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TRUST TALK
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| Volume 8, Issue 1 |
Spring 2001 |
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Conserving signature landscapes and vital habitat together with the communities of the Columbia River region
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Wind River conservation donation
A private land donation along both sides of the Wind River conserves fish and wildlife habitat forever.
A private property owner donated 157 acres of woodlands along the Wind River in Skamania County, Washington. The landowner, who would like to remain anonymous, bought the land after it had been logged. She replanted it with Douglas fir and white pine trees and now, 25 years later, it is becoming beautiful mixed woods.
The Wind River donation in Skamania County, Washington
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The land donation covers about one mile of the river along both sides of the river and is habitat for fish and wildlife. Five intermittent streams drain into the Wind River from the property and there are two significant bends in the river ideal for salmon and steelhead spawning and rearing. According to fish biologists juvenile steelhead trout (up to one year old) rely on cold water pools with lots of large woody debris. This type of habitat is lacking in the lower Wind River due to historic uses such as splash dams and logging. The two pools on the donated property, where the river turns, are two of the most important pools for juvenile steelhead habitat in the river.
In addition to donating the land, the land owner also made a generous financial donation to establish a stewardship fund. Columbia Land Trust will manage the site for conservation.
Chinook River estuary acquired for salmon
Last year’s million-dollar North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant and the collaboration of private and public partners conserves and restores Chinook floodplain.
Columbia Land Trust has acquired 871 acres of Chinook River floodplain to provide critical habitat for every species of salmon in the Columbia River basin. The Land Trust immediately donated the property to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, who will coordinate the restoration of the property in cooperation with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Once restored, the estuary will provide the last feeding and rearing habitat for juvenile salmon prior to entering the Pacific Ocean. The Chinook River project is one of the largest estuarine restoration projects on the West Coast of North America and includes over two miles of river frontage.
The Pacific Coast Joint Venture coordinated the fundraising for the acquisition. The project was made possible through the extraordinary contributions of public and private partners. Restoration funds will be provided by NRCS ($200,000), North American Wetlands Coordinating Council ($100,000), National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Act ($960,000), and the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board ($375,000). The restored habitat will provide high quality rearing and over-wintering habitat for coho, chum, Chinook, steelhead, and searun cutthroat living within the Columbia River basin.
Connecting worlds
Glenn Lamb's Musings
I walk to my local park every morning and night.
I am amazed that even in the heaviest winter downpour I can stand under the Atlas Cedar and stay completely dry. In the spring I enjoy flashes of orange, yellow and red western tanagers and other songbirds in the maple trees. Year round, the park gives me big views of the sky, from sunrise to sunset. Rain clouds, beautiful white clouds, mountain views, stars, the moon. Sandhill cranes and Canada geese honking past in the middle of the night.
This year I learned how critical our local habitat really is. In December I went to Costa Rica to train 50 people from 18 Central and South American countries. We talked about how we can better support private land conservation work throughout the Americas. Before I left, Eric Bjorkman marked my birdbook to show the dozens of songbirds that rely on habitat throughout the Americas. The same tanager that depends on the atlas cedar in my park also relies on the rainforest in Belize.
In January I went to the Skagit Valley in Washington to meet with conservationists from Alaska, the U.S. and Mexico. We discussed how to best coordinate migratory bird conservation along the Pacific Coast of North America. In February I traveled to Washington DC with conservationists from across the United States. We met with our Senators and Representatives to talk about how private conservation efforts can best supplement and coordinate with federal programs.
It has been thrilling to see such wide support for private voluntary land conservation. It has been fun to travel to such different ecosystems and cultures.
But nothing makes me happier than my walk to the local park, right here at home. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that in the last twelve months Columbia Land Trust has brought almost 1,500 acres of our local lands into conservation. Including the first and only city park in Mosier, Oregon.
We work with private landowners to bring more of our homelands into conservation. Places where birds and wildlife will have refuge—forever.
Places people can walk to every day and be inspired by life. Thank you for supporting our work.
New staff
Conservation project manager, spent 23 years with The Nature Conservancy, most recently as director of land acquisitions in Indiana. Les recently moved to the Northwest with his dog, Bowser. He lives in Seaside, Oregon where he is happily pursuing his love of hiking, camping and taekwondo.
Land conservation
Conservation donations from private property owners enhance priority areas within the Columbia River region.
