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
We successfully purchased the C. Wright and R&C Wright properties. The DeTemple property was sold to another private party.* As previously discussed, given the lack of funds in this application and willingness of R. Wright, we planned to acquire this property under our 2020 Washougal grant. DNR made an offer in Fall of 2022, which the landowner accepted, and we closed on February 28, 2023. We had significant negotiations with Priority Property C (Carlson), which resulted in our determination that the seller is not ready to sell. We successfully purchased the Carroll/Simms property and are in the process of the demo and all associated activities. Given it’s in the GSA, this process took time, but we expect to be complete during this grant cycle.