Sometimes big things come in small packages. That’s the case with Great Peninsula Conservancy’s purchase last Friday of 2.5 acres on McLane Cove, a ‘pocket’ estuary near Grapeview. This small, skinny parcel has 1200 feet of undeveloped shoreline that is a nursery for young Chinook and other salmon.
Young salmon slowly make their way to the open sea by following Puget Sound’s shorelines and are especially attracted to estuaries where they find lower salinity levels, shade from overhanging trees, abundant food, and refuge from large predatory fish. The parcel purchased by Great Peninsula Conservancy on McLane Cove supplies all these factors in abundance. With nearly one-quarter mile of forested shoreline, the property provides a lot of habitat in a small package.