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
Jefferson Land Trust will permanently protect and restore important riparian habitat in the Salmon Creek watershed, located at the head of Discovery Bay. Through fee simple acquisition, Jefferson Land Trust will permanently protect approximately 155 acres with nearly 1.36 mile of riparian habitat that provides spawning grounds for threatened summer chum, coho, and winter steelhead, as well as habitat used by fall chum and cutthroat trout, and other wildlife. Following acquisition, Jefferson Land Trust will begin riparian buffer habitat restoration on the six tributaries, 16.5 acres of the property, leading to the mainstem of Salmon Creek. The Salmon and Snow Creek Estuary is the most intact of its type on the Strait of Juan de Fuca and is the unquestioned stronghold of the ESA listed Strait of Juan De Fuca summer chum salmon. This project continues the successful protection and restoration efforts conducted by Chumsortium partners since 2001. The project fits well with the Hood Canal Coordinating Council Strategy for Salmon Recovery, which lists protecting highly functioning habitat in the Salmon Creek watershed as a priority.