rivers-edge

SEQUIM – On March 20, North Olympic Land Trust and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe reached a milestone in local land conservation with the purchase of 104 acres of farmland and habitat along the Dungeness River known as River’s Edge, forever to be conserved as such.

The River’s Edge project was announced publicly in September of 2019, when the landowners agreed to sell the land for conservation rather than listing it on the public market. A community fundraising goal of $425,000 was set, and over 250 community donors stepped up to raise the necessary funds along with a low-interest loan from Sound Community Bank.
North Olympic Land Trust now owns 64 acres of farmland along Towne Road. The plan is to place a permanent conservation easement on the land and eventually sell it to a farmer.

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe now owns the adjacent 40 acres of Dungeness riverbank habitat. The property was purchased with funding from the State’s Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund. This funding places a “salmon deed of right” on the property, requiring the land to be used exclusively for the benefit of salmon habitat.

This will include planned setback of the existing levee along the Dungeness River, which will allow the river to meander naturally through the floodplain. Chinook salmon, summer chum, bull trout and steelhead are among the fish that utilize the river.

Here’s a link to a short video of the River’s Edge property, courtesy of local videographer John Gussman.

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