WHAT IS SHIP?

The Ship Harbor Interpretive Preserve, known as "SHIP," is a project designed to preserve and protect a small, but very special wetland tucked away in Anacortes immediately east of the Washington State Ferry Terminal and the proposed Ship Harbor Resort and Marina development. In addition to the 25 acres of freshwater wetlands, there are also five acres of upland habitat and 2,000 feet of sandy beach and subtidal eelgrass beds. It is a rich and interesting area, with an abundance of plants and wildlife. Here great blue herons stalk their lunch, wrens and sparrows sing, small mammals scurry for shelter, Dungeness crabs raise their young, and hawks and sea gulls survey land and sea. The area is important to the general environment, providing habitat and protecting the quality of the water in the wetland and in adjacent marine areas.

Currently owned by the Port of Anacortes, it is also an area rich in local history. For hundreds of years, the Samish used Ship Harbor as a fishing site. Later, some of the largest salmon canneries in the world operated there. The canneries and the activities associated with them now are gone, and since that time, the wetland has regained much of its natural character and function. Nevertheless, unrestrained traffic from the large numbers of ferry travelers and surrounding neighborhoods is taking its toll.

Realizing the value of this wetland, a number of organizations in Anacortes formed SHIP, a partnership to preserve and protect the wetland and to implement an environmental education program at the site. Partners include the Port of Anacortes, Western Washington University's Shannon Point Marine Center, Evergreen Islands, the Anacortes Parks Foundation, the Anacortes School District, the Samish Indian Nation, Anacortes Community Forest Lands and a number of other private and public groups. In addition, a large number of local volunteers are participating in SHIP projects to observe, identify, and monitor the many varieties of plants and wildlife in the wetland and to research local history.

It is the intent of SHIP to protect the wetland by building an interpretive pavilion and an accessible trail that will allow people to enjoy and learn in ways that will have the least impact on this delicate ecosystem. Interpretive signs along the carefully planned and constructed trail will provide information about the wetland. It is proposed that the program will be designed specifically both to address the interests of the general public and to fit the curriculum needs of the K-12 school programs.

Participation and Support

We are sincerely interested in your comments and concerns as we move forward with this project. Share your ideas as we build our plans to protect this wetland and to develop a coastal environmental education center. Send us your e-mail comments or by U.S. Mail at the address below. Watch this page and your local newspaper for announcements of meetings and other ways to provide your opinions and support. In the future, we may need other assistance too, for example, volunteers to help in the planning, monitoring, education and construction efforts. Let us know if you're interested.

Ship Harbor Interpretive Preserve c/o Anacortes Parks Foundation
P. O. Box 1902, Anacortes, WA 98221
Email jfalk@sos.net
Last Updated: June 2001