Wenatchee secures 134-acre Lookout Natural Area for habitat, trails and cultural recognition

WENATCHEE — A highly visible stretch of shrub-steppe at the northern edge of the city will remain open to wildlife and people alike after the permanent protection of 134 acres now known as the Lookout Natural Area, or “čkuwáx̌ qən” in the Nxaʔamxcín language.

Owned by the City of Wenatchee and to be managed in partnership with the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, the property sits near Sunnyslope at the gateway to more than 168,000 acres of connected public lands and has long been seen as a priority for conservation. The name, chosen with members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, reflects both the sweeping vantage point of the landscape and its deeper cultural history.

Using the Nxaʔamxcín name alongside the English one is more than a translation. It signals a growing local effort to recognize Indigenous presence in places that have always carried those stories, and to attach that recognition to land decisions that will shape how the foothills are used, restored and experienced for generations.

“Through our ongoing partnerships with community donors, the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, and the State of Washington — and with the generous support of the Ohme family — this acquisition will help preserve threatened wildlife habitat and provide free, close-to-home, non-motorized outdoor recreation opportunities for the valley for generations to come,” said David Erickson, director of the city’s Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department.

The parcel protects fragile shrub-steppe habitat and sits within a critical winter range and migration corridor for mule deer. Its cliffs offer nesting and perching sites for golden eagles and peregrine falcons, and the slopes include populations of Chelan rockmat, a plant found nowhere else in the world. Contiguity with the Swakane Wildlife Unit also makes the property an important link for bighorn sheep and other wintering wildlife.

Public access is planned but will come in phases. Future trailhead development and a network of multi-use trails for walking, running and mountain biking are envisioned, with seasonal closures from Dec. 1 through April 1 to protect wildlife during the most sensitive months.

For the Ohme family, whose land made up the core of the project, the protection carries a personal dimension.

“Our grandfather felt the power of this landscape long before we were born. It is where we learned to walk,” said Kevin, Greg and Brian Ohme in a joint statement. “Preserving it as a place for the community to walk feels like completing his vision.”

With the acquisition complete, the land trust and the city are now working to raise the remaining $2.16 million for restoration, stewardship planning and construction of the future trailhead. Community engagement around trail design is expected to begin in 2026, with interim opportunities to visit the site to be announced once access can be provided without impacting neighboring properties.

The project is the result of years of planning, early private donations and campaign volunteers, and grant funding from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, a combination local conservation leaders say reflects the region’s long pattern of collaborative land protection.

For Wenatchee, it also fixes the boundary between town and foothills in a way that keeps one of the valley’s most recognizable landscapes intact, a place where ecological function, public access and cultural acknowledgment now share the same name.

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