The Hoh is one of the nation's "great" rivers, world-renowned for its beauty and host to thousands of outdoor enthusiasts each year. The Hoh also brings an unprecedented opportunity to protect and maintain one of the most important strongholds for wild salmon and steelhead in the lower forty-eight states. With healthy salmon runs, pristine headwaters, an absence of fish passage problems and no significant hatchery influence, the Hoh only requires habitat protection along the lower river system.

Western Rivers Conservancy's goal is to place nearly the entire length of the Hoh into protective status by acquiring the majority of lands along the lower River. Together with our partners -- the Wild Salmon Center, the Hoh River Trust, Washington Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and with the support of Congressman Norm Dicks and Washintgon Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Southerland -- WRC is working to create a Conservation and Recreation Area between Olympic National Park and the Pacific Ocean, serving as a sanctuary for the renowned Hoh River salmon and steelhead. Outdoor enthusiasts of all types will realize a wealth of increased recreational opportunities and access along the Hoh. In addition, many species of wildlife will benefit from large-scale habitat protection, including listed species like the marbled murrelet, northern spotted owl, bald eagle and bull trout.

Since 2001, WRC has protected 4,500 acres along fourteen miles of the Hoh, well over half way toward our goal of acquiring 7,000 acres of corporate-owned riverlands in the Hoh valley. Western Rivers Conservancy has conveyed the lands to the Hoh River Trust, a private non-profit organization founded by WRC and the Wild Salmon Center in 2004. The Hoh River Trust's mission is to act as permanent owner and steward of the Hoh River Recreation and Conservation Area for the benefit of fish, wildlife and people.

WRC has purchased the properties thus far from Rayonier Timberlands Operating Company. They include boater put-ins and camping sites that will be completely accessible to the public.

• WRC purchased its first Hoh valley lands in 2001, acquiring the Schmidt Bar property from Rayonier. This 757-acre property includes not only gravel bars important for mainstem spawning by chinook salmon, but also the lower portions of two key tributaries: Elk and Winfield Creeks. Schmidt Bar's old-growth stands are habitat for marbled murrelets and spotted owls.
• The second purchase from Rayonier, the 1,362-acre Spruce Creek Bottom property, contains the lower portions of five key tributary streams, nearly four miles of river frontage and one of the largest concentrations of known marbled murrelet habitat on private land in the Hoh valley.
• WRC acquired the final group of properties from Rayonier in December 2004, including the 1,000-acre Hoh Oxbows property and an 80-acre parcel at the confluence with the South Fork Hoh. The South Fork confluence contains a broad swath of critical floodplain forest, the lower portion of an important tributary stream, Anderson Creek, and key boating access for Hoh River anglers on Nolan Bar.

WRC seeks to purchase an additional 2,500 acres of land from another forest products company in the Hoh Valley. When the project is complete, the Recreation and Conservation Area will complement the Hohs pristine headwaters within the National Park, creating fifty-six-miles of protected habitats and recreation opportunities from the interior of the Olympic Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

Western Rivers Conservancy has received financial support for the Hoh River from the Paul G. Allen Forest Protection Foundation, Bullitt Foundation, Carolyn Foundation, H. and J. Ferguson Foundation, Horizons Foundation, Charlotte Martin Foundation, G. and E. Mead Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Northwest Fund for the Environment, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Russell Family Foundation, Wildlife Forever (MN) and Wild Salmon Center.

Back to previous page