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
With the support of RCO, The Nature Conservancy was able to conserve 1,575 acres of land in the Hoh River watershed with the goal of protecting critical salmon spawning and rearing habitat. The lands included in the grant consist of over 500 acres of riparian, 390 acres of wetland, and 665 acres of upland area. These properties are managed under a comprehensive Forest Stewardship Plan as a part of TNC’s Hoh River Recreation and Conservation Area. During the grant period, TNC attempted to purchase multiple properties, including the two properties along the Hoh River that were considered in our original application. The process involved meeting with landowners, reviewing title reports, obtaining appraisals and review appraisals, working with Jefferson County on boundary line adjustment feasibility, amending the management plan to add a cultural resources protocol, strategizing in the face of volatile timber markets, and continually exploring different leads within the Worksite. Although we developed good working relationships with multiple sellers, each of the leads ultimately fell through due to lack of agreement on value and/or timing issues. RCO provided several minor amendments to account for the Covid-19 pandemic and to give time for TNC to pursue alternative acquisition leads. TNC and RCO eventually agreed to focus the scope of the grant on riparian sections of land that were previously acquired by TNC from the Rayonier timber company under a waiver of retroactivity. Although the final parcel list evolved from our 2018 expectations, the overall goal of protecting riparian habitat for conservation, recreation, and cultural use has been achieved.