Schumacher Creek

The Schumacher Creek watershed consists largely of industrial timberlands owned by Green Diamond Resource Company,[3] which leases the area out to dirtbike riders and manages most of the watershed as a commercial tree farm.

The preserve protects the Sitka alder/skunk cabbage-water parsley plant community which is only found in the Puget lowlands and is critically imperiled.

The watershed contains a small section of old growth forest at its outlet into Mason Lake where Green Diamond Resource Company operates an Employee Recreation Area on the banks of Mason Lake which is not open to the public.

[8] Schumacher Creek is spawning habitat for Sockeye salmon but timber harvest along the creek has affected the functionality of the shoreline habitat [8] Other large landowners in the watershed include the logging company Merrell and Ring and a local ranch.

The Tacoma power transmission lines from Lake Cushman bisect the north portion of the watershed and a natural gas pipeline owned by Cascade Natural Gas crosses the watershed, including at one location where it crosses directly beneath Schumacher Creek, interrupting the riparian habitat of the shoreline.