Protecting Land on the West's Outstanding Rivers

With backing from GlobalGiving donors, Western Rivers Conservancy is permanently protecting land along outstanding rivers across the western United States. Your gift supports the core costs of purchasing and conserving land for the benefit of fish, wildlife and people. Your contribution is dedicated to such efforts as preserving salmon and wildlife habitat, and creating new hiking trails, boating access and recreational opportunities.                                       

Thanks to your support, Western Rivers Conservancy has:     

• Conserved a Desert Oasis in California’s Kern River Valley

• Conveyed a Game Changing Property for Fish on Washington’s Yakima River

California’s South Fork Kern River:     

This summer, Western Rivers Conservancy permanently protected a 2,285-acre oasis at the foot of the Southern Sierra, complete with spring-fed creeks, native trout and a natural warm spring. We transferred half of Fay Creek Ranch to the Tübatulabal Tribe and half to the Kern River Valley Heritage Foundation (KRVHF), repatriating the first lands ever returned to the Tübatulabal and turning this special place over to two entities that will now steward these lands for the sake of fish, wildlife and the South Fork Kern.

Fay Creek Ranch is a rare refuge within an otherwise hot, arid landscape. The property is home to several freshwater springs, a warm spring and 1.5 miles of Fay Creek itself, a tributary to the South Fork Kern. The creek is a crucial perennial cold-water stream for native trout, and its lush banks offer excellent habitat for imperiled birds like southwestern willow flycatcher and least Bell’s vireo, both federally Endangered. The South Fork Kern River valley, where the property is located, is considered a Globally Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society, indicating the area’s critical importance to some of California’s most sensitive bird species, including California condor.

Two trails run through the property, linking the valley floor with the high Kern Plateau. These trails were historically used by the Tübatulabal Tribe, who inhabited the land that is now Fay Creek Ranch for millennia before the arrival of Europeans. In recent years, the trails were closed, and the Tübatulabal Tribe intends to reopen them for compatible public recreation.

The ranch is located directly between the North and South forks of the Kern River, which are both designated as wild and scenic from their headwaters down to Isabella Lake. Below the lake, the mainstem of the Kern flows southwest through spectacular rocky canyons and is a major attraction for people seeking hot springs, whitewater paddling and a respite from the Southern California sun.

Fay Creek Ranch is surrounded by protected lands and is directly adjacent to Hanning Flat, a 3,800- acre preserve owned and managed by the KRVHF. By transferring part of the ranch to the foundation, we are expanding Hanning Flat and providing new access to the existing preserve, while simultaneously completing an important assemblage of conservation lands in this area.

WRC entered into an agreement to purchase Fay Creek Ranch in 2021 and was able to secure funding from the California Wildlife Conservation Board and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to permanently conserve this fragile desert refuge. By partnering with the Tübatulabal Tribe and the KRVHF, we were able to guarantee permanent protection of the ranch’s outstanding fish and wildlife habitat, its invaluable cultural sites and excellent public recreation opportunities.

Washington’s Yakima River:   

Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead will soon have new spawning and rearing habitat in Washington’s Yakima River. In partnership with Kittitas County, Western Rivers Conservancy permanently conserved Four Seasons Ranch, the last remaining private inholding within the Ringer Restoration Reach, a large-scale restoration site encompassing over 650 acres of floodplain habitat and nearly four miles of the Yakima River.

The Yakima was once a powerhouse producer of salmon and steelhead, but a century of human impact has degraded the basin’s wild fish runs to a fraction of their former size. Kittitas County has been working with landowners within the Ringer Reach for nearly a decade to purchase parcels along the river with the goal of restoring the entire area to its natural floodplain and recovering habitat for salmon and steelhead.

The Yakima River floodplain provides essential habitat for ESA-listed steelhead, as well as spring Chinook, coho and cutthroat trout. Additionally, this stretch of river is used by migratory sockeye and is designated as critical foraging, migratory and overwintering habitat for ESA-listed bull trout.

WRC purchased Four Seasons Ranch this month and immediately conveyed it to Kittitas County, laying the groundwork for the county to restore floodplain habitat, diminish flood risk and improve spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead.

Now that WRC has transferred Four Seasons Ranch to Kittitas County, restoration of the Ringer Reach can move forward in earnest. Berms and levees will be gradually removed, or allowed to continue their decay, side channels will be restored, cottonwood trees will be returned to the landscape, and this stretch of the Yakima will once again be free to meander and shift across its natural floodplain. For the Yakima’s salmon and steelhead, this is a major step in the right direction.

Conclusion

The Fay Creek and Four Seasons ranch projects are just some of our recent projects. WRC currently has over 25 active projects in seven states. With the support of GlobalGiving donors, Western Rivers Conservancy is expanding our efforts to protect riverlands for fish, wildlife and people.

We love to hear from our supporters. Please contact Anne Tattam at 503-241-0151, ext. 219 (or atattam@westernrivers.org) for further information. Thank you.

• Western Rivers Conservancy: Project Photos (PDF)