Skagit Land Trust has been working for several years with its partners in the Skagit Watershed Council to protect significant areas of salmon habitat along the middle reaches of the Skagit River. The Grandy Creek Conservation Area is the first fruit of our joint endeavors. The Land Trust purchased this property in 2003 with assistance from the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. Grandy Creek Conservation Area is 54 acres located along the Skagit River and Grandy Creek. 

Grandy Creek is an excellent fishing site. It is home to salmon and steelhead, as well as beaver, raptors, and songbirds.

    A deer walking along a sandbar near the confluence of Grandy Creek and the Skagit River. 

Ecology

The property consists of about 34 acres of riparian woodland and 20 acres of pasture. Portions of the pasture are being used for hay production which allows the SLT to maintain forage areas valuable for elk. The riparian area is primarily forested with bigleaf maple, western red alder and cottonwood, with a few scattered western red cedar, Sitka spruce and Douglas-fir trees. The pasture, riparian forest, and creek and river on the property provide habitat for a number of wildlife species. In addition to elk beaver, salmonids, bald eagles, and other raptors and songbirds use the property. 

 Elk are frequent visitors in the pastures of Grandy Creek Conservation Areas. 

Stewardship

Stewardship goals for Grandy Creek Conservation area are to restore riparian areas,  provide large woody debris for fish habitat in the creek and river, control invasive weeds, and support local agriculture on the property. Starting in 2010 Skagit Land Trust and Skagit County Noxious Weed Control Board have worked to control a large knotweed infestation along the shoreline. Additionally, volunteers have helped install native plants in the riparian area at work parties. 

Click here to view information about the land stewards for this and other Skagit Land Trust properties.

    A volunteer removes barbed wire from the property that was acting as a barrier to wildlife. 

Access

This site is open to low-impact public use for community enjoyment. If you know a neighbor, you are welcome to enter the property over their land with their permission. If you do not have permission to cross a neighbors land, you may access the property by boat via the Skagit River, or by walking in via Grandy Creek from WDFW land to the east or from Cape Horn Rd (which is possible in the summer and early fall when water levels are low). Click here for a Google map. Note that the google map just shows you the general location of the property, and not the route into the property described above. During Trust organized events, community members can walk in with Trust representatives from Cape Horn Rd.

Click on the map above for a larger image. Map created using 2017 NAIP aerial imagery