Kalama River
The Holy Waters, a legendary stretch of the Kalama River known for its abundant fish, received another generous donation for conservation. Randy and Sheli Sweet donated a conservation easement on 11 acres of mature forest and pristine riparian habitat. Their property is home to salmon, bald eagles, elk and numerous other species of wildlife. This is the Land Trust’s second donation of a conservation easement along the Kalama River Holy Waters reach.
Trout Lake Valley
Trout Lake Farm donated a conservation easement over 54 acres of agricultural land in Trout Lake, Washington. Trout Lake Farm is owned by Alticorp (Amway) Corporation.
The Trout Lake Valley lies at the base of Mount Adams in north Klickitat County. The White Salmon River runs through the 2,000-acre valley and the area is know for its prime agricultural lands, dairy farms, spectacular views and abundant birds and other wildlife. Trout Lake Farm donated the easement and a stewardship donation to conserve the agriculture and open space values of their organic fields.
Lloyd Scott, General Manager, Trout Lake Farm says, “This donation is in keeping with the tradition of Amway and its division Nutralite to have ecological, sustainable and friendly farming.”
Little White Salmon River
Seventy-two acres bordering Drano Lake in the Columbia River Gorge were acquired with funds from the Paul G. Allen Forest Protection Foundation grant awarded last year. This land is part of a 320-acre conservation partnership with Cold Spring Conservancy, the Allen Foundation and PacificCorps. The project includes upland forests in the Little White Salmon watershed. The goal is to conserve and manage these lands as part of the Little White Salmon Biodiversity Reserve, to educate and demonstrate sustainable watershed management.
Salmon restoration grants
The Washington State Salmon Recovery Board approved 147 projects totaling 31.8 million dollars in February. Of these Columbia Land Trust received 1.4 million dollars for three different projects.
Grays River – Phase II
Building on the acquisition of 116-acres on Grays River last year, Columbia Land Trust and Ducks Unlimited will conserve and restore an additional 527 acres of the Grays River estuary. This project will conserve some of the last remaining mature spruce wetland in the Columbia River estuary, and restore over 325 acres of diked wetland and floodplain to benefit salmon and watershed function. The Grays River estuary is identified as one of the most important resources for salmonid recovery.
Brooks Slough, Cathlamet, Washington
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Brooks Slough
Brooks Slough is located between Cathlamet and Skamokowa along the Columbia River. Columbia Land Trust and Ducks Unlimited will conserve and restore more than 260 acres of diked and drained pasture. The goal is to reconnect the river with its historic floodplain and restore 150 acres of estuarine wetlands and over 100 acres of riparian forest habitat.
Klickitat River
Columbia Land Trust will acquire 580 acres along the Wild and Scenic Klickitat River and tributary, Dillacort Creek. Dillacort Creek flows into the Klickitat River just a few miles north of the Columbia River. This was one of only two grants awarded in Klickitat County. The project will include one mile of the Klickitat River and will connect with other public lands along the river to conserve habitat for endangered steelhead trout.
Conserving Great Lands...Oregon White Oak Woodland
By Ian Sinks
With the emphasis on fish needs these days it is easy to forget the other habitats in our region that are also important. Riparian areas provide habitat for 85% of the terrestrial vertebrate species. Fifty percent of this habitat has been altered or lost since 1800. Oak woodlands found in upland areas primarily east of the Cascade mountains are no slouch either. More than 200 vertebrate wildlife species and numerous invertebrates rely on oak woodlands. Oak woodlands provide important habitat for cavity nesting animals, a high energy food source for numerous species, and they provide an important migratory corridor along the east side of the Cascade Mountains.
The western gray squirrel, Lewis and acorn woodpeckers, black bear, black-tail deer and Nashville warblers are all species associated with oak habitat. Equally important but perhaps less charismatic, are the numerous gall wasps, moths, butterflies and spiders dependent on oak communities. For the culinary inspired, shitaki mushrooms are propagated on Oregon white oak.
More than 180 species of birds and mammals use oaks as a food source – more than any other genus of non-berry producing plants. For deer and elk the leaves of oak contain nearly the same amount of protein as alfalfa. Also, acorn flour produces some pretty great tasting bread!
Oak habitat is threatened in the Pacific Northwest by development, land use conversion, fire suppression and the encroachment of conifers. The loss of oak woodland habitat already exceeds 80% in some areas, and as much as 90% of the remaining habitat is currently in private ownership.
