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 (WDFW) proposes to conduct restoration activities on 573 acres of glacial outwash prairie and oak woodland habitat on the Violet Prairie Unit of Scatter Creek Wildlife Area (Violet Prairie). Violet Prairie contains prairie-oak woodland-wetland complex that includes federal Designated Critical Habitat for Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori) and Yelm pocket gopher (Thomomys mazama yelmensis) and supports habitat for a variety of Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed/candidate species and State Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). The site’s favorable soils, baseline vegetation conditions, and topographic complexity provide high restoration potential and promote ecological resilience. Activities will include herbicide application, prescribed fire, thinning, mowing, masticating, seeding/planting native forbs and grasses, and periodic habitat assessments to ensure that the actions taken are effectively contributing to management goals. Prescribed grazing will be a complementary activity but not funded by this grant. Restoration outcomes will include increased native grass and forb cover and enhanced oak recruitment, consistent with the metrics defined in the draft Scatter Creek Habitat Management Plan. This project will contribute to a regional effort to restore prairies by increasing habitat extent, quality, and connectivity and support the recovery of the species that depend on these habitats.