King County Habitat Purchase Approved

The purchase of 27 acres to preserve salmon spawning habitat near Fall City in northeast King County has been approved unanimously by the County Council.

The $78,000 acquisition OK’d Monday includes wetlands along Patterson Creek, a tributary of the Snoqualmie River. The money is coming from the county’s Waterways 2000 program.

Louise Miller, chairwoman of the council’s natural resources committee, said the area had come under increasing development pressure.

“There would’ve been a high risk of degradation had King County not stepped in,” Miller said.

The 27 acres, known as the Richards property, completes a five-parcel purchase in the Patterson Creek Basin by the county.