Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Herron Island, WA

Herron Island is an island and census-designated place in central Case Inlet in the southern part of Puget Sound, in Pierce County — about 1.25 miles long and half a mile across, with a land area of roughly 305 acres.

Herron Island is one of the few privately owned islands in Puget Sound: on April 30, 1958, it was organized as Herron Maintenance Co. (HMC), a nonprofit, non-stock Washington corporation made up of the island's property owners.

All access to the island is by boat, mostly aboard the HMC ferry Charlie Wells from the mainland at Herron on the Key Peninsula, and a guest pass signed by an HMC member is required to board the ferry.

The island community is funded solely by annual and special assessments paid by its members and by the ferry fee.

Before development, the Squaxin people harvested shellfish on the island's beaches, though no permanent Native village is known to have stood on the island itself.

Port Orchard logger Bill Sehmel bought the island in 1951 and harvested over 90 percent of its timber; developers then subdivided and platted it in the mid-1950s, bringing in power and a water system and putting the ferry Annabelle S. into operation.

Herron Maintenance Co. owns the island's shared property, including North Beach Park, Goodpastor Park, boat docks, a community building and a fire station; there are roughly 400 property owners, of whom about 150 live on the island year-round.

Herron Island first appeared as a census-designated place in the 2010 census, with 151 residents; the 2020 census counted 150 residents.

Island mailing addresses use the ZIP code 98349, which belongs to Lakebay on the Key Peninsula.