![Derelict pilings will be removed from King County's Maury Island Natural Area in September 2016. Derelict pilings will be removed from King County's Maury Island Natural Area in September 2016.](https://www.dnr.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pictures/aqr/aqr_rest_creo_maury_island.jpg)
Maury Island Natural Area
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is partnering with King County Parks to remove a derelict creosote-treated pier and its associated structures at the Maury Island Natural Area, in King County, WA. This project will remove 150 derelict creosote-treated piles and 2,000 square feet of overwater structure, restoring important shoreline habitat located in the Maury Island Aquatic Reserve.
Construction is scheduled to occur between September 6 and September 20, 2016.
Contractors will start by removing the creosote-treated pilings and wooden pier, then move onto removing the steel pilings and the concrete structure, and finally remove submerged debris and remnant pilings with a dive team.
Maury Island Natural Area users are advised to stay away from the construction zone because of heavy traffic on the access road within the Natural Area.
Removal of the pier and its associated structures will be an important contribution to the state's commitment to restore the health of Puget Sound, improving vital shoreline habitat in King County's 275-acre Maury Island Natural Area, home to pure Madrone forests and habitat that supports endangered species, such as Chinook salmon, orca and bull trout.
The site's nearly one mile of shoreline is the longest undeveloped stretch of Puget Sound shoreline in King County. When combined with the nearby 320-acre Maury Island Marine Park, the two parks represent the largest public holding of protected marine shoreline in all of Puget Sound.
The area also lies within DNR's 5,350-acre Maury Island Aquatic Reserve, one of just 18 distinct Pacific herring spawning areas in Puget Sound. Herring eggs exposed to creosote have a high mortality rate. Herring are an important part of the diets of a number of species, including salmon, and migrating shorebirds.