What We Do
The mission of the Kittitas Conservation Trust is to protect a legacy of fish and wildlife habitat, open space, and aquatic resources in the Upper Yakima River Basin and help restore natural habitat.
The Trust identifies land and water rights that have high conservation value, and then works with willing landowners to acquire land, conservation easements, or water rights that will increase instream flows. Funding for our acquisition and restoration projects comes from a variety of public and private sources.
Habitat Protection Projects
- Hundley Conservation Easement
- Swamp Lake Forest
- Conrad – Yakima River
- Suncadia Conservation Easements
Cle Elum River Corridor Conservation Easement
Protects 1230 acres of geomorphic floodplain on both banks along six miles of the lower Cle Elum River between I-90 and Lake Cle Elum. Spring Chinook salmon use this important tributary reach for adult spawning and early freshwater stage rearing. The Trust is planning an instream habitat restoration project in the lower Cle Elum that will expand rearing habitat for young salmon. The project uses engineered log jams to create complexity and refuge.
Phase-3 Open Space Conservation Easements
These two easements protect 1,361 acres of Managed Open Space and 502 acres of Natural Open Space in the forested uplands on the west side of the Cle Elum River. Wildlife migration corridors remain connected. Critical terrestrial habitat that supports deer, elk, cougar, and other important species is permanently conserved and protected from development.
Stream ‘C’ Conservation Easement
The 232 acres of land protected by this conservation easement includes landscape scale wildlife connectivity routes. The Cle Elum River drainage is linked to the Teanaway River basin through the Stream ‘C’ corridor by extensive wildlife migration routes. The Land Stewardship Plan for the Stream ‘C’ Corridor stresses desired future outcomes that maintain wildlife habitat function in perpetuity.
Phase-2 Natural Open Space Conservation Easement
The Trust also monitors and stewards 131 acres of natural open space on the east side of the Cle Elum River that connects to the riparian conservation easement. This easement expands the fish and wildlife habitat protections provided by the Cle Elum River Corridor easement.
Upper Yakima Basin Habitat Projects
The Trust has successfully competed for financial support to implement several conservation projects that will protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat.
Funding sources include:
- Salmon Recovery Funding Board
- Washington State Dept. of Ecology
- American rivers – NOAA
- Community Salmon Fund
Swauk Creek Water Storage Study
Critical habitat for recovery of Mid-Columbia Steelhead is threatened by late season low flows in lower Swauk Creek. The Trust is investigating the feasibility of storing excess water from spring run-off for agricultural use during low flow periods later in the year. Increased instream flows would benefit production of important aquatic species while water users continue to be fully supplied. The Swauk storage study is primarily funded by the Dept. of Ecology.
Currier Creek Barrier Removal
This project helps restore fish passage into a critical watershed for recovery of populations of salmon and steelhead in the Yakima Basin. Agricultural water diversion structures that are complete barriers to fish passage will be removed and stream restoration actions will follow. Project funding comes through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and American Rivers – NOAA Community Based Restoration Program Partnership.
Taneum Creek Fish Passage Improvements
Two fish passage structures in lower Taneum Creek are inadequate to meet the passage needs of anadromous fish into the Taneum watershed. The Bruton and Taneum diversions fish ladders were constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation during the Phase-1 improvements, but do not meet current criteria for passage. Kittitas Conservation Trust partnered with Yakama Nation Fisheries will complete an analysis of alternatives for improving fish passage into Taneum. A preferred option will be selected and 30% design documents will be delivered to the Bureau of Reclamation for their approval and implementation. Project funding comes from the Community Salmon Fund and Yakima Tributary Access Program.