Restoration in Lower Eld Inlet

Eld Inlet has been a priority for Capitol Land Trust’s conservation strategy since the late 1990s. The watershed sits in the very southwestern point of Puget Sound and has provided life-sustaining resources to humans and wildlife alike for generations. Within a 30 year span Capitol Land Trust has conserved seven miles of Eld and Totten Inlet shoreline across 14 properties.

Capitol Land Trust and partners began an environmental restoration project in 2021 on two conserved properties along Eld Inlet. Large and unmanaged areas of former pastureland allowed fast-spreading invasive plants to quickly take over. This project focused on removing invasive plants and introducing native plants, which support a diverse network of animal communities, filter our drinking water, and provide shelter for many living organisms. Partners worked together to improve wildlife passage by removing several barbed wire fences and multiple structures. Areas with invasive plants were treated and replanted with over 20,000 native trees and shrubs. This restoration project is an important step into reestablishing ecosystems that sustain life in our region.

Check out a video of the project:

Capitol Land Trust is a nonprofit environmental conservation organization based in Olympia, Washington. Our mission is to strategically conserve vital natural areas and working lands in the South Puget Sound and Chehalis Basin watersheds, for their ecological and community benefits.

Special thanks to our partners: Environmental Protection Agency, Sound Native Plants, Streamline Earthworks, LLC, Thurston Conservation District, US Fish & Wildlife Service, WA Dept. of Ecology, WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, and You! Additional gratitude for Joe Peters, Squaxin Island Tribe and Ben Alexander, co-owner of Sound Native Plants for their interviews. Drone, underwater, and interview footage filmed by Mike Melton. Music: bensound.com.

Learn more about our work in this region here.