Whidbey Island Camano Land Trust will celebrate the purchase of a 59-acre property on Possession Sound just north of Clinton by holding a community gathering at the property from 1-3 p.m. on Sept. 27.

One hundred people will attend the event, which is sold out, to christen the establishment of the Waterman Shoreline Preserve.

The $1.5 million property was acquired by the Land Trust last month. It will protect a mosaic of upland forest and freshwater wetlands stretching along 2,000 feet of steep, eroding bluffs bordering 26 acres of beach and tidelands.

The land also provides habitat for wildlife as well a recreational opportunities for the community. Zimmerman Road, which is closed and used as a paved country trail, runs through the preserve and will remain undeveloped.

The Land Trust is also partnering with the Washington Department of Natural Resources to remove a wooden bulkhead that “cuts off sediment supply to a 435-foot section of the beach and releases poisonous creosote into the Puget Sound.”

“It’s a really fantastic wildlife habitat,” said Danielle Rideout, a land protection specialist. “The shoreline is of high significance for our marine life. It’s not something we’ve seen on other beaches.”

Funding came from three state and federal grants which totaled $7.8 million.

The grants include the National Coastal Wetlands Grant funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a Washington State Salmon Recovery grant, and a Marine Shoreline Protection grant funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.