South Puget Sound Wildlife Area Management Plan

The South Puget Sound Wildlife Area is in Mason, Kitsap, Pierce, and Thurston counties and is comprised of eight units totaling 5,790 acres located to the east of the Olympic Mountains near the Olympic Peninsula, adjacent to the shorelines of the Puget Sound, and near the confluences of the Nisqually, Skokomish, and Union rivers. Units include urban habitat, forests, wetlands, freshwater waterbodies, marine intertidal habitat, island, historic prairie, and riparian habitats. The primary management focus on these units is estuary and floodplain conservation, forest restoration, recovery of federal and state listed species, and recreation. Featured conservation success stories include western pond turtle recovery, Union River and Big Beef Creek restoration, and successful partnerships and collaborations with Nisqually Reach Nature Center, Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Refuge, and Department of Corrections.

The South Puget Sound Wildlife Area offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities and is a wildlife viewing and nature appreciation destination for all ages. The Nisqually Reach Nature Center at the Nisqually Unit offers field trip opportunities and classroom activities. The Salmon Center at the Union River Unit provides education, research, and sustainable agriculture for the public and K-12 school children. For hunting related recreation, the wildlife area is most known for its quality waterfowl hunting opportunities. Access for waterfowl hunting is primarily by boat at the Skokomish, Nisqually, and Union River units. Freshwater fishing occurs on the Big Beef Creek, Stavis, and Lake Koeneman units; saltwater fishing occurs at Nisqually, Skokomish, and Union River units. A hand launch is available at the Union River Unit for kayaks, canoes, small boats, and paddle boards. Boating opportunities at Nisqually (Luhr’s Landing) and Union River include motor boating, kayaking, canoeing, and paddle boarding. Fishing is widely popular on the Skokomish and Union rivers. Additionally, three water access areas are included within the wildlife area: Luhr’s Landing, Smith Access, and Union River.

The South Puget Sound Wildlife Area supports a broad range of game and non-game species. The wildlife area supports various wintering waterfowl concentrations, a population of western pond turtles, and one of the largest harbor seal haul-out sites in Puget Sound. The wildlife area is also home to the federally threatened Oregon spotted frog, Chinook salmon, chum salmon, steelhead, bull trout, and marbled murrelet.

Habitat management activities that occur on the South Puget Sound Wildlife Area include estuary and riparian restoration, weed management, and forest management. Several salmon recovery projects have been completed and many are still in progress on the McNeil Island, Skokomish, and Union River units.

The five main goals of this wildlife area management plan are to: 1) protect and restore estuarine, nearshore, and riparian habitats for salmonid recovery, 2) achieve species diversity at levels consistent with healthy ecosystems, 3) maintain waterfowl and migratory bird management, 4) provide recreation opportunities, and 5) maintain productive and positive working relationships with neighbors, partners, and permitees. Within these main categories, the management plan lays out specific objectives and performance measures, and references implementation of other specific resources such as the weed management plan. Specific performance measures are shown in the following table.