Group Creates Nature Preserve Nature Conservancy Acquires 3,588 Acres In Douglas County

The Nature Conservancy of Washington has acquired a 3,588-acre preserve in Douglas County - its largest single land purchase in the state.

The new Moses Coulee Preserve northeast of Waterville will be managed for wildlife habitat and for public use, said Wendy Connally, the Conservancy’s Central Washington manager.

The Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation group, bought the property on March 16 for $358,800 from Contran Corp. of Texas.

The purchase strengthens the group’s presence in the Columbia Basin and increases its land ownership in Washington to 36 preserves and 12,516 acres, Connally said.

“Moses Coulee is beautiful,” said Tina Scull, a board member of the Conservancy’s state chapter and a longtime Wenatchee resident.

It has 500-foot basalt cliffs, steep slopes, rolling hills and coulee flowers, and is home to several threatened plants and animals.

It contains two of the largestknown roosts in the state for the spotted bat, one of the rarest bats in North America that went undocumented in Washington until 1991. It also is a haven for several bird species, including the sage sparrow, sage thresher, loggerhead shrike and golden eagle, Connally said.

The preserve is in sagebrush country. In spring, the hillsides are abloom with phlox, balsam root and shooting stars. Two rare plants, newly discovered in Washington state, also reside there: slender cryptantha and Tiehm’s rush.

A county road that runs through the property and provides access to Jameson Lake won’t be affected by the purchase, Connally said.