Category Overview
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.
Project Highlights
Obtain conservation easements, totaling 250 acres, at seven key riparian locations identified in watershed studies as strongholds for summer chum (critical stock) and coho salmon (depressed stock). Securing these key refugia is a top priority in the salmon restoration strategy developed for the Chimacum Watershed. About one-half of the identified riparian refuge areas have already been funded for acquisition by IAC’s Riparian Protection Program or secured by voluntary donation of conservation easements to the Jefferson Land Trust. This project will fund acquisition of the remaining unprotected areas. The project is strongly supported by local citizen groups, public agencies and tribes. Jefferson Land Trust will monitor and enforce the easement restrictions, eliminating WDFW’s long term management costs. The seven key riparian locations include 11 high quality habitat types, including saltwater marsh, estuary lagoon, freshwater wetlands and diverse riparian stream ecosystems that provide critical habitat for threatened and priority species, such as eagles, waterfowl concentrations, pileated woodpeckers, summer chum salmon, coho salmon, and sea-run cutthroat. The legal description of the properties to be acquired is described as follows: Seaton Lots – Ptn Sections 34 & 35 T30N, R 1 WWM Minor Ownerships – Ptn T29N & T30N, R1 WWM Port Townsend Papers – Sections 34 & 35 T30N, R1 WWM Cotton Corp – Ptn Section 35 T30N, R1WWM