For Immediate Release

September 22, 2004

INTERIOR DEPT. GRANT
FUNDS HOH RIVER PROJECT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of the Interior has approved a grant of $3.7 million to purchase 1,755 acres of privately owned lands along the Hoh River as part of a strategy to preserve critical habitat for salmon, bull trout, murrelets, owls and other threatened and endangered species on the Olympic Peninsula, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks and Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland said Wednesday.

            The grant will assist a large-scale public and private partnership effort that will preserve the wildlife habitat along the entire length of the ecologically-significant river.  The federal funding announced today adds to another $3 million that was awarded for the Hoh River Conservation Corridor project last year.  It was approved by Interior Secretary Gale Norton as part of the department’s $70 million nationwide effort to assist states in improving habitat for threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plant species.

            The Conservation Corridor project has also attracted a substantial amount of private sector support, coordinated by the Western Rivers Conservancy through the Hoh River Trust, a non-profit organization created to manage the lands acquired for the benefit of fish and wildlife.

            “This grant will allow the Trust to acquire, from willing sellers, another key piece of property along the Hoh River that will have the most significant benefits for salmon and bull trout habitat.  It confirms the federal government’s commitment, along with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, to the success of this five year effort to protect valuable riparian and upland forest habitat along the river,” Rep. Dicks said.  

            “In addition,” he said, “this Conservation Corridor project has been structured to allow continued recreational access, assuring that fishermen, boaters and others can continue to enjoy one of our region’s most important salmon-producing rivers.”          

            Commissioner Sutherland stated: “This grant is an important part of the balance of salmon habitat, working forests and recreation.  The four-way cooperation with Congressman Dicks, Interior Secretary Norton, our Department and willing private landowners shows that win/win opportunities still happen.” 

            The Interior Department also announced the award of a $79,500 habitat planning assistance grant to Clallam County , providing funds to continue the development of a Habitat Conservation Plan/HCP covering the lower 11 miles of the Dungeness River .

             Rep. Dicks, who serves as the top-ranking Democratic member of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, applauded the close cooperation between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state’s Department of Natural Resources, which is managing the recovery of a large number of listed fish and wildlife species that are facing growth-related threats in Washington.

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