(Kiket Island - Wash. Dept. of Ecology photo)
The state has agreed to purchase two islands at the south end of Similk Bay using state and federal funds. The owners of Kiket and Flagstaff islands have been offered to the state by their owners. Once in state ownership, the two islands will become part of Deception Pass State Park.
The owners, Wallace Opdycke and the Nancy Louise Corbin Living Trust, approached Washington State Parks roughly 2 years ago about buying the 2 islands. The state legislature included $4.5 million in the state Parks budget to buy the islands. The state is partnering with the Trust for Public Land to get another $8 million in federal money and donations.
Kiket’s uniqueness goes beyond the unusual land formations and diverse, exemplary habitats. The history of the island and how its legacy persists is distinctive. Kiket Island has been in private ownership since statehood except during a brief period when Seattle City Light owned and evaluated this site as a possible location for a saltwater-cooled nuclear power plant in the 1970s. The tidelands and nearshore habitat surrounding Kiket Island are among the most studied in the Puget Sound. Ultimately the city rejected the site, in large part due to fierce opposition from a growing environmental movement.
(Kiket Island - Wash. Dept. of Ecology photo)
Kiket Island contains mature forest with old growth characteristics. This area of the forest contains large live trees, standing dead trees, and downed logs. Some of the live trees show scorched bark, exhibiting the evidence of century-old forest fires. Dominant tree species are Douglas-fir, Western hemlock, and Western red cedar.
Kiket Island is about 1/2 mile long from its eastern to western end and about ¼ mile wide at its widest. Flagstaff Island lies at the western end of Kiket Island, connected to Kiket by a small strip of land. The two islands have a combined circumference of two miles of intact shoreline composed of cobble with evidence of numerous clams. Together the two islands contain 96 acres.
There is a growing public recognition that a shortage exists of accessible waterfront property within Puget Sound. The acquisition will meet two of the State Parks and Recreation Commission commitments: 1) to safeguard the state's natural resources and 2) to increase the amount of marine parks.
When acquired it will provide a convenient site for Puget Sound residents to explore virtually intact marine, forest, saltwater lagoon and tidelands ecosystems. On-site education and interpretation is planned with education facilities built later in a manner and scale compatible with the environment.