Visit this natural area to witness the remarkable recovery of a landscape once impacted by a defunct dam that blocked access to 6.5 miles of steelhead spawning and rearing habitat. In 2024, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Columbia Land Trust removed the dam and restored the former reservoir area and lower stretches of Wildboy Creek. You can explore this site on foot via 5 miles of old logging roads.
Recreational Activities: Hiking, hunting
Access:
⇒ Hunting: deer, elk, upland birds, and small game are huntable here. Reserve through WDFW.
⇒ Hiking and other walk-in activities: open access, no permission needed
⇒ Day use only
Dogs: Allowed
Amenities: None
Trails: No maintained trails, but there are over 5 miles of old logging roads that could be hiked. They are not all connected.
Acreage: 1,288 acres
County: Skamania County
Nearest Town: Washougal, WA
Directions: Access this site and park at 45.675036, -122.238651. There is space for only a couple vehicles. Please do not park in front of the gate. It is an outward opening gate so parking in front of it will block people inside.
Tips for Visiting: This is a remote area with inconsistent cell service and no paved roads or restroom facilities. The area is undergoing continuous restoration, including new plantings. Please do not disturb baby trees, shrubs, and other new plants. Beware of logging trucks on the logging roads. Please follow all hunting rules when hunting on our lands.
Year Conserved: 2020
About: The nearly 1,300-acre forest outside Washougal, Washington is the setting for an incredible story of collaborative restoration. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Columbia Land Trust spent years planning the removal of the defunct Kwoneesum Dam, which was constructed in the 1960s to create a recreational lake for a summer camp and had been sitting unused and unmaintained since the camp closed and land sold into industrial timber in the 1980s. To make the removal possible, the Land Trust purchased the dam site and surrounding forest in 2020, enabling the Tribe to move forward with planning and permitting and the eventual removal of the dam in the summer of 2024. This reconnected nearly seven miles of spawning and rearing habitat for Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed summer steelhead and will have sweeping benefits for water quality and overall ecosystem health of the Washougal River watershed. Read more about this project, watch a short video, or watch the webinar recording to learn more.
Project Partners: The Cowlitz Indian Tribe brought this project to our attention, and led the dam removal and stream restoration. The project was supported by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service – Environmental Quality Incentives Program, NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation, Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office – Salmon Recovery Funding Board & Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board, Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, and Open Rivers Fund, a program of Resources Legacy Fund supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Columbia Land Trust’s purchase of Wildboy Forest, to enable removal of the dam, was supported by the Open Rivers Fund, the Washington Department of Ecology’s water quality program, Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, Wiancko Family Foundation, The Conservation Alliance, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Pacific Northwest Resilient Landscapes Initiative, the Land Trust Alliance, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, and generous private donors.