None The Nature Conservancy in Washington Press Releases Search All Press Releases Leslie Brown (206) 343-4345 ext. 379 Betsy Bloomfield (509) 962-1333

Tieton River project receives $2.5 million from Legislature

Strong community support critical in protecting 2,500 acres

Ellensburg – June 17, 2003 – The Legislature has appropriated $2.5 million to purchase 2,500 acres within the much-loved Tieton River Canyon, a significant victory in The Nature Conservancy’s public/private campaign to protect this ecologically diverse landscape in the foothills of the East Cascades.

The funds were part of a $45 million appropriation to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP), a state program that funds the acquisition of significant lands for wildlife conservation and outdoor recreation. The $2.5 million grant will enable the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to purchase property that contains the popular Bear Canyon trail as well as lands immediately adjacent to the river. These lands provide habitat for bighorn sheep, golden eagles, Rocky Mountain elk, northern spotted owls and scores of other species, some of which are considered threatened or endangered.

The Nature Conservancy recently announced a campaign to protect, by way of both public and private funding, a little more than 10,000 acres within the Tieton River corridor, land owned by Plum Creek Timber Co. Since announcing the campaign, the Conservancy has received a $100,000 pledge from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, two $50,000 gifts from two Seattle families, a $50,000 pledge from The Cascades Conservation Partnership and a $25,000 gift from the Mountaineers Foundation.

Conservationists who have been working hard to secure funding for the Tieton project said the Legislature’s action is a significant victory.

"Washington’s natural heritage has been made richer by this legislative action," said Betsy Bloomfield, the Conservancy’s South Central Washington area manager. "We’re grateful to all who worked hard to secure this outcome."

"This is a huge step towards accomplishing the long-term protection of this beautiful and important landscape," said Ken Bevis, a habitat biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. "What really carried this in the Legislature was the project’s strong local support, including the support of the Yakima County Commissioners."

The project is within Yakima County. The three county commissioners recently wrote a letter in support of the project.

Once completed, this public/private effort will conserve nearly eight miles of the Tieton River and all of the adjacent uplands, a place of remarkable ecological diversity because of its location between the Columbia Basin shrub-steppe and the forested eastern front of the Cascade Mountains.

The Tieton River canyon supports mature Ponderosa pine forests, oak woodlands, intact shrub-steppe, riparian floodplains, and dense streamside stands of willow, dogwood, and cottonwood. At least four federally listed and 15 state-listed species are found there, including flammulated owls, steelhead and bull trout. It also harbors the state’s largest herd of Rocky Mountain elk and provides their major migration route from their wintering grounds near the river to their summer highlands.

The Tieton project area is entirely within the boundary of the Wenatchee National Forest and adjacent to the state-owned Oak Creek Wildlife Area. Because of the checkerboard ownership pattern in this part of the state, successful completion of the project will mean that more than 20,000 acres—nearly an entire township—of now fragmented lands will be knit into a contiguous landscape of protected habitat.

In January, the Conservancy purchased 695 acres within the project area from Elk Haven Timber Co., LLC, a small group of timberland investors and developers. In making that purchase, the Conservancy took assignment of Elk Haven’s option to buy another 9,700 acres from Plum Creek. Elk Haven had recently secured a permit to harvest the parcel the Conservancy just purchased; the firm planned to log and subdivide or develop the entire area over several years. The Conservancy will work with public and private partners, purchasing land in phases and transferring the parcels to public partners as public funds come available.

The Conservancy will make no net profit in these transactions. The lands purchased by the Department of Fish and Wildlife will become part of the Oak Creek Wildlife Area and will be open to the public. The Tieton River canyon is a popular recreation site for kayakers and rafters as well as hikers, birdwatchers and hunters.