"This activity has resulted in new channels, steep banks, low areas, soft soil, and other hazards that did not previously exist." The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife posted that warning on September 15, 2026, about Leque Island. That's the tidal marsh on both sides of SR 532 between Stanwood and Camano, and it's the last open ground before the bridge to the island. The alert is aimed at waterfowl hunters and wildlife watchers alike, and it adds that high water can hide the hazards.
The timing matters. The Wrangel Island snow geese are heading for the Stillaguamish estuary right now. In the middle of October, the places the public can watch them from shrink, and they stay that way until mid-February. On the mainland side, one major preserve closes and the marsh on the drive home is reshaped and full of hunters. What's left is Camano's own shoreline, and one county reserve on Livingston Bay ends up doing most of the work.
Four dates in seven days
This year the change comes in one tight run:
- Thursday, October 15. The Nature Conservancy's 4,122-acre Port Susan Bay Preserve closes to visitors for hunting season. The closure runs to February 15, and only reserved group tours are allowed while it's closed.
- Saturday, October 17. Duck and goose seasons open. Under WDFW's 2026–27 rules, duck season runs October 17–25 and October 28–January 31. In Goose Management Area 1, which includes Snohomish County west of I-5, goose season runs October 17–November 29 and December 12–January 31. A white-goose-only late season follows on February 13–21.
- Monday, October 19. Washington State Parks begins pulling the Lowell Point docks at Camano Island State Park. The launch itself stays open.
- Wednesday, October 21. Joe Meche gives a free talk, "Camano Island: a Year-Round Haven for Birds," at 7 p.m. at the Camano Multi-Purpose Center, 141 E Camano Drive. It walks through the island's resident and migratory birds season by season. The Camano Wildlife Habitat Project hosts it. The project is sponsored by Friends of Camano Island Parks and runs free programs on the third Wednesday of most months.
The first two dates shape the whole winter. Port Susan Bay is where The Nature Conservancy describes Wrangel Island snow geese gathering by the thousands on the tidal marshes and nearby farm fields, along with hundreds of raptors from peregrine falcons to short-eared owls. Visitors already needed a liability form and a reservation made a week ahead. Starting this week, they can't go in at all.
The marsh on the drive home has new ground
Leque Island has been changing for years. In 2019, WDFW removed the dikes around the island south of Highway 532. That returned 279 acres to tidal marsh and dug more than five miles of new channels. In 2022, the agency took out another 0.6 miles of dike north of the highway to open 26 acres of salt marsh.
Monitoring after that work found something that explains this summer's construction. More than five years of data showed Leque Island lagging behind its ecological potential when compared with the Stillaguamish Tribe's Zis a ba site and The Nature Conservancy's Port Susan Bay Preserve. That gap matters because Leque supports juvenile salmon from nearly half of all Puget Sound Chinook populations. So from July into September 2026, the Stillaguamish Tribe led a new phase of work. Crews dug channels from the island's interior to the South Pass and West Pass outlets of the Stillaguamish River, and they built mounds and berms to vary the ground elevation for native marsh plants. Much of that digging happened beyond the dike-top walking trail.
The practical details on WDFW's unit page haven't changed:
There is one parking area in the northwest corner of the property at Davis Slough, and another parking area at the end of Eide Road. Unit is closed during hours of darkness except during legal hunting seasons.
Both lots are small, and there's no restroom. You need a Discover Pass on WDFW land unless you hold a Vehicle Access Pass that came with an eligible hunting or fishing license. The Discover Pass costs $10 a day or $45 a year. WDFW calls Leque a popular waterfowl hunting site for both decoy spreads and pass shooting, and says parking at both lots can be limited. The viewing section of the same page says hunting may affect a viewing trip from mid-October through the last weekend in January.
From October 17 on, then, the delta's two best-known public access points are either closed or shared with hunters, and one of them has new ground underfoot.
