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
The Yakama Nation is pursuing a fee simple acquisition of 5.6 miles of the lower White Salmon River (WSR) corridor in Skamania and Klickitat Counties, WA. The goal of the project is to protect intact, high-quality aquatic and riparian habitat critical for ESA-listed salmon, steelhead and other species, and prevent degradation and fragmentation by residential development, conserving the ecological processes, landscape integrity and biological diversity of the lower river. The project consists of 458 acres of undeveloped riparian and uplands, and 10.29 miles of streambank. Condit Dam removal in 2012 restored up to 33 miles of anadromous fish passage. The project will benefit ESA-listed Coho, spring and fall Chinook, Chum, Steelhead and Bull Trout. The EPA considers the WSR an ‘excellent’ coldwater refuge. The basin has diverse habitats and species, unique geologic features and year-round cold, clean water. The project area is primarily rural but experiencing significant development pressure, and is identified as a high priority for protection in the Klickitat Lead Entity Salmon Recovery Strategy, NMFS salmon recovery plans, and other plans. The YN has a Right of First Offer agreement with landowner PacifiCorp covering downstream lands. This project will protect the lower WSR by conserving large tracts of functioning contiguous habitat. Conservation ownership will ensure the restoration investment and the decades-long efforts to remove a major dam are protected into the future.