Oak woodland is a conservation priority of Columbia Land Trust. The Land Trust plans to conserve 600 - 1000 acres of oak habitat by the end of 2001, on the east side of the Cascade Mountains.
…And Taking Great Actions!
By getting our hands in the streams and our eyes to the trees we will discover a lot about our conserved lands. And, perhaps we will discover something about ourselves as well.
Responsible stewardship of these special places is a task we undertake with enthusiasm. These great places need all the care and attention we can provide. From clearing blackberries, to planting trees or completing wildlife surveys, we need your help! If you are interested in
volunteering with the Columbia Land Trust Stewardship Program please log onto the Land Trust website (www.columbialandtrust.org under
Stewardship), or contact Ryan Crehan or
Ian Sinks (360-696-0131).
Sleepwalking through the geography lesson of your heart
By Ryan Crehan
Traveling east through the gorge is a bit like taking a moving sidewalk through an airport. It’s quick but you tend to miss a lot. You end up flying past barges, rocky outcrops and scattered communities, but at 65 mph you miss the changes. You miss the subtle differences that occur while to your north and south the land is buckling upward and crashing downwards. You can sort of see it out the window, spot a waterfall and maybe see the changes in trees. But we have it too easy. Driving through the gorge prevents us from wheezing over a forested pass, from climbing over downed logs and sliding down fern cloaked ravines, only to have the land change under our feet as we begin the drop into the intermountain west, to leave the mildewed corner of the US and enter the vast steppe and scattered mountain ranges of eastern Washington, Oregon and beyond. Without a zigzagging pass to go over, the change can be quick leaving us with a vast landscape of open skies without the realization of how we got here.
And while the east side of the Cascades seems like worlds away, it is rooted in the region, linked through rivers and wildlife and communities. The Klickitat River tumbles out of eastern Washington reaching the Columbia River in oak woodlands dotted with ponderosa. There are salmon there and eagles too. The basalt forms narrow canyons and prominent cobbles etched by wind and water.
Ryan is an AmeriCorps Volunteer and Stewardship Coordinator for Columbia Land Trust. His education is in environmental studies and he has an array of experiences in conservation resources. He enjoys all aspects of the outdoors and playing the banjo.
Ray Hickey makes membership challenge for 2001
Ray Hickey makes a new pledge of $50,000 to Columbia Land Trust to match membership donations in year 2001.
Following are gifts and memberships from October 2000 to March 2001.
Members ($25+)
Eleanor Abrams
Anonymous
Steve Ames
Dave Anderson
James Anderson & Anne Lynch
Elizabeth Avery
Dr. Twyla Barnes
Batt & Lear, Inc.
J.M. Bayer & Timothy Counihan
Alan Boguslawski
Candace Bonner
Ted & Jan Breneman
Gilbert Brentley
Dave & Ann Bronson
James Brookes
Dr. Scott & Glenda Burns
Jim & Shawna Caisse
Loring Cannon
Arthur & Diana Carroll
Paul & Louise Clare
Judy Cohen
Roger Cole
Scott Collier & Terri Lufkin
Mary Cooke
Nancy Cowgill
Bruce Cross
Daniel & Denise Dammann
Michael & Linda Datz
Marvin Dertien
Jean Dunlop
Ellis Dunn
Steven & Connie Durkee
John & Patricia Edmundson
Andrea Friedrichsen
Frank & June Funk
Thomas Garrison & Janet Houge-Garrison
Karen & Charles Gehling
Barbara Williams Geisler
Robert & Helen Gerde
Bud & Phyllis Goldhammer
John & Patricia Griffiths
Naomi Hall
Charles & Darlene Hamar
Mary Elizabeth Hanigan
Ronald & Patricia Hart
Dean & Amy Helt
Richard & Pebble Hodgson
Merna Holmberg
Robert & Alma Howe
Brant & Lauren Hubbard
Ellie Hutton
Klaras Ihnken
James Johnson
John & Sherold Barr Kaib
Jean Kent
Joni Kerr
Lydia Kerr
Ted Klump
Leigh Knox
Forrest Koponen
John Lake & Leslie Waters
Bonnie Lamb
Kristen Lee
Dave Leslie
Jay Letto & Dawn Renee Stover
William Maiden
Dr. Kenneth Mantel
Nancy Matela
Reid & Ruth McAtee
Richard & Sarah Melching
Alison Mielke
Richard & Marilee Mielke
Marcine Miller & William Miles
Todd Moses
Phillip Mossholder
Kathleen Moyer
Mildred Narver
Gus & Jean Norwood
Jeanne O’Dell
Kenneth Oslund
Walter & Carol Ottoson
Edith Parker
Randall Pearl & Mary Kay Moskal
Scott Perry
Mary Pat Peterson
Stephen & Carol Pharo
Robert & Alice Pittenger
Royce Pollard
Ken & Gilda Powell
Steven Puddicombe
Dr. & Mrs. Robert & Thea Pyle
John Reinke
William & Marilyn Robb
David & Sandra Roberts
Robert & Rachel Rose
Carolyn Rose & Michael Nettleton
David & Kathleen Sacamano
Paul & Sylvia Safar
Susan Saul
Rand & Ingrid Schenck
Cecillia Schmitt
Richard Schramm & Patricia Bugas-Schramm
Robert Scott
William & Mary Ann Simonds
Carey Smith
Cheryl & Neal Smith
Neil Spain
Deborah Stein & Robert Ross
Douglas Steinbarger &
Rebecca McLain
Robert Strebin Jr.
