Schumacher Creek, formerly Shumocher Creek, is a creek in Mason County in the U.S. state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. It flows into

Mason Lake Mason Lake is a natural elongated lake south of Belfair, Washington, United States in Mason County. Named for Charles H. Mason, the first secretary of Washington Territory, the lake is on the isthmus of the Kitsap Peninsula between the Hood Ca ...

on the traditional territory of the

Squaxin Island Tribe The Squaxin Island Tribe are the descendants of several Lushootseed clans organized under the Squaxin Island Indian Reservation, a Native American tribal government in western Washington state. Historically, the ancestors of the Squaxin Island T ...

. Schumacher Creek is part of the

Sherwood Creek Sherwood Creek is a creek in Mason County, Washington fed by Mason Lake. It runs through the small town of Allyn, Washington, before releasing into the Case Inlet at the base of the Kitsap Peninsula. Geography *Source: * *Mouth: Sherwood Creek ...

watershed, and contains Trask Lake and Carson Lake.

Land use and ecology

The Schumacher Creek watershed consists largely of industrial timberlands owned by Green Diamond Resource Company, which leases the area out to dirtbike riders and manages most of the watershed as a commercial tree farm. The headwaters of Schumacher Creek was purchased from the company by the

Washington State Department of Natural Resources The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over of forest, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington. The DNR also manages of aquatic areas which include shorelines, tidelands, lands und ...

as a natural area preserve (NAP) in 2002. The DNR purchased 425 acres for $1,162,000. The preserve is now over 499 acres, as the DNR has purchased additional lands from a subdivision to the south. The preserve protects the Sitka alder/skunk cabbage-water parsley plant community which is only found in the Puget lowlands and is critically imperiled. The watershed has been heavily impacted by clear-cut logging, but has little residential development with the exception of the north western part of the watershed which contains part of the Alderbrook Golf Course, and part of the Timber Tides subdivision. Logging on Shumocher Creek

The watershed contains a small section of

old growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

at it's outlet into

where Green Diamond Resource Company operates an Employee Recreation Area on the banks of

which is not open to the public.https://masoncountywa.gov/community-services/smp-update/2017/inventory-characterization-report-102012.pdf Schumacher Creek is spawning habitat for

Sockeye salmon The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...

but timber harvest along the creek has affected the functionality of the shoreline habitat Other large landowners in the watershed include the logging company Merrell and Ring and a local ranch. The

Tacoma power Tacoma Power is a public utility providing electrical power to Tacoma, Washington and the surrounding areas. Tacoma Power serves the cities of Tacoma, University Place, Fircrest, and Fife, and also provides service to parts of Steilacoom, L ...

transmission lines from

Lake Cushman Lake Cushman is a lake and reservoir on the north fork of the Skokomish River in Mason County, Washington. The lake originally was a long narrow broadening of the Skokomish River formed in a glacial trough and dammed by a terminal moraine from t ...

bisect the north portion of the watershed and a natural gas pipeline owned by

Cascade Natural Gas MDU Resources Group, Inc. is a U.S.-based corporation supplying products and services to regulated energy delivery and utilities related construction materials and services businesses. It is headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, and operates i ...

crosses the watershed, including at one location where it crosses directly beneath Schumacher Creek, interrupting the riparian habitat of the shoreline.

References

{{coord, 47.31857, -122.98668, format=dms, type:river_region:US-WA, display=title Rivers of Mason County, Washington Geography of Washington (state)