Category Overview
As Washington continues to grow, many of our most beautiful areas are threatened with development. In addition, native ecosystems are receding, and important wildlife habitat and migratory pathways are being cut off. The Natural Areas category helps combat this by funding projects that protect wildlife habitat and rare geological features while also preserving public access for back-country recreation.
Project Highlights
The Department of Natural Resources will use this grant to purchase about 168 acres of rare plant communities and species within the Lacamas Prairie Natural Area Preserve. This includes about 17 acres of Riparian Protection habitat, 11 acres of wetlands, and 140 acres of uplands. This Willamette Valley wet prairie represents the only example of its size and quality in Washington. These priority parcels support the second largest of 20 known populations of Bradshaw’s Lomatium, a globally critically imperiled, federally-listed endangered plant species. They also contains habitat for five state sensitive plant species and one rare animal species, the Slender-billed White Breasted Nuthatch. This site is located northeast of Vancouver Washington.