Great News for the Entiat!

We are excited share the news that your support of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust has helped secure another big win for salmon, for the Entiat River, and for the heritage of an old family homestead! As you may recall, the Land Trust has been working since 2001 to protect critical habitat along the middle “Stillwaters” section of the Entiat River for salmon and for future generations. And now we have filled in two big missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle!

We just completed the purchase of two significant properties along the Entiat River, both with high priority salmon habitat and adjoining other properties that we own.

In 1908 Katherine Bremer Breda’s grandfather acquired over 100 acres of floodplain along the Entiat River. When her mother died in 2011, Katherine and the Land Trust began discussions about preserving this land with it's prime salmon spawning and rearing habitat for fish and for its great beauty rather than breaking it into pieces for development. “This transition of ownership – the 1908 Bremer Homestead to 2014 Chelan-Douglas Land Trust – has continued an important goal of maintaining the land in its natural state. This mutual decision, now under the care of Land Trust, preserves a very special place of family history,” said Katherine Bremer Breda. The protection of this property combined with the two adjoining Land Trust properties means that the entire floodplain and over 1.1 miles on both sides of this stretch of the Entiat River are protected – forever.

A couple of miles to the south, we worked with Dr. Bob Bockoven to protect a 25 acre property with a third of a mile of riverfront. Of particular importance for salmon, the property has a large backwater alcove that provides refuge for small salmon when the main river channel is running fast. While the spawning beds of the main channel are essential for salmon eggs, it is the off-channel habitat that is vital for rearing young fish. In these protected areas they rest, eat, and hide from predators.

Both landowners generously donated to CDLT’s permanent stewardship endowment.

Financial support for the acquisitions was provided by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust members, the Priest Rapids HCP Habitat Coordinating Committee, the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board, and the Rocky Reach HCP Tributary Committee. Thank you so much for your continued support, which is truly making a lasting difference!