NOTICE: In order to provide access for a fish passage project, Skagit Land Trust has granted a temporary easement to the Washington State Department of Transportation for a bypass construction on State Route 20. The bypass will route traffic onto the Jackman Creek Property this summer while crews realign and daylight the unnamed tributary to the Skagit that currently passes under the highway through roadside ditch and undersized culvert. The project includes several years of follow up planting and maintenance to reestablish native riparian cover along the new stream alignment. The bypass will not affect the informal trail used to access the property, however equipment staging may occassionally block roadside parking. For more information please see the WSDOT project webpage.

Jackman Creek Conservation Area protects a beautiful parcel of land along the Skagit River. Skagit Land Trust assisted The Nature Conservancy in acquiring this 16-acre property  with funding from the WA State Salmon Funding Recovery Board.  The Jackman Creek Conservation Area is one of nine properties transferred from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to the Skagit Land Trust in 2017. This aquisition of 1,024 acres expands the total area of lands managed by the Skagit Land Trust by over one third. 

Click here to read more about the land acquisition between TNC and the Skagit Land Trust in our Summer 2017 Newsletter. 

Above: Horsetails emerge in early April at Jackman Creek Conservation Area. Photograph credit: Skagit Land Trust staff.

Conservation History

In 2003, the Jackman Creek Conservation Area was purchased by TNC with support from the Skagit Land Trust and a grant from the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant. Ownership of the property was later transferred from TNC to the Skagit Land Trust in March of 2017. 

“It was the endangered bald eagle that brought The Nature Conservancy to the Skagit in the 1970’s. And it was the salmon - that eagles and so many other species depend on – that sustained our attention through the years. As we look to the future it’s the people. People need to steward this landscape; and they will benefit for generations from its natural beauty and abundance.” said TNC Strategic Partnerships Director Bob Carey. “Skagit Land Trust is the perfect organization to make sure these connections between people and nature endure.”

Jackman Creek Conservation Area is one of many properties along the Skagit River protected by the Skagit Land Trust or other conservation organizations. This creates a patchwork of protected shoreline habitat along the Skagit River. The majority of land surrounding this section of the river is developed as agricultural land, private residences, and private or public forestlands, some of which is in active timber production. 

Site History

Jackman Creek Conservation Area preserves forested riparian area along the Skagit River. Historically, this area was used by the Upper Skagit and Sauk-Suiattle tribes.

Given the extent of logging in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is likely that the forest was logged multiple times. A section of the abandoned Great Northern Railway runs through the property from the northeast to the southeast corner. The railroad was in operation from 1919 to 1954. A small cabin on the property was demolished after TNC purchased the property in 2003. Stewardship work on the property (native plantings, invasive species removal) has been conducted by the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group (SFEG) as well as through funding from a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant. Skagit Land Trust currently manages invasive species removal and other stewarship activities on the property. 

Ecology

Jackman Creek Conservation Area preserves quality riparian(shoreline) habitat along the Skagit River. Jackman Creek is a tributary to the Skagit River which flows along the western side of the property.

The habitat protected in this Conservation Area is home to many species of animals including barred owls, bald eagles,  woodpeckers, beaver, amphibians and salmon.  The Skagit River is the only large river in Washington State that currently supports populations of all five native species of salmon, and Jackman Creek, which flows through the property, serves as an important tributary for salmon habitat. The Skagit River was federally designated as a Wild and Scenic River by the U.S. Congress in 1978. 

Above: The Cascade River was designated as a Wild and Scenic River by the U.S. Congress in 1978. It is a tributary of the Skagit River, the only large river system in Washington State which currently supports all five species of native salmon and two species of native trout. Photograph credit: Skagit Land Trust staff.

The Jackman Creek Conservation Area preserves maturing riparian forest along the Skagit River, classified by the Washington Department of Natural Resources as "North Pacific Lowland Riparian Forest and Shrubland." This vulnerable forest ecosystem has historically occured in large patches throughout the lowlands of western Washington, BC and Oregon. Forest quality is negatively impacted by surrounding development including commercial clearcut forestry practices and forest fragmentation. Riparian forests perform many ecosystem functions, including improving water quality, shading water along banks and creeks, and providing woody debris that in turn provides habitat and nutrients for salmon and other species. 

The Skagit Eagle Festival is a month-long celebration during the eagle-watching season in eastern Skagit County, founded and supported by the communities of the upper Skagit. Activities take place in Concrete, Rockport, and Marblemount every full weekend in January. Running for over 30 years, the Skagit Eagle Festival attracts thousands of visitors to these communities to view hundreds of bald eagles.

The Skagit Land Trust's partnership with community volunteers and community organizations make stewardship of this property possible. Pictured above, members of the Skagit Land Trust and Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group examine erosion from seasonal flooding at Jackman Creek Conservation Area. Photograph credit: Skagit Land Trust staff.

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

Access

The Jackman Creek Conservation Area lies east of Concrete along the Skagit River on the south side of WA State Route 20. It is open for low-impact public use. Please refer to the Skagit Land Trust for hunting and fishing policy.

Above: Jackman Creek forms a large delta at the confluence with the Skagit River. Aerial photography. Credit unknown.

Jackman Creek Conservation Area preserves a relatively remote section of shoreline and habitat along the Skagit River outside the town of Concrete. A pullout along State Route 20 provides access to the north east edge of the property. There are some informal trails on the property but no formal trail network. It is possible to access this property from the Skagit River via boat. 

Click here for for a link to Google maps for access along WA State Route 20 to the Jackman Creek Conservation Area.

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