Bianca Streif
Dr. Lawrence Stryker
Heidi Temko
Dan Temko
Wendy Temko-Malbin
Janice Trimmer
Monica Tubberville
John & Cindy Ulrich
Brian Wayson
Frederick & Maureen
Kerrigan Wearn
Walt & Sharon Weber
Theresa Weil
William Werner
Bruce & Pam Wiedermann
Emily Williams
Douglas & Vicky Williams
Patrick Willis
Blair Wolfley
Stewards ($50+)
Noel & Mary Magistrale-Allen
Kent & Mary Anderson
Anonymous
Darrell & Joan Badertscher
Jan & Judy Baldwin
Joseph & Donna Barratt
Michael Bayly
Robert & Jane Brink
Aaron Brondyke & Christine Zachai
Donald & Susan Cannard
Dr. & Mrs. Charles & Joyce Carter
Holly Coccoli
John & Sherie Corley
Theresa Cross
Ray & Phyllis Davis
Dr. & Mrs. H. Lenox & Helene Dick
Ellen Dusenbery
Christine Egan & Deek Heykamp
Nels Ekroth
John & Sharon English
William & Marilyn Feddeler
Michael Federovitch
John & Lois Fenker
Virginia Fitzgerald
Robert & Marjorie Fizzell
Linda Floyd
Eunice Gadbois
Duane & Claudette Gahimer
John Glase
Donna Gooden
Kevin Gorman & Michelle Kinsella
Keith Hadley & Jennifer Woodward
Thomas & Sharon Haensly
Keith & Gena Hardin
Brian Harrington
Erik Heim
Harry Hoffman
James Hogg & Vahn Anh Corbett
James & Randi Holland
Louis & Linda Holmes
Paul Hooybar & Lynn Youngbar
B.G. Hook
Crystal Huntington
Dennis & Karen Johnson
John Karpinski
Erin Kelleher & Michael Daviau
David Keudell
Edith Kilbuck & Helen Muchow
Jeroen & Laura Kok
Mike Lamb
George & Ruth Lamb
Steven Lanigan
Katie Larsell & Michael Schilmoeller
Kathleen & Robert Linde
Mimi Maduro & Michael Stevens
Dr. & Mrs. E.M. McAnnich
Mary McGilvra
Steven McMaster & Kathleen Brock
Bill & Nancy Meyer
Bob & Mary Lou Moser
Mary Lou Munroe
Richard Newlands & Karen Wallace
E. MacArthur Noyes, MD
Dan & Val Ogden
Carleen Pagni
Arthur & Ada Bell Phillips
Bob & Julie Pool
Paul Proctor & Karen Hunt
E.K. & Prudence Kimberly Ragsdale
G.R. & Carol Reule
Michael & Victoria Jo Riggan
Leslie Rittenour & Dennis Tripp
Edward Scherr & Michele Pozzi
Eion & Grace Scott
William & Hazel Sefler
Martha Sharman & Warren Reid Jr.
