None The Nature Conservancy in Washington Press Releases Search All Press Releases Leslie Brown Phone: (206) 343-4344, ext. 379 E-mail: leslie_brown@tnc.org

1,000 acres in Swauk Creek valley protected

May 3, 2002 — More than 1,000 acres surrounding the biologically rich Swauk Creek near Cle Elum have been protected from development, thanks to two significant donations to The Nature Conservancy of Washington.

The two donations, at an estimated value of more than $2 million, extinguish development rights on an area conservation groups have eyed for years—the beautiful and biologically diverse Swauk Creek valley between Cle Elum and Ellensburg.

All told, 1,010 acres of steep canyon lands, ponderosa pine forests, streamside habitat and semi-arid shrub-steppe have been set aside as havens for fish and wildlife. Also protected is more than one mile of Swauk Creek, which feeds into the upper Yakima River and is considered one of the Yakima’s most productive and fish-abundant tributaries. The creek supports 16 native fish species, including wild chinook salmon.

In exchange, the property owners will be able to continue to use their lands for recreation and other limited uses. They’ll also receive some tax benefits for their donations.
 
"This is a gain for conservation in an area prized for its biological diversity," said Betsy Bloomfield, the Conservancy’s program manager for southwest Washington. "We’re grateful that the owners of these lands recognized their enormous worth to conservation and were willing to work with us to see that they were protected."

The donations were made to the Conservancy as conservation easements, legal restrictions on the properties that stay in place even if ownership should change in the future. The first of the two easements—720 acres—was donated by a partnership called the Swauk Valley Ranch, LLC. The partnership is made up of three families who bought the 4,000-acre ranch about 10 miles east of Cle Elum five years ago. 

The partnership intends to donate additional easements, knitting together the most ecologically significant lands under their ownership, said Dean Allen, managing partner of the LLC and more president of McKinstry Co. in Seattle.  The families decided to make the donation to ensure a landscape they’ve come to love is protected forever, he added.

"We purchased the land as novices in conservation but also fully aware that this beautiful and remarkable place needed to be protected in a special way," Allen said. "Over the course of a couple of years, we educated ourselves about the kinds of things we needed to do to take care of the land and began consulting with the Conservancy. This is just the beginning of a multi-year effort to provide some great results for this ecosystem."

The second easement—290 acres in size—is directly adjacent to the Swauk Valley Ranch easement. The donation was made by Jerry McNaul, a Seattle lawyer who bought the land in 1988.

"I fell in love with the area after visiting a nearby ranch," McNaul said. After talking with his children, he realized they, too, wanted to see the land stay largely undeveloped and pristine. "We’re all thrilled to think the land will remain in perpetuity just the way it is," he said.

Under the two easements, property taxes will continue to be paid to Kittitas County at the same rate. Both easements allow some limited uses. The Swauk Valley Ranch partnership, for instance, will be able to do some cattle ranching under the auspices of a grazing management plan to be worked out with the Conservancy staff.

"This is innovative conservation at its best," the Conservancy’s Bloomfield said. "The owners are able to fully enjoy their land and at the same time protect some incredible habitat."