Grant will conserve 796 acres along Roaring Creek off Entiat River

ENTIAT — The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust will use a $391,850 state salmon recovery grant to permanently conserve 796 acres along Roaring Creek, a tributary of the Entiat River.

The grant was among $965,117 awarded for three projects in Chelan County. The Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board announced the awards Sept. 16 as part of $21.5 million distributed among 75 projects in 27 counties.

The Roaring Creek property includes both sides of approximately one mile of the creek, which provides spawning and rearing habitat for steelhead. It is one of the few remaining properties in the area that has not already been protected, according to the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

The land sits immediately downstream from a Cascadia Conservation District restoration project. The district plans to extend its work onto the property after it is acquired.

Cascade Fisheries also plans to restore three smaller properties downstream and hopes to extend that work onto the Roaring Creek property. Those restoration efforts depend on the land being purchased and permanently conserved.

“They are prioritized by local communities, reviewed for scientific validity by local communities and the State and compete regionally for funding,” Recreation and Conservation Office Director Megan Duffy said of the grants.

Roaring Creek is used by Chinook salmon, which are federally listed as endangered, and steelhead and bull trout, both listed as threatened.

Funding for the statewide grants came from state and federal salmon recovery programs and the state Climate Commitment Act.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media