The Nature Conservancy is purchasing 3,088 acres along the Clearwater River in Jefferson County near the Washington coast, the conservation organization announced this week.
The Nature Conservancy purchased the land for $6.98 million from Rayonier, said spokeswoman Robin Stanton of Seattle.
The group’s goal for the river corridor, which is about 11 miles long and about a mile wide, is to bring salmon back to historical levels of abundance.
“In this part of the world, salmon and forests and people are interdependent,” said Karen Anderson, the Conservancy’s Washington director.
“We can help secure a healthy future for people and wildlife by managing this stretch of forest for salmon habitat.”
The forest has been managed for timber for generations.
“Rayonier has been part of the Washington community since 1926, when we first began operations near Mount Rainier,” said Lee M. Thomas, chairman and CEO of Rayonier.
“We’ve responsibly managed this forest since the 1940s, so we’re especially pleased to be part of this partnership to conserve lands in this very special part of the world.”
Provide jobs
Anderson said active conservation management of the land will provide jobs and ensure the area remain accessible to local communities and visitors.
The Quinault tribe supports the conservation effort, said Fawn Sharp, president of the Quinault tribe, saying it “will partner with our own efforts to restore the declining salmon populations for our future generations.”
The Clearwater is recognized as a salmon stronghold by the North American Salmon Stronghold Partnership and Quinault Indian Nation, said Devona Ensmenger, Washington program manager for the Wild Salmon Center.
“However, its spring/summer Chinook salmon population is in serious decline, and re-establishing the rainforest ecosystem is critical to bringing back healthy populations,” she said.
Learn more about this project at www.nature.org/Washington.
