Category Overview
Conserving land along our waterways protects important habitat and helps keep our rivers healthy, clean, and more resilient to drought. Riparian Protection projects conserve and restore fresh and saltwater habitat while protecting fish habitat. In doing so, the grants help provide our families, farms, and fisheries with clean water across the state.
Project Highlights
This project was the second phase of a multi-year project and acquired 1,125 acres including over 566 acres of riparian forest and wetland habitat along the Clearwater River towards the confluence with the Queets River on the Olympic Peninsula. The primary purpose of this project was for habitat protection targeting the two most significant habitat threats to these river systems: ongoing intensive forest management and rural development. The rivers drain an area of more than 287,383 acres and are home to wild populations of Chinook, coho, chum, pink and sockeye salmon, steelhead, cutthroat, and bull trout. The rivers and associated riparian forest habitat also support numerous other important species, such as the Pacific lamprey, Olympic mudminnow, and marbled murrelet.