FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Swamp Lake area

CLC, partners protect critical habitat near Snoqualmie Pass

Swamp Lake area in the Cascades preserved through public-private partnership

Three hundred acres of critical habitat near Snoqualmie Pass has been conserved permanently through a partnership of three Washington land conservation organizations. The land, at the foot of Amabilis Mountain, just east of Snoqualmie Pass, protects one of the best remaining habitat links for the north-south movement of wildlife in the Cascade Range.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL), the Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC), and the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) combined efforts to conserve the land, threatened by development plans that would have continued to fracture dwindling wildlife corridors in the Cascade Range.  In addition, the property includes trails that have long been used by the public for cross-country skiing throughout the winter.

“We’re thrilled to have this project bring together such diverse partners to keep recreation lands available,” said Jill Arango, Conservation Director for CLC in Kittitas County.  “Development of the land would have limited this important resource.”  This property continues the long history of TPL, CLC, and DNR, helping to conserve land along I-90 in the Mountains to Sound Greenway.

The three groups joined forces to protect this land using federal funds granted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service from the Federal Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, also called a Section 6 grant.  The Cascade Conservation Partnership and the Kongsberger Ski Club also supported the efforts of the three lead groups.

The complex process of acquiring the property began in 2004, when TPL, a national land conservation organization, began purchasing the 300 acres from private landowners.  In cooperation with CLC and DNR, TPL applied for Section 6 grant funding.  They were successful, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service awarded the funds to this project in 2005 and 2006.

“These grant programs enable the protection of irreplaceable habitat for threatened and endangered species,” said Doug Sutherland, Commissioner of Public Lands and head of DNR.

TPL has transferred the property to CLC, who will manage the land subject to a management agreement between DNR and CLC.  TPL also provided CLC with funds for a stewardship endowment to help CLC in its efforts to protect the property in perpetuity.

Peter Dykstra, Washington State Director for TPL, celebrates this group effort: “I am thrilled that this partnership has worked so effectively to save such an important piece of wildlife habitat and recreational land.  The power of partnership is what made this acquisition so successful.”

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