New Reserve Proposed in Texas
Under Construction!
Benefactors for the Bay
Volunteers Needed
Padilla Bay

National Estuarine Research Reserve
Padilla Bay is an estuary at the saltwater edge of the large delta of the Skagit River. It is about eight miles long and three miles across. In 1980, this bay was selected to be included in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

Because the bay is filled with sediment from the Skagit River, the bottom is very shallow, flat, and muddy. It is so shallow that almost the whole bay is intertidal. This means that it is flooded at high tide. When the tide goes out the whole bay empties out, exposing miles and miles of mud flats. This condition allows unusually large eelgrass meadows to grow. There are nearly 8,000 acres of eelgrass in Padilla Bay (see habitat map).

Eelgrass is valuable because it is habitat for wildlife and commercially harvested animals. Eelgrass is used as a nursery by salmon, crab, perch, and herring. Eelgrass is also home for millions of worms, shrimp, clams, and other invertebrates that are food for great blue herons, eagles, otters, seals, as well as humans. This is why Padilla Bay was selected to be a National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Register for Classes
Padilla Bay provides fun and informative educational activities and classes for all age groups. Click here to register for the classes.

This national system of reserves is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Padilla Bay Reserve is managed by the Washington Department of Ecology in the Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program.

How to pronounce "Padilla"

Click here to learn more about estuary plants and animals. Please be patient, this is a large file and may take a long time to download.