Padilla Bay Reserve, Washington

Location: Padilla Bay Reserve is located north of Seattle Washington near Anacortes Total Acreage: 11,000 Designation: 1980 Lead State Agency: Washington State Department of Ecology Mailing Address: Padilla Bay Reserve 10441 Bayview-Edison Road Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Phone: 360-428-1558

Padilla Bay, located in the Salish Sea, is part of a large river delta in a fjord estuary.

The Salish Sea includes the inland waters between Olympia Washington and Campbell River in Canada. This large estuary, carved out by glaciers that retreated about 20,000 years ago, is fed by many fresh water sources including the Fraser and Skagit Rivers.

Most of the reserve encompasses extensive seagrass meadows, tidal flats and sloughs, salt marshes, and upland forests and meadows. Key species include seagrass, Dungeness crab, salmon, black brant, bald eagle and peregrine falcon.

For more information on the Padilla Bay Reserve, visit www.padillabay.gov.