County Buys Land Along Latah Creek Rare, Isolated Preserve Home To Deer, Other Wildlife

FOR THE RECORD CORRECTION: Spokane County Conservation District is studying the Latah Creek watershed. A story in Friday’s Spokesman-Review listed the wrong agency. Also, the county is buying 96 acres along the creek. A smaller acerage was reported in the story. Correction published on Saturday, February 25, 1995.

Spokane County commissioners have approved buying and preserving about 80 acres along Latah Creek.

The $97,500 will come from the conservation futures tax, which is levied on land in Spokane city and county.

The parcel will remain undeveloped and does not have road access, said Wyn Birkenthal of the county parks department. Hikers reach it by crossing Hangman Valley Golf Course.

The land includes forests, wetlands and heavy streamside brush. It is used by whitetail deer, coyotes, a variety of birds and other wildlife.

“A lot of the land (along the creek) has been grazed really heavily. A lot of people have built homes really close” to the shoreline, Birkenthal said. “This is a piece that’s been mostly in a natural state.”

“Latah” is a Native American term roughly translated as jumping fish, said an environmentalist whose name is Easy.

His group studied the Latah Creek watershed for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service.

“There used to be fish that lived in there … In fact, it used to be a major salmon run,” said Easy. “Now, maybe suckers could survive.”

Easy said many property owners are restoring the Latah Creek shorelines.

The county also has used the conservation futures tax to purchase 86 acres adjacent to Liberty Lake Park and eight acres adjacent to Palisades Park on the West Plains.

County commissioners plan to ask voters this fall whether they want to continue the tax, which costs the owner of a $100,000 house about $6 a year.

ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Map of Latah Creek area