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Cushman Conservation Easement:
47 Acres comprising
much of the southern half of Gull Harbor shoreline,
along eastern shores of Budd Inlet.
Protected with Conservation Easement in 1997.
The
Cushman property provides a critical buffer between the
encroaching urban areas and the remaining undisturbed
portions of Budd Inlet, Gull Harbor and the surrounding
area. The property provides critical habitat to many unique
and threatened plant and animal species including Red
Fox, California Sea Lion, Bobcat, Coyote, River Otter,
Mountain Beaver, Pacific Tree Frog and numerous other
species of mammals and amphibians. More than one hundred
species of birds are believed to visit the property.
The
property consists of primarily level, gently sloping or
slightly undulating agricultural fields surrounded by a
diverse mixture of deciduous and coniferous woodlands,
extensive steep banks above saltwater shoreline and
accompanying tidelands.
Notes from the Field:
Cushman Easement
by Shelley Kirk Rudeen
(Issue 24 Summer 1997)
The tide flows into Gull
Harbor like a slowly drawn breath. Periodic splashes announce a
kingfisher's plunges from its hunting perch, and the awkward calls of
a great blue heron echo in the calm. On clay bluffs above the harbor
the steady rustle of maple leaves and cedar boughs is a backdrop for
other sounds: the ringing call of the Swainson's thrush, the rat-a-tat
of a pileated woodpecker's excavation, the gentle chatter of
chestnut-backed chickadees feeding their young.
A bald eagle watches our
progress, aloof in its perch across the bay. Perhaps it recognizes the
leader of our small expedition, for Leslie Cushman has roamed these
bluffs since she was a small child. Leslie is one of a long line of
Cushmans that have enjoyed the property. It has been in the family
since 1914, and current owner Dan Cushman, Leslie's father, has
protected it with a conservation easement in memory of his late wife,
Julie.
Birdsong accompanies us as
we work our way along the bluff. The varied calls prompt Leslie and
the others in our group to begin listing the birds and animals that
frequent the property: "We hear barred owls, screech owls and
barn owls. Foxes seem to like the big field, and occasionally we see
coyotes and bobcats. There are Bewick's wrens and winter wrens,
western tanagers and red-breasted sapsuckers. This spring we watched a
pair of pileated woodpeckers raise their babies! Osprey and red-tailed
hawks nest here, but bald eagles just visit. We have mink and weasels,
and don't forget the river otters!" The recitation continues as
we move from the moist banks on the east to drier, steeper bluffs
facing north and west. I notice how dynamic the landscape seems.
Intermittent streams and springs form moist habitats. Trees slide down
the bluff and litter the beach, offering hunting perches for birds and
changing the patterns of deposition on the beach. Winter storms open
the forest canopy and create snags used by cavity nesting birds.
 Leslie brings us to a
ravine, where springs have created a moist grotto
of ferns and western
red cedar. Years ago a narrow-gauge railway ran down this ravine to
the beach. It carried bricks fired in the kiln of the Wepusec Brick
Company, which operated from 1910 to 1914. The kiln stood in the
fields above us and clay was mined from a pit nearby. The bricks were
barged to Olympia to be used in building foundations. "Wepusec"
was the local Indians' name for Gull Harbor, and the name assigned on
maps made by the Wilkes Expedition in 1841. We explore the site of the
old kiln and the fragments of bricks that keep coming to the surface.
In a large field nearby
Leslie points out the venerable survivors of an apple orchard planted
in 1900. The trees are Olympic Baldwins, a variety developed by county
extension agent Ed Shincke (of Shincke Road fame). This orchard, and a
prune orchard a quarter of a mile away, were planted to supply dried
fruit for the Alaska gold rush that began in 1898, although the gold
dried up before the trees began producing. We stop near Julie
Cushman's favorite spot, the view from her yard near the high point of
the property. From this vantage point you get a sense of how much is
encompassed in these 48 acres: large fields, mixed forest, grazed
woodlands and extensive saltwater shoreline. My gaze sweeps the
meadows, the gnarled remnants of the apple orchard, and great trees
framing the glassy calm of Puget Sound. The view that Julie Cushman
loved is now protected, and with it the creatures that call this place
home.
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