Clay Myers State Natural Area at Whalen Island

The Clay Myers State Natural Area at Whalen Island is a remarkable place. A virtually untouched coastal estuarine ecosystem, it is bounded by the Sand Creek estuary.

Species run the gamut from salmon and steelhead to shorebirds to deer, otter, and even bear and cougar.

8 million dollar partnership between the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Federal Highway Administration, National Park Service, Tillamook County Board of Commissioners, and the Trust for Public Lands.

For the first time, OPRD relied on the state lottery-backed Parks & Natural Resource Fund to pay for a major addition to the state park system.

The site was purchased from sisters Kathleen Craft Shaw and Karen Derungs, who worked with the Trust for Public Lands to assure permanent protection of the area in honor of their mother Lillian Parker Craft.

This is critically valuable habitat for adult salmon moving upstream to spawn and for smolt leaving the inland fresh waters for their marine journey.

The area is a ecological potpourri, including mixed woodlands, grasslands, fresh and saltwater wetlands (the Lillian Parker Craft Wetland) and a rare native dune sedgeland.

Part of the Sand Lake Estuary. The site was purchased from sisters Kathleen Craft Shaw and Karen Derungs, who worked with the Trust for Public Lands to ensure permanent protection of the area in honor of their mother Lillian Parker Craft. Purchased August 18th, 2000 for $2.8 million using lottery dollars, Federal Highway Administration funding and a $900,000 grant received from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB). The property is named for Clay Myers (Oregon Secretary of State 1967-77 and State Treasurer 1977-84), a longtime advocate for conservation and protection of Oregon’s land, beaches and waterways.