Tours Offered at Kukutali Preserve

The Swinomish Tribe and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission are offering Saturday tours of Kukutali Preserve near Deception Pass State Park. The property, previously known to many as Kiket Island, was formally renamed “Kukutali Preserve” recently by the Swinomish Senate and the State Parks Commission.

The property provides sweeping views toward Deception Pass and Whidbey Island and has a circumference of more than two miles of intact shoreline with native eelgrass that supports bio-diverse populations of shellfish, invertebrate fish and crustaceans. The property has a broad spectrum of habitats, including mixed deciduous and conifer forests, significant old-growth trees and a “rocky bald” environment with fragile, thin soil that hosts a unique community of native plants.

Tours will be offered at 9 and 11 a.m. Saturdays on an interim basis, while the Tribal Senate and the Commission finalize a management plan for the Preserve. Reservations are required for the tours, which will take groups of up to 12 people to explore the island’s forests, meadows and shorelines and will focus on the natural, cultural and modern history of the property. Reservation guests meet the tour guide nearby, for a van ride to the site. To schedule a reservation for the tours, call (360) 661-0682.

Kukutali Preserve lies entirely within the boundaries of the Swinomish Reservation, as established by the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the Commission and the Trust for Public Land accumulated grants and donations from several entities, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, the Trust for Public Land and the Nature Conservancy.

Funds used for the purchase are for land acquisition that protects environmentally endangered lands, such as nationally declining coastal wetlands, for public use.

The name, “Kukutali Preserve,” was adopted recently by Swinomish Tribal Senate and the State Parks and Recreation Commission, as part of an interim management plan that also designates “Kukutali Preserve Management Board” as the official name of the joint governing entity. “Kukutali” is the traditional name for Kiket Island in the Coast Salish Lushootseed language. It means “cattail” or “cattail mat.”

In June, the Tribe and State Parks Commission signed final intergovernmental agreements for the co-ownership and co-management of Kiket Island. The purpose of the joint agreements is to preserve the cultural and natural resources on the property in perpetuity, while providing for limited public day use in the future. The property will be managed as a unit of Deception Pass State Park. The co-ownership/co-management arrangement is thought to be the first of its kind in the country.

The property acquired includes approximately 84 acres on Kiket and Flagstaff islands and approximately nine acres on Fidalgo Island. Before acquisition, the property was deemed by the Tribe and the Commission as excellent for research, habitat protection and limited recreation, as well as environmental education for the visiting public.

In the 1970s, the Tribe and other concerned groups and individuals successfully prevented construction of a nuclear power plant at the site. Since then, the Kukutali upland parcels have been privately owned by a family who, for the most part, chose not to develop the property. As a result, the natural ecology and beauty of the island are largely undisturbed.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and State Parks are now working on a management plan that will include conservation activities as well as development of appropriate day-use public recreation opportunities consistent with the long-term protection of the property. The tours being offered now are an interim step to allow public access to the area. Once the management plan is in place, the public may be allowed to beach kayaks and canoes in designated areas. No motorboats or public hunting, fishing or shellfish harvesting will be allowed. §