The Little Quilcene Estuary lies on the Quilcene bay on the coast of

Jefferson County, Washington Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. The county seat and only incorporated city is Port Townsend. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson County wa ...

in north-west

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

on the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

. (Little Quilcene Estuary: )

Protected area

Just north of the town of Quilcene, the

Little Quilcene River The Little Quilcene River is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It rises in Clallam County, near Mount Townsend of the Olympic Mountains. Etymology The name "Quilcene" comes from the Twana word /qʷəʔlsíd/, refe ...

flows into the Quilcene Bay. It is 12.2 miles in length, and the combined estuary complex comprises an estimated 350 acres. In 2009, a restoration project was completed to restore more natural estuarine function, removing approximately 700 feet of sea-dike from the eastern portion of the estuary and 1,500 feet of dike on the north side of the river. A bridge was also installed over Donovan Creek which also flows into the estuary complex of the Little Quilcene Estuary. The tidal and wave action, after the restoration, allowed fuller access to the entire northern portion of the larger Quilcene estuary.

Species

;Primary Species Benefiting *

Chum salmon The chum salmon (''Oncorhynchus keta''), also known as dog salmon or keta salmon, is a species of anadromous salmonid fish from the genus '' Oncorhynchus'' (Pacific salmon) native to the coastal rivers of the North Pacific and the Beringian A ...

;Secondary Species Benefiting *

Bull trout The bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus'') is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, ''S. confluentus'' has been known as the " Dolly Varden" (''S. malma''), but was reclassified as a separate specie ...

Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...

Coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...

Coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

* River lamprey *

Steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and N ...

* Other Wildlife

References

* * * * *

External links

Jefferson Land Trust
Nature reserves in Washington (state) Bays of Washington (state) Estuaries of Washington (state) Protected areas of Jefferson County, Washington Bodies of water of Jefferson County, Washington Bays of Jefferson County, Washington {{JeffersonCountyWA-geo-stub

Protected area

Species

See also

References

External links