The South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve’s western boundary just got a little bit bigger. The reserve has purchased two small parcels of land near two creek watersheds that feed into the slough.

Although not considered major acquisitions compared to the slough’s 4,800-acre holdings, the 1.6 and 2.4 acre additions will mean slough management potentially can set up a wireless network for the slough, said manager Mike Graybill. The State Land Board approved the purchases in the fall.

 “These would not necessarily be regarded as major purchases, but they are important purchases because they have utilities and because of their location and they may be able to help us with our telecommunications system we’re developing out here,” Graybill said.

Because both locations are supplied with electricity, they also could house equipment such as temperature gages and weather stations, Graybill added.

 A $220,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, matched with $220,000 from the Chalmer F. Gustafson, who bequeathed $1.6 million to the reserve in 1994, funded the purchase. The 1.6 acre-parcel is south of the entrance to the reserve’s Interpretive Center at the headwaters of the Hidden Creek watershed, and the 2.4 acres are adjacent to the headwaters of North Creek and the reserve’s newest trail.

According to the Coos County Assessor’s Office, the 2.4-acre parcel, at 62109 Salal Lane, was owned by Richard D. Sebesta and contains a 1980s-era two-story custom log cabin. It was purchased for $195,000. The second property, purchased for $125,000, was owned by Bruce A. Burbee and includes a mobile home and large workshop at 61819 Seven Devils Road.

Graybill said the mobile home is being removed, and the slough has no intention of using the shop.

Stewardship Coordinator Hans Klausner said one parcel had been placed on the market, while the owner of the other approached slough management. Both sites could be potential locations for network towers to transmit wireless Internet for the slough’s interpretive center and its research lab at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology campus in Charleston.

“Aside from the tower siting, both of these properties are at the headwaters of creeks that we are interested in protecting because both creeks enter the reserve, but more importantly they enter in South Slough,” Klausner said. “Protecting these creeks is a benefit for the water quality in South Slough.”

He added that neither property will be developed for recreational purposes in the near future.

The South Slough, established in 1974 through a partnership between NOAA and the Department of State Lands, is the first of 27 reserves in the country, and continues to offer educational, interpretive, stewardship and research services for the public and scientific community.