Skookum Wulge

The mouth of Hylebos Creek, which emerges on the northeastern edge of the Puyallup Delta, is a dredged estuarine channel lined with fill and heavy industry. As you move out into the bay, the industry gradually shifts to marinas and eventually to residential development. This is one of few places in the Sound where log rafting has persisted into the 2000s.

Commencement Bay is home to many shoreline cleanup sites, some of which have been cleaned up, some of which are still in progress. Much effort has gone into not just cleaning them up but actually restoring habitat. I actually don't know much about the history of this site - it basically consists of a spit and a back-barrier lagoon. The feature has been here in some form or another for decades. I'm not sure what the original shoreline looked like here, but the large fill south of this site went in since the 1940s and I doubt there would have been a spit in this configuration prior to that. The spit itself seems to have consolidated during the past decade, perhaps as a result of increased wave energy due to removal of log rafts or the addition of additional sediment to the area in association with the clean up work. Another place to do some more homework on.