Grant for Blaine estuary helps with habitat for salmon and orca recovery
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- Whatcom Land Trust secured $369K state grant for estuary habitat protection.
- Project supports salmon migration and orca recovery through shoreline restoration.
- Land purchase aids water quality, shellfish habitat and climate resilience plans.
A Bellingham environmental organization has received a state grant to help with its recent purchase of land to protect and restore habitat in the estuary where California Creek empties into Drayton Harbor south of Blaine.
An award of $369,263 to the Whatcom Land Trust was announced Monday as part of a total $14.6 million statewide in grants for projects to protect estuaries, shorelines and other near-shore habitat in Puget Sound, according to a statement from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the state Recreation and Conservation Office.
Whatcom Land Trust will provide an additional $166,446, the grant award said.
Funds will help with the land trust’s recent purchase of 3.26 acres of tidal mudflats and wetlands at 4585 Drayton Harbor Road. The site includes 600 feet of shoreline along California Creek that’s part of the coastal inlet.
Alex Jeffers of the Whatcom Land Trust called it the “missing piece” to some 100 acres of forest and wetlands that have been acquired over the past five years in the California Creek estuary at the southeast end of Drayton Harbor.
“This is an area that has a lot of pretty amazing qualities. It also creates an important side-channel for salmon that are heading into the ocean,” Jeffers told The Herald in a phone call.
Restoration efforts will include demolition of a fire-damaged home on the waterfront, invasive species removal and native species planting, according to the grant application.
Fish native to the creek include Chinook, coho, chum and steelhead. Drayon Harbor also provides prime habitat for forage fish that provide food for seabirds such as the endangered marbled murrelet.
Ultimately, the land trust’s project will help the southern resident orca that feed on Chinook salmon, Jeffers said.
“Chinook are a vital food source for the orca,” he said.
A work party is planned at the site from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 18, which is Orca Recovery Day. Parking is at Blaine Middle School, 975 H St. Participants are asked to register online.
Further enhancing the site’s importance is its location across from the Blaine-Birch Bay Park District’s California Creek Estuary Park.
“Located at the mouth of California Creek, this property has the opportunity to make an impactful contribution in improving the water quality that directly affects the shellfish habitat that recreational, commercial, and tribal entities rely on for oyster harvesting practices in Drayton Harbor,” the land trust’s grant application said.
“Additionally, preserving riparian habitat in anticipation of sea level rise and changing precipitation patterns will prevent impervious surface development and allow the estuary to expand and contract in these changing conditions,” the grant application said.
State Fish and Wildlife officials, such as Catherine Buchalski Smith, manager of the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program, said they are grateful for continued funding.
“The areas close to shore are very important for a variety of animals that live on the shoreline, and of course that’s where many people want to live too. With so many important budget requests this session, we’re grateful the Legislature has continued to fund this work. Now more than ever, state funding is needed to restore our shorelines in support of recovering salmon and orca populations and ensuring Puget Sound continues to exist in the ways we expect for generations into the future,” Smith said in a statement announcing the grants.
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
