Community Campaign launched to preserve Frog’s Home
Sept. 5, 2024 YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. – The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation (“Yakama Nation”) and Forterra are pursuing protection of the180-acre property known as “Frog’s Home” along the Yakima River. Our collective goal is to restore critical habitat through traditional Tribal stewardship and ultimately return the ecologically and culturally significant site to Yakama Nation ownership.
Forterra and the Yakama Nation are now kicking off a community fundraising campaign to protect Frog’s Home forever.
“Yakama Nation and Forterra have been hard at work behind the scenes for months. Now we need the community’s help to return Frog’s Home to the Yakama Nation,” said Michelle Connor, President and CEO of Forterra. “Community donations will leverage four times the impact with other funds raised – and every dollar counts.”
Yakama Nation and Forterra are now collaborating to generate $500,000 in community donations. While Forterra secured the initial $2 million in interim debt financing to pull Frog’s Home off the open market, Yakama Nation provided cash at closing, taking title to one of six Frog’s Home parcels. Yakama Nation and Forterra have generated other funding and are seeking $1.4 million through grant proposals that are currently under review. To save Frog’s Home in perpetuity, the $500,000 from philanthropic resources is needed soon to bridge the gap. When all the necessary funds are secured, these sacred ancestral lands will be repatriated to Yakama Nation’s stewardship for future generations.
Frog’s Home is a legendary, monumental and ancestral cultural site for the Yakama Nation and is associated with in Yakama Nation oral history and testimony. In addition, it contains valuable salmon and fish habitat, wetland and riparian areas and established winter grounds for waterfowl. This acquisition will help restore the natural floodplain and improve water quality.
“The Frog’s Home Property is an ancestral place that we hold in high regards. It is fundamental to the teachings of our people – in our way it relates to how we are to be care takers for the giver of life. It presents lessons for our people and connects us to our values from young and old. We are honored and deeply thankful for the work that has been done by Forterra working with our staff to protect this important place. In this way, we bring honor to those of the past, present, and future generations of our Yakama people yet unborn. This is very meaningful to us.” – Gerald Lewis, Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman
Forterra and the Yakama Nation established a formal conservation partnership in 2021. In early 2022, both parties mutually agreed to pursue the purchase of Frog’s Home to conserve its significant natural and cultural resources. Yakama Nation obtaining ownership of Frog’s Home will restore traditional tribal access and usage.
Community donations for Frog’s Home can be made at https://forterra.org/frogs-home/. Larger direct donations can be made by mailing a check to Forterra at 5101 14th Ave NW, Suite 200 #307, Seattle, WA 98107 noting “Frog’s Home.” Any additional funds generated in excess of project costs will be allocated to habitat restoration efforts conducted with the Yakama Nation.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Yakama Nation
Star Diavolikis, Yakama Nation Public Information Officer
Star_Diavolikis@yakama.com; (509) 830-6698
Forterra
Sandi Peck, Forterra Communications
Speck@forterra.org; (360) 870-1038
ABOUT YAKAMA NATION
The Yakama Nation is a federally recognized, sovereign Native Nation and signatory to the Treaty with the Yakamas, dated June 9, 1855, 12 Stat. 951 (“Treaty of 1855”). Pursuant to the Treaty of 1855, the Yakama Nation reserved roughly 1,400,000 acres of land for its exclusive use and benefit as a permanent homeland in what is now the State of Washington, while ceding certain rights to over ten million acres of land to the United States. The Yakama Nation’s Treaty Territory encompasses roughly one third of Washington State.
Pursuant to the Treaty of 1855, the Yakama Nation reserved certain rights throughout its Treaty Territory including, without limitation, fishing, hunting, gathering and ceremonial rights. The Yakama Nation’s ancestors have stewarded the lands and waters of the Columbia River Basin and Pacific Northwest since time immemorial. Today, the Yakama Nation is a leading proponent of habitat conservation and restoration projects in Washington State. Between 2008 and 2020, the Yakama Nation protected or improved 12,264 acres of wetland habitat and 1,483 miles of stream and riparian habitat. Visit Yakama.com.
ABOUT FORTERRA: Forterra is an unconventional land trust that works across Washington’s communities and landscapes, from the ranches and shrub-steppe of the Yakima basin to the estuaries, farms and forests of Washington’s coast, reaching more than 100 counties, cities, towns and rural communities. Working cooperatively with people and nature, Forterra drives land stewardship, management and planning; innovative programs and policies; farming and forestry approaches; community ownership opportunities; and development solutions. Visit Forterra.org.
