When I want to really get away, I visit the Duckabush Oxbow and Wetlands Preserve, which the Land Trust protected in 2015. I have a favorite sit spot, where I remain quietly for 20 or 30 minutes and just take it all in. I go, be, listen, smell, and watch. It’s a feast for the senses, it’s good therapy, and, best of all, it’s free.

Peaceful. Calming. Beautiful. Places like this are why I do the work I do. When I’m there, it’s hard to believe I’m so close to Seattle.

The Duckabush is a wild, vibrant river. Originating in the Olympic Mountains, it flows all the way to Hood Canal. In the Duckabush River Valley, more than 3,250 acres of permanently protected land create a corridor of wildlife habitat. The Duckabush Oxbow and Wetlands Preserve is part of this greenbelt corridor.

The Duckabush River greenbelt corridor has been created over the last few decades through the efforts of a consortium of partners who continue to collaborate to protect and restore this local treasure–both for wildlife and to improve the quality of water entering Hood Canal. These partners include Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, Jefferson County, Jefferson Land Trust, the Navy, The Trust for Public Land, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and others.

The protected corridor hosts a wide variety of species–fish, insects, amphibians, mammals and birds–that have relied on this land for thousands of years. In addition to providing important spawning and rearing habitat for endangered salmon, wildlife such as bear, beaver, and cougar have all been observed there recently. A more common, but no less magical, sighting in the valley is its herd of Roosevelt elk.

While I enjoy the chance to sit and be peaceful in nature, my friend and colleague, the Land Trust’s Director of Conservation and Strategic Partnerships, Sarah Spaeth, recently told me that seeing signs of wildlife at Duckabush Oxbow and Wetlands Preserve gave her a whole new appreciation for her work.

Because so many critters are tied to the salmon cycle, a river wildlife corridor is an active, vital place, rich in tracking opportunities. While tracking at the preserve, Sarah’s seen tracks of elk, black bear, bobcat, beaver, river otter, mink and coyote. Former landowners have reported seeing owls, eagles and wood ducks.

On one memorable occasion, Sarah observed a tree with both curly black hairs and white hairs embedded in the cracks of its bark–the black ones from bear and the white ones from elk. It was as if each was announcing its presence in the preserve on the same signpost.

For Sarah, seeing signs of black bear in the preserve was a rich demonstration of a powerful system at work. After gorging on the spawning salmon, the bear then carry important nutrients from the sea into the forest and poop, thus nourishing the trees.

Another reason to visit the preserve is to see salmon, elk and other wildlife in action. A particularly interesting time of year is just around the corner. September and October is a prime time to view chum and coho salmon. It’s also an exciting time to see and hear the elk. This is because, during the rut (the time when male elk, or bulls, vie for the hearts of their female counterparts) the bull elk are at their most vocal.

Whether you want to recharge by sitting and soaking up nature, do some tracking to look for animal signs, or spend time viewing salmon, elk and other wildlife in their natural habitat, I encourage you to visit the Duckabush Oxbow and Wetlands Preserve. A visit to such a place is an amazing gift to yourself.

Jefferson Land Trust occasionally leads guided nature walks through the preserve and often hosts work parties to care for and improve the land. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us at info@saveland.org or 360.379.9501.

Directions: From Highway 101 near Brinnon, take Duckabush Road for about 1 mile to parking area beneath the power lines on the left.

Seasonal closure information: To permit wildlife to enjoy winter forage undisturbed, the Duckabush Oxbow and Wetlands Preserve is closed to visitors from December through April.

Richard Tucker is executive director of Jefferson Land Trust. He has dedicated his entire working life to collaborative efforts protecting land and water—from the Puget Sound all the way to the Deep South. Jefferson Land Trust’s column relating local stories of the land will appear monthly in the Leader.