CLE ELUM, Wash.-The Cle Elum Ridge Large Landscape Project is getting over $15 million to acquire land and protect native habitats.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources will be getting $15.3 million from the Forest Legacy Program administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray both sent letters to the Forest Service in support of the project that will allow the Washington DNR to acquire 9,700 acres of forest land adjacent to the Teanaway Community Forest to prevent development of the Cle Elum Ridge, according to a Senate press release.
“Securing this 9,700 acres of working forest land on the Cle Elum Ridge is a win-win-win: It will help conserve critical steelhead and bull trout, guard public access to over 40 miles of recreational trails, and protect forest jobs,” said Sen. Cantwell.
The habitat of the Cle Elum Ridge is important to protecting endangered gray wolf and threatened steelhead and bull trout and the 9,700 acres are the last phase of land protections as part of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan.
The land acquisition will also include over 40 miles of trails and will ensure the Ridge will continue to be sustainably managed as working forest lands, which is expected to provide over 100 good-paying jobs, according to a press release on the project.
“With this funding, we’re protecting the stunning forest at Cle Elum Ridge and ensuring these lands they can be enjoyed by the public in Washington state for decades to come,” said Sen. Murray.
