Nowak Natural Area is located approximately one mile southeast of the community of Preston and just south of Interstate 90 in unincorporated King County. The undeveloped site borders the Raging River over a discontinuous quarter mile stretch from RM 5 to RM 5.3 and lies within the Raging River’s 100-year floodplain. The site is adjacent to a combination of private lands and Washington State Department of Natural Resources public lands.

 

Nowak Natural Area is divided into two distinct sections with a single, small northern parcel (.68 acres) on the left-bank of the Raging River and a larger southern parcel (7.47 acres) which is bisected in several places by the Raging River. Within the reach in close proximity to the Nowak Natural Area, the Raging River has a relatively flat gradient with gravel interspersed with smaller amounts of boulder material. A pronounced and active side channel flows through the lower southern portion of the site where an avulsion has occurred. The entire stretch of river that flows through the Nowak Natural Area is within a channel migration zone (CMZ) and considered to be a severe channel migration hazard.

 

A majority of the Nowak Natural Area is forested with mature deciduous trees and shrubs, with a smaller amount of coniferous species. The Raging River corridor at the Nowak Natural Area is identified as a wildlife habitat corridor in the King County Comprehensive Plan (2004) and offers significant habitat for a variety of mammalian wildlife. The river also provides prime habitat for a variety of salmonids.

 

Public use of the Nowak Natural Area is minimal - no formal trails exist on the site and access is limited.

The Nowak Natural Area Site Management Guidelines are available in Adobe Acrobat format, in sections for faster download. For help using Acrobat files, please visit our Acrobat help page.

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Nowak Natural Area Site Management Guidelines

• Figure 1 - Vicinity Map
• Figure 2 - Natural Resources