Diverse groups join forces to protect the Tieton River photo by Laurie Andrews/TNC

Yakima, WA—10/31/03— The Nature Conservancy of Washington applauded the decision by a congressional conference committee to appropriate $1.075 million to protect up to 2,000 acres in the Tieton River Canyon, a remarkable and expansive landscape 20 miles west of Yakima.

The funds are part of Congress’ Interior Appropriations bill, which a conference committee comprised of members of the House and Senate approved late Monday. It goes before the House today and to the Senate later this week for final passage and then to President Bush for his signature. The president is expected to sign the bill.

Once approved, the funds will go to the U.S. Forest Service, which will use the money to buy key stretches of the river corridor and canyon lands for addition to the Wenatchee National Forest. The property is currently owned by Plum Creek Timber Co. and is entirely within the boundary of the Wenatchee National Forest.

The Nature Conservancy launched a campaign earlier this year to safeguard 10,000 acres of the Tieton River Canyon. The congressional appropriation will mark the first federal support of this ambitious public/private campaign and comes on the heels of a state appropriation of $2.5 million.

David Weekes, director of the Conservancy’s Washington chapter, said the project’s strong community support was critical in ensuring funding for the Tieton in this year’s tight fiscal climate. Yakima County’s three county commissioners have endorsed the project, as have local recreation and environmental groups and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Weekes also praised Sen. Patty Murray, U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks for their work on behalf of the Tieton; Sen. Maria Cantwell, he said, helped as well.

"We’re grateful to these leaders—and in particular the county commissioners—for recognizing the importance of the Tieton Canyon," Weekes said. "Their foresight and support mean people for generations to come will be able to enjoy this rugged and relatively untouched landscape."

Sen. Murray hailed the conference committee’s decision to support the Tieton. "It is a testament to the hard work of the county commissioners and the Nature Conservancy that this funding was provided in conference," she said. "This type of unified support makes it much easier to be successful."

The appropriation is from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Created by Congress in 1965, the LWCF allocates royalties paid by private companies for the privilege of developing offshore oil and gas resources to protect land and water for recreational uses, open space, and wildlife habitat.

Once completed, the public/private campaign to protect the Tieton will conserve nearly eight miles of the river and all of the adjacent uplands, a place of remarkable ecological diversity because it extends from the forested flanks of the East Cascades to the sage-dotted hills of the Columbia Basin. Mature Ponderosa pine forests give way to oak woodlands, which give way to cobble floodplains and dense streamside stands of willow and cottonwood.

Several animals, some of which are listed as threatened or endangered, are found here, including golden eagles, bighorn sheep, spotted owls, pine martins, and river otters. The canyon 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.

Because of a 19^th century legacy of land grants to railroad companies, Plum Creek and the Forest Service own alternating square miles within the Tieton basin, a checkerboard-ownership pattern that has been a bane to both private and public land managers. Completion of the project will put an end to the checkerboard and will mean that more than 20,000 acres 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 Tree Farms, 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. The Conservancy will continue to work with public and private partners, purchasing land in phases from Plum Creek and transferring the parcels to public partners as public funds come available. The Conservancy will make no net profit in these transactions.

Betsy Bloomfield, the Conservancy’s Southwest Washington area manager, said the decision by key lawmakers such as Hastings and Murray to support this project will give it even more momentum. She also praised the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, based in Missoula, Mont., which has played a significant role in supporting the Tieton campaign.

"A project of this magnitude requires support at several levels," she said. "I’m deeply grateful that so many players—from the local Audubon chapter to leaders in Congress—are stepping forward in support of this magnificent landscape."