Location:  Birch Bay
Size:  103 acres
Public Access: Limited
Easement granted:  October 1999
Easement type:  Conservation
Grantee:  Whatcom Land Trust

    The Atlantic Richfield Corporation Terrell Creek Conservation Easement property is located near the ARCO Cherry Point oil refinery.  It adjoins Birch Bay State Park and a previously granted conservation easement, ARCO Heron Colony.  Together, the two easements cover 180 acres.  The Terrell Creek property is a buffer zone for a Great Blue Heron colony located on the earlier easement.  It also allows for movement of the nesting sites over time, as the older nesting area becomes degraded from heavy use by the birds.

    The Terrell Creek property includes second growth mixed forest, open pastures and densely vegetated riparian habitat.  A variety of birds and woodland animals inhabit the area.  A small pond provides excellent habitat for ducks and beaver, and Terrell Creek is important Coho salmon spawning habitat.  Raptors feed on the mice, voles and other small rodents that make use of the pasture, and the herons forage the wetland areas for small amphibian species, such as red frogs.

    About five acres of the property along the eastern border has been developed as an arboretum used for educational purposes, with different areas representing the ecological zones of the Pacific Northwest.