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Forterra and Pierce Conservation District Conserve Property Along South Prairie Creek as Part of Larger 16-year Restoration Effort

Conservation of property along South Prairie Creek adds to multi-year, multi-stakeholder effort to support salmon, restore natural water systems and generate cleaner water

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Pierce Conservation District and Forterra, a Washington-based nonprofit land trust, conserved critical salmon habitat along South Prairie Creek, a major tributary of the Carbon River and the Puyallup River. This recent acquisition is part of a larger multi-stakeholder 16-year effort to reconnect wildlife habitats and floodplains along the creek to restore salmon to the watershed.

The 5-acre property adds to the 129-acre conservation and restoration effort that began in 2005. Over the past 16 years, partners have demolished 11 buildings, restored 2,600 linear feet of side channel, installed 113 engineered log structures that provide habitat and planted more than 18,000 native plant species. In 2020, crews completed development of a new side channel that is fully connected with the main stem of the creek. Together, the goal is to reconnect and establish healthy habitats and floodplains.

”South Prairie Creek is one of the most important salmon streams in Pierce County,” said Allan Warren, project lead for Pierce Conservation District. “The acquisition of this additional 5-acres is the first step in the development of the next major habitat restoration project for South Prairie Creek. Along with projects downstream, ultimately, we will have created more than a mile of continuous, complex habitat to help restore endangered populations of Chinook, stealhead and other salmon.”

As a tributary to the Carbon River, South Prairie Creek is a principal salmon-bearing stream in the Puyallup and White rivers watershed. For decades, development and use in the area limited instream habitat, diminished water quality and cut off floodplains. Restoration efforts are returning the landscape’s natural systems, improving water quality and supporting wildlife — specifically Chinook, Coho, Pink and Chum salmon as well as Steelhead Trout.

“This effort is much larger than the acreage of any one property,” said Forterra managing director of conservation transactions, Joe Sambataro. “It is about restoring natural systems, ensuring future generations have clean water and salmon and rethinking how we connect to the landscape.”

Forterra is facilitating the acquisition of this latest property on behalf of Pierce Conservation District, which is directly matching grant funds from the State Salmon Recovery Funding Board to be. Other key partners in the larger 16-year restoration effort include the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Pierce County, South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group, and Puget Sound Partnership.

“The acquisition reflects the kind of multi-agency interest needed to accomplish large-scale restoration projects,” said Puyallup Tribe fisheries director Russ Ladley. “The tribe is delighted to partner with so many enthusiastic individuals.”

To learn more about the overall project, watch the short film “Building a New Future at South Prairie Creek” here.


CONTACTS
Allan Warren
Communications & Development Director
Pierce Conservation District
allanw@piercecd.org
253.278.4320

Heidi Taffera
Managing Director of Media Relations and Storytelling, Forterra
htaffera@forterra.org
425-269-9981

ABOUT PIERCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT
Pierce Conservation District works to equitably support community-driven solutions to our most pressing local environmental challenges. A local, non-regulatory government agency, the District works with the community, tribes, public and private organizational partners to create a Pierce County with thriving ecosystems and resilient communities. Visit Pierce Conservation District.

ABOUT FORTERRA
Forterra is a Washington-based nonprofit that enhances, supports, and stewards the region’s most precious resources — its communities and its ecosystems. Forterra conserves and stewards land, develops innovative policies, and supports sustainable rural and urban development. In its 30-year history, Forterra has helped conserve more than 250,000 acres. Its work stretches from the farmlands and river canyons of Yakima to the estuaries and forests of Washington’s coastline, reaching more than 100 counties, cities and towns. Visit Forterra.

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