In April 2026, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced revisions to its State Wildlife Action Plan, which will guide conservation efforts over the next 10 years. The plan places more emphasis on ecoregions rather than targeted individual species, specifying connectivity hotspots under the WDFW’s Washington Habitat Connectivity Action Plan.
This new framework for statewide conservation puts habitat connectivity at the forefront. While efforts to conserve and connect lands have been ongoing for decades, Forterra has been actively preserving Snohomish County farmlands, in turn benefitting one of the area’s most important corridors: the Stillaguamish River.
Forterra recently conserved nearly 40 acres of farmland along State Route 530 NE thanks to a partnership between Forterra and Snohomish County, with support from the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians. The Foster Farm had previously been a dairy, hay, and agro-tourism operation for over 70 years.
By entering into a voluntary agreement restricting development on the property, the farm owners and Forterra have added valuable land to an area the WDFW considers to have both high connectivity potential and residential development.
The land parcels included in the easement are adjacent to the Portage Creek Wildlife Area to the south. Water that filters through the 157-acre wildlife reserve with sprawling meadow views flows into Portage Creek, which eventually meets with South Slough and ultimately the Stillaguamish.
Beginning at the confluence of its North and South Forks near Arlington, the Stillaguamish winds its way through the landscape to Port Susan in the Puget Sound. These nearly 70 miles of waterway provide a continuous corridor for several species of salmonid, and the surrounding land it supports provides a home for numerous wildlife like elk, deer, and beaver.
Certain inputs, however, can interrupt the functions of this vital channel for fish and other wildlife. Impervious pavement allows contaminated water to flow freely into the river and its tributaries. Activity from development close to the water’s edge can cause siltation, or sedimentation, which can destroy salmon spawning habitat.
And some salmon have a long way to swim before reaching breeding grounds, so the fewer problems they encounter during their journey the better – making Forterra’s conservation efforts in the Stillaguamish River Valley Basin all the more important.
Another property that supports this connectivity is the 29-acre Breekveldt Farm. The Breekveldt family had been receiving several offers from developers to acquire their property located on a bend of the Stillaguamish River. By 2021, the Breekveldt family was able to enter into an easement agreement with Forterra, allowing their property to remain farmland in perpetuity.
“Conserving this property means retaining an important space for growing food and filtering water after floods,” said Forterra president and CEO Michelle Connor. “It is good for people and salmon alike.”
Forterra is active in Snohomish County and around the state, preserving Washington’s unique wildlife corridors.
Connectivity and Corridors
Corridors are akin to urban greenways – connected pieces of land that allow for uninterrupted movement. Much like pedestrian-only routes that allow people to move easily and unobstructed by traffic from one place to another, wildlife or habitat corridors allow wildlife to do the same. In areas where wildlife is abundant, development can sometimes fragment lands and disrupt migration routes. The benefits of continuous conserved stretches of land or water are numerous: increased genetic diversity, fewer traffic mortalities, improved breeding success, and more opportunities to find food and water.
