The Klickitat River is spectacular: Make a trip to the river and you’ll see why its lower 10.8 miles were designated as Wild and Scenic. Columbia Land Trust acquired its first land here in 2001; since then, we’ve markedly expanded the amount of land we care for. Our most ambitious restoration project? We removed eight miles of an old road from the Klickitat River shore, allowing the river to reclaim its historic floodplain for the first time in 80 years. We also care for land along the Little White Salmon, a 19-mile-long Columbia River tributary to the west, which courses through similar terrain and is a go-to hotspot for whitewater kayakers.
Both the Klickitat and the Little White Salmon Rivers are critical for native plants and wildlife: The area’s Oregon white oak woodlands and pine-oak forests support more than 200 species, including Lewis’s woodpeckers and the state-threatened western gray squirrel. Millennia-old runs of salmon and steelhead spawn and grow stronger in these rivers. Our challenge is protecting this paradisaical area from the very real threat of development while finding conservation solutions that allow land-connected livelihoods, such as farming, ranching, and forestry, to continue.
If you’re reading this, it’s a safe bet that you care about the environment (thank you). It’s also a safe bet that in the process of staying informed about the challenges of pollution, habitat loss, and global climate change, you’ve recently found yourself feeling overwhelmed by the sheer gravity of it all. It seems as…
Read MoreJoin us as we travel east through the Columbia Gorge to the lower Klickitat River to learn about and view bald eagles that gather here in the winter to feed on salmon. Bird expert C.J. Flick will teach us about eagle behavior and identification tips as we view the regal congregation of bald eagles. During the…
Read MoreThe National Fish and Wildlife Foundation today announced that Walmart’s Acres for America program, the leading public-private land conservation partnership in the United States, has awarded $3.6 million in grants to conserve important landscapes for fish, wildlife and people across 70,300 acres in Colorado, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Washington and, for the first time,…
Read MoreThis fall we’re taking a look at what it means to have a sense of place in a rapidly changing world. More than ever, we look to nature for our health, happiness, and well-being. That’s why through our bold Conservation Agenda, we’re collaborating with local counties and cities to make sure the future of Southwest…
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