Richard & Ruth Sheldon
George Simpson
Paul Siracusa
Dr. John Soelling
Judie Stanton
Gretchen Starke
Donald Steinke
Jozsef Peter Urmos
Susan Van Leuven
Dean Vincent
Mark Vlahakis & Diana Tesh
Gary Wade & Marlis Ruefner
George & Marilou Waldmann
Donna Wells
Ralph Wimmer & Tamara Burgett-Wimmer
Jeffrey Winslow
John & Beverly Winther
C.R. & Dorothy Woodruff
Caretakers ($100+)
Anonymous
Bennett Battaile
Al Berreth
Eric & Tammy Bjorkman
Richard Bready & Karin Rosenberg
Michael Briselli & Jeannee Sacken
Dr. & Mrs. Emil & Doris Brooking
J. Paul & Susan Cannard
G.L. Cooper
Lynn Cornelius & Holly Helmer
Thomas & Elaine Craig
David DeAntonis
Dr. & Mrs. Robert & Deborah Djergaian
William Ehringer & Stephanie Jacobson-Ehringer
Nancy Ellifrit
Richard Engeman & Terry Jess
Richard & Karen Fink
Robert & Ginny Freeman
Eric Fuller
Jean Gruwell
Lloyd Halverson
Charles Keith Heikkinen
Janet Higby
Edmund & David Johnson
Lawrence & Frances Kearney
Tom Kelly
Maureen Knutson
Dovie Lance
Duane & Marvin Lansverk
Mary Legry
Len Magazine
David McDonald & Karin Dedona
Ernest & Charline McDonald
Douglas & Priscilla Meddaugh
Bolt Minister
Richard & Jilene Modlin
Rhidian Morgan
Frances Naglich
Anupam Narayan & Judith Sugg
William Nelson
Edward Pavone & Charline Hiss
Graeme & Susan Plant
Joe Poracsky & M.J. Reihl
Paul Rogland
Mark Rose
Mary Rose
Karen Rumsey
Anne Saxby & Gil Sharp
Kathleen Sayce & Frank Wolfe
Ian Sinks & Nancy Durban
John & Tuulikki Sinks
Richard & Lucinda Sisson
Scott Smith & Diane Solomon
Mark Stoker
Zachary & Vasiliki Stoumbos
Robert & Susan Tenold
Lance Thiede
Sharon Thorne
David & Christine Vernier
Florence Wager
Dennis & Cynthis Wiancko
Karen Wood
Sustainer ($250+)
Mitchell Bower, Jr.
Dave Groth
Tom & Marilyn Koenninger
Mark Lawill
Steve Pickering & Shelley Pierman
Susan Pollack
Marc Smiley
Protectors ($500+)
Robin Bradford
Elizabeth Cebula
State Farm Insurance
Stan & Liz Hanks
Cherie Kearney & Steven Clark
Kimball Storedahl
Niels & Irmlein Waehneldt
David & Linda Williams
Benefactors ($1,000+)
Amnu Farms, Inc.
Anonymous
Broughton & Mary Bishop
Jeffrey & Marilyn Breckel
Lyle & Margaret Cornelius Family Endowment
Bill & Linda Dygert
Helen Dygert
Betsy Elizabeth Hauge
John & Jane King
Edward Lynch
Mason Nolan
Alan & Mary Parlee
Bruce & Nancy Russell
Dr. & Mrs. Joseph & Lynda Sacamano
In Memory of Helen Gray
Bruce & Betsy Kenworthy
$10,000+
Anonymous
John Gordan
Doris Troxel
Tim Welch
$20,000+
Scot & Kristen Jarvis
Tom & Valerie Moeller
$50,000+
Ray & Pat Hickey
Second million-dollar grant awarded
A North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant was awarded to Columbia Land Trust for Willapa Bay conservation.
Semi-palmated sandpipers on Willapa Bay
Photo by: Adrian Dorst
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The North American Wetland Conservation Act program has approved funding to conserve over 4,200 acres of wetlands and associated upland habitat in and around Willapa Bay, Washington. Willapa Bay is one of the largest, most productive and diverse estuaries on the West Coast. Its unique habitats are home to a large, varied assemblage of fish, wildlife and plants. This ambitious conservation project represents a more than $7.2 million effort to be completed in partnership with US Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, Ducks Unlimited, and a number of other partners. This project will ensure that some of the most important habitat areas of Willapa Bay are protected and, where appropriate, restored.
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