migratory birds, and marine mammals like harbor seals
• In 2013, Mason Conservation District replaced a culvert with a bridge to improve fish passage on the creek
• Scotch broom is present in some areas and is actively managed by CLT to protect native plants

Thank you to the following partners:

• Angela J. Bowen Foundation
• Northwest Youth Corps
• Taylor Family

CLT Strategic Conservation Goals Achieved:

• Conserve marine shorelines and estuaries
• Conserve wetlands, riparian areas, and associated upland forests