For some conservation projects, protecting a single property means protecting much more than the acres within its boundaries. Enter Jasper Mountain.
Near Dayton, Washington, this 327-acre landscape sits at a critical crossroads in the Blue Mountains. Its forests, grasslands, and slopes provide winter range for elk and deer and habitat for rare birds and endangered gray wolves.
Jasper Mountain is also home to something even more unusual: a breeding pair of great gray owls, one of Washington’s rarest birds. The WA Department of Fish & Wildlife estimates there are only about 100 great gray owls left in the state.
With a $1.56 million Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) Critical Habitat grant, the Blue Mountain Land Trust (BMLT) will acquire Jasper Mountain Reserve and permanently protect its exceptional habitat. The project represents a $3.12 million total investment in conservation.
What makes Jasper Mountain especially valuable is its connection to the lands around it. The property borders the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s 8,441-acre Rainwater Wildlife Area, which connects to the Umatilla National Forest. Together, these lands create more than 8,700 acres of connected protected habitat – a landscape large enough to support wildlife movement and provide the connectivity species need to persist over time.
That connectivity is becoming increasingly important. The Blue Mountains form a major east-west corridor between some of the Pacific Northwest’s remaining intact habitats, providing routes for wildlife as conditions change. Protecting Jasper Mountain helps keep that corridor intact. And with nearby private lands increasingly vulnerable to subdivision and development, permanent conservation protection will ensure that Jasper Mountain does not become another fragmented landscape.
Protection also builds on years of stewardship by the current landowners, who have maintained 13 miles of hiking trails and six miles of cross-country ski trails. BMLT plans to continue that stewardship while providing opportunities for low-impact recreation, research, and education.
At Jasper Mountain, conservation is about more than protecting a single species – or even a single property. It’s about keeping a functioning landscape connected: a place where wolves can move, great gray owls can nest, elk can find winter range, and people can experience the Blue Mountains for generations to come.
WWRP Critical Habitat funding is helping make sure that future remains possible.
