PUYALLUP — A piece of property near South Prairie Creek in Buckley will soon become a part of a floodplain restoration project, which benefit salmon and improve habitat.
Forterra, a local nonprofit land conservation agency, announced Dec. 23 that it acquired 33 acres of privately owned property adjacent to an existing 134-acre South Prairie Creek Preserve.
The 33-acre property was previously used as a residence, horse boarding and racing facility. Once it is vacated, it will be incorporated into the preserve, according to a news release from the Office of the Pierce County Council.
“South Prairie Creek is one of the most productive salmon streams in the 1,000-square-mile Puyallup watershed,” Char Naylor, assistant director for the Puyallup Tribe Fisheries Department, said in a news release from Forterra. “The acquisition of this 33 acres cannot be underestimated.”
Forterra owns the property. The agency plans to temporarily lease the land to the people who sold it, according to the press release.
When all structures are removed, the property will be transferred to the Pierce Conservation District, and restoration efforts will officially commence some time in 2023.
The funds used to purchase the property came from Forterra, the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, Pierce County’s Conservation Futures program and Surface Water Management division. The price tag is undisclosed, Kevin Max, senior director of communications for Forterra, wrote in an email.
Flooding often occurs on the property, disrupting the previous owners’ home, according to the press release. Leasing it to the previous landowners, for now, will give them time to place their belongings elsewhere.
“This purchase … adds to the work we have done with our partners over the past 20 years to restore a reach that is crucial for wildlife and salmon habitat as well as for humans who benefit from clean water and healthy salmon,” Joe Sambataro, managing director of conservation transactions for Forterra, said in the press release.
South Prairie Creek connects to the Carbon River, which flows from Mount Rainier’s Carbon Glacier. Fish that live in the creek include chinook, coho and chum salmon.
“This property and its acquisition were always a priority, even as other pieces of the larger preservation and conservation efforts took shape over the last 20 years,” County Council member Ryan Mello said in the press release.
