First Phase of Hoh River Recreation and Conservation Area Completed
Western Rivers Conservancy is excited to announce that the first phase of the Hoh River Recreation and Conservation Area is complete, culminating five years of land acquisition along this important Olympic Peninsula stream.
WRC has conveyed to the Hoh River Trust the final 1,050 acres along the Hoh owned by forest products company Rayonier, Inc. The land contains a broad floodplain known as the "Hoh Oxbows," and includes an important put-in and take-out site for boaters and anglers. Also conserved is the confluence of the South Fork Hoh River, an important spawning reach for bull trout, salmon and steelhead. This brings the emerging conservation area to nearly 4,500 acres, a vast accomplishment toward protecting this globally important stronghold for salmon and steelhead.
Our long-term vision for the Hoh River is an entire watershed conserved forever, anchored by the river's pristine headwaters in Olympic National Park. Downstream of the park, we are acquiring land along the lower thirty-mile stretch of the river, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. This Recreation and Conservation Area will provide access for boating and fishing on this legendary stretch of river, while preserving habitat for the endangered marbled murrelet and a host of other fish and wildlife species. Western Rivers Conservancy's goal is to acquire an additional 3,000 acres in the valley, conveying the land to the Hoh River Trust as a permanent owner and steward of the lower river.
A dedicated group of agencies and individuals has helped Western Rivers Conservancy secure the funding for this project. Thanks to the support of U.S. Representative Norm Dicks and Doug Sutherland, Washington DNR Commissioner of Public lands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2005 awarded a $2.24 million grant to the project. This grant, from the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, allowed the Hoh River Trust to purchase the 1,050 acres from Western Rivers Conservancy and complete this phase of conservation.
The Hoh River Trust was founded in 2003 by Western Rivers Conservancy and the Wild Salmon Center in partnership to create a permanent conservation steward along the Hoh River. The mission of the Hoh River Trust is to conserve native salmon and wildlife habitat along the lower Hoh while ensuring public access for the many people who love to visit and fish this river.
Western Rivers Conservancy has received financial support for the Hoh River project from the Paul G. Allen Forest Protection Foundation, the Bullitt Foundation, the Carolyn Foundation, the H. and J. Ferguson Foundation, the Horizons Foundation, the Charlotte Martin Foundation, the Northwest Fund for the Environment, the G. and E. Mead Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Russell Family Foundation, Wildlife Forever (MN) and the Wild Salmon Center.
