OLYMPIA — The state Recreation Conservation Office has announced $11.6 million in grants for projects in Klickitat County and $1.9 million for projects in Skamania County, including money to repair the boat ramp at the mouth of the Wind River.
Statewide, nearly $190 million was awarded to improve outdoor recreation and conserve wildlife habitat.
Here is a description of the projects getting money:
Skamania County
Wind River boat ramp — Skamania County will get $150,000 to replace the docks at the river mouth at Home Valley. The existing docks are in disrepair and lack buoyancy.
Gifford Pinchot trails — The Gifford Pinchot National Forest is getting $149,700 for the Cowlitz Valley District to pay for a three-person crew to maintain 300 miles of wilderness and non motorized trails. The focus will be in the Goat Rocks and Mount Adams wildernesses, the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail and in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
Cowlitz Valley District also is getting $195,700 for a crew to maintain 230 of trails for motorized use. Work will be focused on the Dark Divide, High Lakes and Blue Lake areas.
West Fork Washougal River — Columbia Land Trust will get $1.5 million to buy 307 acres to preserve one of the largest remaining private forests in the Washougal River watershed. The purchase will conserve more than three miles of shoreline habitat on the West Fork of the Washougal River and Jackson Creek.
Klickitat County
Klickitat oaks — Columbia Land Trust will get $4.3 million to buy 2,666 acres above the Klickitat River near the community of Klickitat. The lands is a mix of oak and conifer forest. This is the first phase in an effort to conserve 8,000 acres.
Centennial Farm — Columbia Land Trust will use this $1.6 million grant to conserve 1,983 acres of one of the oldest farms in Washington, five miles west of Goldendale. The conservation easement will remove up to 99 potential development rights to ensure the property remains viable for farming.
Davenport Cattle — The state Conservation Commission will get $3.5 million for a conservation easement to protect 5,867 acres of Davenport Cattle, a family-owned cattle farm established in 1876.
The easement will extinguish 858 development rights. The project includes 27 separate parcels under two family ownerships.
Trout Lake frogs — The state Department of Natural Resources is getting $870,000 to buy and manage 126 acres of private land in the Trout Lake Natural Area Preserve’s boundary.
Klickitat trail — Washington’s Parks and Recreation Commission will get $1.3 million to buy land in or adjacent to Klickitat State Park Trail, which is the 31-mile former railroad from Lyle to Warwick.
The money allows state parks to buy smaller, lower-cost land when opportunities arise.
Cowlitz County
Four projects totaling $1 million in Cowlitz County are getting grants.
The Forest Service is getting $140,000 to maintain trails in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is getting $533,000 to install logs in a three-mile stretch of the North Fork of the Toutle River; Cowlitz County is getting $77,000 to replace a restroom at the Cowlitz Public Shooting Range; and the City of Woodland will receive $309,000 to install artificial turf on one to three soccer fields in the new Scott Hill Park and Sports Complex.
