Bay Wood
FORMER LUMBER & MILL SITE AT PRESTON POINT
In 2020, the Port of Everett, in partnership with the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), kicked-off a shoreline cleanup and habitat restoration at the Port’s vacant Bay Wood property — a former waterfront mill site located at the northern end of West Marine View Drive. The shoreline cleanup and restoration was an integral part of the Port’s efforts to revitalize the Bay Wood property into a new 13-acre waterfront job complex that supports up to 400 direct jobs and 1,000 indirect jobs, and generates an estimated $330,000 a year in a state and local taxes. The shoreline restoration created 1,300 linear feet (LF) of shoreline habitat and 2,300 LF of upland buffer habitat, cleaned up contaminated soil, and provided space for a new public access shoreline nature trail — the first public access to the site in its history. The $2.3 million shoreline cleanup and restoration work was funded by a unique grant from Ecology that paid for 90% of the project.
Blue Heron Slough
Restoring 353 acres of salmon habitat
In 2019, the Port of Everett reached a momentous and comprehensive agreement with the Port Gardner Bay Trustees to invest in and restore 353 acres of salmon habitat at Blue Heron Slough located in the tidelands between north Everett and south Marysville. The Port’s agreement, memorialized under a formal Consent Decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, was completed in 2022. The agreement represented a comprehensive settlement for natural resources damage liability from the years of historic industry on Everett’s waterfront. The project doubled as a mitigation bank to expedite economic development in our region.
The $20 million project’s restored habitats, including marsh, mud flat, riparian and channel habitats, provides habitat to assist in the recovery of the Puget Sound Chinook salmon and bull trout. The bank site was identified as one of the key locations for salmon recovery in the 2005 Snohomish River Basin Salmon Conservation Plan. Wildlands is currently in the process of entitling wetland credits on this bank.
Edgewater Beach
The Port of Everett constructed Edgewater Beach at the South Everett/Mukilteo border as a habitat mitigation project related to construction of the Port’s Mount Baker Terminal — a satellite shipping facility that supports the local aerospace supply chain accommodating oversized parts for the 747, 767, 777 and 777X production lines.
This restoration added 1,000 lineal feet of beach material on the east side of the terminal, while also enhancing beach access with paths, benches, picnic tables and a parking lot. The restoration proved to be an environmental success when environmental review determined the site to be flourishing with juvenile salmon, forage fish and numerous water birds shortly after completion.
Jetty Island
The Port of Everett is committed to preserving, restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat. The Port-owned Jetty Island is a prime example of this effort. Known by most as a hub for recreation, the 1,500-acre manmade island doubles as a thriving wildlife preserve supporting natural habitat for many species, including juvenile salmon, waterfowl, bald eagles and more.
The island was created more than a century ago with dredge sands from the Snohomish River. Through the Port’s local sponsorship of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintenance dredging program for the river, whenever possible, additional clean river sediment is beneficially placed on the island to support habitat enhancement.
The island is completely natural with no plumbing or utilities at the site. A portable restroom is barged over during the summer months for beach goers.
Union Slough
Nearly two decades ago, in 2005 the Port of Everett constructed the 24-acre Union Slough, a restoration project as mitigation for development of the Port’s Pacific Terminal at the international Seaport. The site has since provided mitigation for several Port projects, including construction of the North Docks which added 220-slips to the Marina in 2007.
Today, aquatic bird life, Dungeness crab, juvenile salmonids and many other forms of wildlife and plant life are now observed on what was once a diked agricultural field. Working with the volunteer organization EarthCorps, the Port monitors the human impact on its Union Slough restoration ecosystems and conducts regular volunteer work parties at the site to ensure continued success of this restoration project.