Livingston Bay, and the one public way in
The island's east shore faces the same delta. The Whidbey Camano Land Trust acquired 3,160 acres of Livingston Bay tidelands in 2006, the largest conservation project in its history. The Land Trust puts the bay inside the Greater Skagit-Stillaguamish Delta. That delta hosts more than 90 percent of Western Washington's migrating waterfowl in winter, including half the nation's population of Wrangel Island snow geese, plus hundreds of wintering trumpeter and tundra swans. The Land Trust credits the area with the highest density and diversity of winter raptors in the United States, and all five North American falcon species turn up within the Livingston Bay project area.
Most of the Livingston Bay shoreline is privately owned. The Land Trust points visitors to Island County's Iverson Spit Reserve as the public access on the bay's southwest side. Iverson Spit has its own hunting rule. WDFW's 2026 District 13 outlook says hunting there is allowed only in the intertidal zone outside the dike. The Camano Island Chamber's listing describes beach access and trails reached by a narrow residential road, with limited parking.
Here's how the main sites stand from mid-October through mid-February, based on each manager's posted information:
| Site | Manager | Winter status as posted |
|---|---|---|
| Port Susan Bay Preserve | The Nature Conservancy | Closed Oct. 15–Feb. 15; reserved group tours only |
| Leque Island Unit | WDFW | Open; restoration hazards; active waterfowl hunting site |
| Iverson Spit Reserve | Island County Parks | Public access to Livingston Bay; hunting only in intertidal zone outside the dike |
| Barnum Point County Park | Island County, with Whidbey Camano Land Trust | Open to the public; bird viewing listed |
| Camano Island State Park | Washington State Parks | Open; Lowell Point docks out from Oct. 19 |
Farther from the flats
The island's other public sites look out on different water. The Land Trust lists Barnum Point County Park at 167 acres, open to the public, with bird viewing, forest, wetlands and a mile of beach. Its trail map includes Carolin's Loop Trail and the Barnum Trail.
On the west side, Camano Island State Park lists bird watching, four miles of forest-loop trails and a one-mile connector to Cama Beach. State Parks mentions eagles and herons over the water. Two closures affect getting down to the beach. The Canyon Trail is closed indefinitely, and the north beach staircase is closed for now, so beach access is by the south trail. Next door, State Parks closed Cama Beach's lower park, the historic cabin area and parking lots F and G after a partial seawall collapse in January 2026. That notice gave no reopening date.
These spots offer woods, bluffs and open water on Saratoga Passage and Port Susan. For the geese, swans and marsh raptors of the delta, Iverson Spit is the island's public way onto the tideflats.
What the forecast says, and when the season ends
WDFW's September 2026 outlook for District 13 expects strong snow goose numbers this winter. It keeps Stanwood on the list of traditional concentration areas and forecasts 5,000 to 10,000 geese spending time in the Snohomish River system. That figure is a forecast for a neighboring river system, not a count at Port Susan Bay. The same report says colder, wetter fronts bring more waterfowl into the district, and that mild winters can leave ducks farther north.
The rest of the winter calendar has firm dates:
- November 18, 2026. The Camano Wildlife Habitat Project's next program is "Habitat Restoration," with Ryan Elting of the Whidbey Camano Land Trust, on Zoom.
- Saturday, January 2, 2027. Pilchuck Audubon runs the Everett/Marysville Christmas Bird Count, whose count circle includes the southern tip of Camano Island. Volunteers can join field teams or count birds at feeders and in yards inside the circle, and taking part is free.
- February 13–21, 2027. The white-goose-only late season runs in Goose Management Area 1.
- February 15, 2027. The Nature Conservancy's annual closure of Port Susan Bay Preserve ends.
- Saturday, February 27, 2027. The Snow Goose and Birding Festival takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center. Organizers list the 2027 bus-tour routes and speakers as still to be determined.
By late February, the reservable preserve reopens and the hunting seasons close. Until then, Iverson Spit is the island's public view onto Livingston Bay and the delta's winter birds.
Living on the water here means the tides, the flyway and the marsh are part of your property, the same as your deck. Julie has spent decades watching that shoreline and the seasons that change it. If you own on Livingston Bay, Port Susan or Saratoga Passage and want to understand what your stretch of shoreline is worth, CamanoIslandWaterfront is glad to help. Book a private consultation and valuation whenever it suits you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
