Waldport, OR — A conservation partnership was inked with a land purchase today that will complete protection of vital salmon habitat in the Alsea River estuary.
Western Rivers Conservancy purchased 287 acres from Forest Capital Partners, land that will become part of an extensive restoration effort for threatened coastal coho salmon in partnership with the Siuslaw National Forest.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to work with Forest Capital Partners on this acquisition, because it advances our efforts to protect some of the best coastal coho salmon habitat remaining in Oregon,” said Sue Doroff, Western Rivers Conservancy’s Executive Vice President.
“This is a place that’s very important to Oregonians and to fish and wildlife,” said Jerry Anderson, Regional Manager for Forest Capital Partners. “This transaction made sense for our company, because we share a deep commitment to the land, the environment, and the communities in which we live and operate.”
The land straddles Drift Creek and the North Channel of the Alsea River, a backwater channel that has unusually large areas of high-quality salt marsh. Abundant beds of eel grass growing here are regarded by biologists as excellent nurseries and feeding areas for salmon.
This property joins an adjacent tract that Western Rivers Conservancy purchased in 2002, tracing five miles up Drift Creek. Acquiring these lands set the stage for an extensive restoration effort, including reconnecting side channels and sloughs that once were diked and blocked for pasturelands.
“At one time the Alsea River, together with Drift Creek, was the most productive coho salmon stream in all of Oregon,” Doroff said. “Now, protecting the Alsea River estuary is key to recovering these populations.”
“Taken together, these properties will be restored toward a dramatic improvement of habitat for threatened Oregon coastal coho salmon.”
Western Rivers Conservancy will convey the land into the ownership of the U.S. Forest Service - Siuslaw National Forest, as was the case with Western Rivers Conservancy’s first acquisition on Drift Creek, Doroff said.
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