On July 21st, the Columbia Land Trust finalized the purchase of 4,900 acres along the Klickitat River Canyon in Yakima County for $8.9 million, it’s their largest land acquisition to date.
The Columbian reported the purchase completed the nearly 11,000-acre Klickitat Canyon Conservation Area, and marked the final step in a 12-year process of planning, research, fundraising and partnerships. Read the entire article here.
Excerpt:
The goal of the Klickitat Canyon Conservation Area is to preserve the habitat, natural resources, wildlife and to work on the land to make it more climate resilient to protect wildlife in the long run. Kearney said limited forestry operations will take place.
The canyon area is surrounded by ancestral lands of the Yakama people, and was developed with support from the Yakama Nation, Kearney said.
“The Klickitat River is Washington state’s longest wild river, a third of which lies within the Yakama Nation reservation,” Phil Rigdon, the superintendent with Yakama Nation Natural Resources, said in a prepared statement. “It is an essential artery that supports our culture and way of life. … It is important to share the understanding of the importance of enhancing and protecting these aquatic and ecological places because a watershed like the Klickitat is the last of its kind.”