Category Overview
The State Lands Restoration and Enhancement category provides funding to two state agencies to help repair damaged plant and animal habitat. These grants focus on resource preservation and protection of public lands. Projects in this category help bring important natural areas and resources back to their original functions by improving the self sustaining and ecological functionality of sites.
Project Highlights
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife used this grant to restore shrub-steppe habitat at four locations on the L.T. Murray-Wenas Wildlife Area Complex. The lands were once used as farms or pasture, and at the time of application were highly degraded for wildlife habitat purposes. About 130 acres of alfalfa fields at Mountain Vale Ranch west of Selah were seeded with native grass and shrubs to returned to a more natural condition. Another 8 acres of hay and pasture north of Vantage near Quilomene Bay were restored through mowing, burning, treating of noxious weeds, and seeding with native species. On 150 acres above the Yakima River southwest of Ellensburg, the department mowed, burned, treated noxious weeds, seeded native species, and fertilized. On 5,000 acres in Skookumchuck, east of Ellensburg, the department treated weeds and seeded with native species.