Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund
2008 Proposals Received

• Recovery Land Acquisition
• Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition
• Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance

The State of Washington has submitted the project proposals listed below for funding under the 2008 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund.

Washington Department of Natural Resources, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, with assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, reviewed and evaluated the proposed projects and recommended them for funding under the indicated grant program.

We anticipate that some of these potential projects will be selected for a federal grant award by June 1, 2008. All land acquisitions that result, can only be made from willing sellers, for fair market value, based on current appraisals.

Questions or comments about these potential projects may be directed to the associated agency contact.

Project Proposals for the Recovery Land Acquisition Grant Program

Project Name: Lacamas Prairie Natural Area Preserve
Location: Clark County, WA
Amount Requested: $432,380

Proposal: This project would permanently protect up to 227 acres of habitat containing the only known population of Bradshaw’s desert-parsley (Lomatium bradshawii) within Washington State. This population comprises the highest known number of individuals of the species in its range. The project area also includes a remnant wet prairie, adjacent Oregon white oak woodlands, and at least six species considered to be rare in Washington.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: DNR – Omroa Bhagwandin (360) 902-1059

Project Name: San Juan Islands Castilleja Conservation Project
Location: San Juan County, WA
Amount Requested: $2,010,000

Proposal: This project would permanently protect one of the last surviving populations of golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta) in the Northern Puget Sound area. Globally, golden paintbrush is known to occur at only 11 sites in the world.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: DNR – Omroa Bhagwandin (360) 902-1059

Project Proposals for the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Land Acquisition Grant Program

Project Name: Ellsworth Creek Watershed, Phase IV
Location: Pacific County, WA
Amount Requested: $6,721,200

Proposal: The Ellsworth Creek, Phase IV would purchase 782 acres of coastal Sitka spruce maritime forest habitat. The project would add to a consolidated landscape totaling 23,000 acres of protected habitat. The target property would block up with protected lands in ownership by The Nature Conservancy, Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, and Washington Department of Natural Resources. These forested lands provide habitat for marbled murrelet, northern spotted owl, bald eagle, coho salmon, and numerous unlisted species.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: DNR – Omroa Bhagwandin (360) 902-1059

Project Name: Okanogan-Similkameen Watershed, Phase 1
Location: Okanogan County, WA
Amount Requested: $5,000,000

Proposal: This project would secure approximately 6,200 acres of ecologically critical animal movement corridors for grizzly bear, gray wolf, Canada lynx, and wolverine and their ungulate prey. The corridors would link the North Cascades Ecosystem with the Kettle/Selkirk Mountains Ecosystem as well as the grassland/shrub-steppe habitat of southern British Columbia with the shrub-steppe habitat of the Columbia Basin. The acquisition would provide benefits for at least 48 species listed by the State, Federal, or Canadian governments.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: WDFW – Elizabeth Rodrick (360) 902-2696

Project Name: Heart of the Cascades, Phase I
Location: Kittitas County, WA
Amount Requested: $3,600,000

Proposal: This project would conserve biodiversity at the landscape scale by conserving the checkerboard ownership pattern in the Central Cascades. This grant funding would acquire 10,370 acres of ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir mixed conifer, and riparian habitats in the Rock Creek drainage along the Naches River. Benefits are expected for the northern spotted owl, bull trout, grizzly bear, gray wolf, Canada lynx, and a number of unlisted species.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: WDFW – Elizabeth Rodrick (360) 902-2696

Project Name: Yakima River Wildlife Corridor, Phase IV
Location: Kittitas County, WA
Amount Requested: $1,831,044

Proposal: The Yakima River Wildlife Corridor project is a landscape protection effort aimed at improving ecological connectivity, across Interstate 90, between the north and south Cascade Mountains. The property targeted for this acquisition is 142 acres of upland and riparian habitat which includes one-half mile of Big Creek - a tributary of the upper Yakima River. Big Creek provides spawning habitat for steelhead, bull trout, and coho salmon. The upland areas of the property support spotted owl, grizzly bear, gray wolf, Canada lynx, and numerous other species.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: WDFW – Elizabeth Rodrick (360) 902-2696

Project Name: I-90 Wildlife Corridor, Phase IV
Location: Kittitas County, WA
Amount Requested: $3,235,500

Proposal: The funding would acquire 103 acres of habitat along Interstate Highway 90, near Snoqualmie Pass. The acquisition would protect habitat for northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, gray wolf, grizzly bear, Canada lynx, and bull trout. It would also contribute to improved habitat connectivity between the north and south Cascade Mountains for over 160 species including bald eagle, wolverine, marten, and Pacific giant salamander.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: DNR – Omroa Bhagwandin (360) 902-1059

Project Name: Methow Watershed, Phase 5
Location: Okanogan County, WA
Amount Requested: $5,000,000

Proposal: This phase of the partnership would secure up to 2,380 upland acres and stream frontage protecting landscape corridors. Protection of these low elevation mature conifer and riparian forest habitats would contribute to the State’s most successful acquisition effort with almost 20,000 acres already protected. The Methow River Watershed supports a unique and diverse assemblage of fish and wildlife species and is one of the few places where northern spotted owls, bald eagles, grizzly bears, gray wolves, lynx, bull trout, and salmon can be protected together.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: WDFW – Elizabeth Rodrick (360) 902-2696

Project Proposals for the Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grant Program

Project Name: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Area HCP
Location: Statewide, all 39 counties, WA
Amount Requested: $666,900

Proposal: This grant funds the fourth year of an HCP process for the State’s wildlife areas covering a total of approximately 830,000 acres. The HCP would offer benefits to protected species and land users by providing certainty that land management activities meet Federal species protection requirements. Listed species that would benefit include but are not limited to: pygmy rabbit, woodland caribou, snowy plover, spotted owl, marbled murrelet, bull trout, Chinook salmon, steelhead, Oregon silverspot, golden paintbrush, and Kincaid’s lupine. Unlisted species include greater sage-grouse, northern goshawk, burrowing owl, Oregon spotted frog, Larch Mountain salamander, coho salmon, Mardon skipper, Taylor’s checkerspot, and giant Columbia River limpet.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: WDFW – Jane Banyard (360) 902-2572

Project Name: Washington State Hydraulic Project Approval HCP
Location: Statewide, all 39 counties, WA
Amount Requested: $680,400

Proposal: Funding is sought for the fourth year of the HCP process for the State’s primary fish-protection regulatory program, the Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) program. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife seeks an HCP as a means of continuing conservation of fish and shellfish species and habitat, while achieving long-term certainty that the HPA program meets Federal species protection requirements. Listed species that would benefit include bull trout; steelhead; and Chinook, Coho, and sockeye salmon. Unlisted species include but are not limited to: coastal cutthroat trout; green sturgeon; Pacific, river, and western brook lamprey; California floater mussel; and giant Columbia River limpet.

State Agency Sponsor - Contact: WDFW – Jane Banyard (360) 902-2572