July 26, 2009 in Outdoors

Land swap protects wildlife, preserves public access

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Courtesy of Rance Block photo

The Rock Creek area purchased by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and The Nature Conservancy on the east slope of the Cascades near Naches has a wide range of habitats all the way up to alpine ridges. The 2,675 acres acquired in June is the first of three phases of what will ultimately transfer more than 10,000 acres from Plum Creek Timber Co. to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The area is north of the Naches River and northwest of the town of Naches and is reached by the Bald Mountain, Rock Creek and Milk Lake roads. It will be managed as part of the Oak Creek Wildlife Area. Courtesy of Rance Block
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The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation teamed with The Nature Conservancy and several state and federal agencies recently to secure 2,675-acres in the first phase of a three-year project to protect wildlife habitat and public access in the Cascade Mountains near the Naches River in Washington.

By 2011, the project is on track to transfer more than 10,000 acres in Kittitas County from Plum Creek Timber Co. to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The land is within or adjacent to the Wenatchee National Forest.

The deal is part of a continuing effort to consolidate public lands in areas of “checkerboard” ownership, where private timber company lands could be sold piecemeal and developed to the detriment of habitat and public access, said Jeff Tayer, WDFW regional director.

“The first phase of this project has moved a significant piece of critical elk range and calving grounds into public ownership,” said David Allen, Elk Foundation president in Missoula.

The habitat includes alpine areas home to mountain goats, shrub-steppe and basalt cliffs for elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep, and streams used by bull, cutthroat and rainbow trout as well as salmon, said Rance Block of Spokane Valley, a foundation field representative.

“There are existing trails and roads for public access,” he said.

The land was purchase for $3.27 million provided in grants from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fund designed to protect habitat for endangered species. The area will be managed as part of WDFW’s Oak Creek Wildlife Area.

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