For more than two years, Great Peninsula Conservancy has been quietly assembling one of the most ecologically significant land protection projects on Hood Canal. The result is the Tahuya River Preserve — 190 acres of floodplain forest, wetlands, and riverfront corridor in eastern Mason County, permanently protected and now the anchor for a phased restoration effort targeting the lower four miles of the Tahuya River.
For North Mason residents who know the lower Tahuya — the bear tracks in the mud, the salmon carcasses that fertilize the cottonwood flats each fall — this is the moment when “protected” stops meaning paperwork and starts meaning something permanent.
How the Preserve Came Together
Great Peninsula Conservancy (GPC) built the preserve in stages. In July 2023, the organization acquired 145 acres along the lower Tahuya mainstem, funded through a Washington Department of Ecology Streamflow Restoration grant and the state Salmon Recovery Funding Board. That December, GPC added an adjacent 38-acre parcel. In 2025, two smaller parcels totaling approximately five acres completed the assemblage — including roughly 450 feet of Tahuya River mainstem — bringing the total to 190 acres.
The preserve sits where the Tahuya River watershed drains into Hood Canal, just east of Belfair. It’s a strategic location: protecting floodplain here controls what enters the canal at one of the most salmon-critical junctions in Mason County.
Why the Tahuya River Matters for Salmon
Two salmon species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act use the Tahuya River: Hood Canal summer chum and Chinook salmon. The summer chum story here is one of the most remarkable conservation recoveries in the Pacific Northwest. Summer chum were classified as “recently extinct” in the Tahuya River before a reintroduction effort beginning in the early 2000s. Using Union River summer chum as donor stock, HCSEG rebuilt the run — 750 fish returned in the first year. Since 2006, annual Tahuya summer chum returns have held between 200 and 1,000 fish. The final supplementation release was in 2015; the population has sustained itself since.
NOAA Fisheries has signaled that Hood Canal summer chum may be the first ESA-listed salmon population ever removed from the endangered species list — a milestone no Pacific salmon population has achieved in the history of the Act. The Tahuya River is part of that recovery story.
The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group (HCSEG), headquartered at 600 NE Roessel Road in Belfair, monitors juvenile salmon using rotary screw traps on the Tahuya, Dewatto, and Little Quilcene Rivers each spring. Their data drives decisions about where restoration dollars go next — and the Tahuya is currently near the top of that list.
The Gabion Wall Removal: What Comes Next
The most significant near-term restoration project is the planned removal of a Gabion wall — a wire-cage rock structure — from the Tahuya River corridor. Gabion walls were widely used in mid-20th century stream engineering to control erosion, but they alter natural stream flows, disrupt gravel substrate that salmon need for spawning redds, and interrupt the natural wood and debris movement that juvenile salmon depend on for cover and food.
GPC is working with HCSEG on removal plans. Once the wall is out, engineers are also evaluating the installation of engineered log jam structures upstream — designed to mimic the natural wood accumulation that builds holding pools and feeding lanes for juvenile salmon.
These projects are still in the permitting and hydrology study phase. Salmon habitat work at this scale requires state and federal coordination, contractor mobilization, and hydrological modeling — it moves carefully. But the land protection that makes any of it legally and practically possible is done.
What This Means for North Mason
The Tahuya River Preserve represents one piece of a larger conservation strategy for the lower Hood Canal watershed. Every acre of floodplain protected upstream means less sediment loading, cooler water temperatures, and better dissolved oxygen in Hood Canal itself — the same water that determines whether shellfish beds stay open and whether salmon return each fall to the beaches and rivers that define this community.
For North Mason residents, it’s also a statement about what this corner of Washington is choosing to be. Development pressure on the SR-3 corridor is real. The Tahuya River Preserve locks in a counter-weight: 190 acres that will never be a subdivision, a gravel pit, or a parking lot.
Residents interested in the restoration work — or in volunteering for HCSEG’s 2026 rotary screw trap season — can contact the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group at 600 NE Roessel Road, Belfair, (360) 275-9284, or at pnwsalmoncenter.org. Great Peninsula Conservancy is based at 6536 Kitsap Way, Bremerton, (360) 373-3500, or greatpeninsula.org.
Also see: Hood Canal Shellfish Season 2026: What North Mason Harvesters Need to Know
Frequently Asked Questions
Where exactly is the Tahuya River Preserve?
The preserve is in eastern Mason County, along the lower Tahuya River corridor where it drains into Hood Canal. It is located just east of Belfair and is not currently open to the general public for recreation — it is managed as a conservation area by Great Peninsula Conservancy.
What salmon species use the Tahuya River?
Hood Canal summer chum salmon and Chinook salmon both use the Tahuya River watershed. Both are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Summer chum were successfully reintroduced to the Tahuya after being classified as locally extinct, and the population has sustained itself without supplementation since 2015.
What is a Gabion wall and why is it being removed?
A Gabion wall is a wire-cage rock structure used historically for stream bank stabilization. While effective at controlling erosion, they alter natural water flow, disrupt gravel spawning beds, and impede the movement of large wood debris that salmon depend on. Removal restores more natural stream dynamics.
When will the Gabion wall removal happen?
The project is currently in the planning and permitting phase. Great Peninsula Conservancy and HCSEG are working through hydrology studies and regulatory coordination. No construction timeline has been publicly announced as of May 2026.
How can North Mason residents get involved with salmon restoration on the Tahuya?
The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group welcomes volunteers for its 2026 rotary screw trap season and other restoration projects. Contact HCSEG at 600 NE Roessel Road, Belfair, (360) 275-9284, or visit pnwsalmoncenter.org.
Does the Tahuya River Preserve affect Hood Canal water quality?
Yes. Protecting floodplain forest along the Tahuya River reduces sediment and nutrient runoff into Hood Canal, helps maintain cooler water temperatures, and supports dissolved oxygen levels — all factors that affect shellfish bed status and salmon habitat quality in the canal itself.
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