The popular Klickitat Wildlife Area will grow by about 90 acres in the Dry Canyon area, part of 38,000-acre land exchange between the state departments of Natural Resources and Fish and Wildlife.
DNR is getting 12,105 acres of forest land in Kittitas, Okanogan and Yakima counties. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is receiving slightly more than 25,800 acres of primarily shrub-steppe land in Asotin, Chelan, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan and Yakima counties.
Properties on both sides of the transaction are valued at $13.46 million.
The disparity in acreage — 12,105 acres for DNR and 25,800 acres for WDFW — is because DNR will receive parcels with higher-valued timber on them.
The exchange helps each agency to consolidate its holdings in eastern Washington for more efficient management.