Urban Wildlife Habitat projects fund close-to-home places to play and explore nature. As our urban areas are increasingly expanding and densifying, these grants protect important fish and wildlife habitat within five miles of densely populated areas, creating green refuges that help keep our ecosystems healthy and provide places to enjoy nature right in our backyards.
This month’s sponsored project is Scatter Creek Addition in Rochester, WA located on the ancestral land of the Coast Salish, Cowlitz, and Cowlitz People. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will use this grant to acquire about 147 acres of land near Grand Mound in Thurston County. The area provides habitat for the Mazama pocket gopher, and at least seven species of butterflies including the mardon skipper and the Taylor’s checkerspot. The property contains the unique south Puget Sound prairie ecosystem including highly sought prairie soils, a significant oak woodland, wetlands and over ½ mile of Scatter Creek. This primary purpose of this grant is habitat conservation and open space.
