In a major win for local communities and the planet, nonprofits in Oregon have partnered to place 245 acres of wetlands in the lower Siuslaw River watershed in permanent conservation protection.
As reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting, Nathan Large, a longtime cattle rancher in the area, recently sold his property to help further conservation efforts. The Nature Conservancy in Oregon then worked with public and private donors to purchase the land for conservation.
In June, the land was donated to the local environmental nonprofit McKenzie River Trust, which is now overseeing preservation and restoration projects on the tidal property. The nonprofit called the newly acquired land the "missing piece of the puzzle" in the quest to protect the watershed and help the coho salmon population rebound.
"You know historically the Siuslaw River was one of the biggest producers of salmon on the Oregon Coast," Joe Moll, executive director of the McKenzie River Trust, told OPB. "And over time, that changed, and this will be a tremendous boost as a nursery for the coho salmon particularly."
The land transfer expands on more than 1,200 acres of existing protected land near the river and will help bolster native plant and animal habitats. The local Indigenous communities, such as the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, will benefit from a more abundant salmon run.
In addition, Moll told OPB that the conservation expansion will boost water quality and provide communities with an extra layer of protection against the impacts of extreme weather. As the Environmental Protection Agency noted, wetlands are critical to help mitigate flooding and absorb carbon in the atmosphere, thus cooling down the planet.
Now that they've secured the property, the nonprofits are working on several enhancement projects to ensure the wetlands return to their former glory. With support from public and private funders, they hope to restore over 550 acres of land in the tidal estuary by 2030.
"The North Fork of the Siuslaw is an important refuge for native Coho salmon, lamprey, birds, and large mammals, including Roosevelt elk and black bears. Restoring tidal influence to the wetlands here will improve conditions for fish, wildlife, and the people of the Siuslaw River basin," Nathan LeClear, Restoration Project Manager for McKenzie River Trust, said in a statement.
"I'm not in favor of converting good agricultural land, but I don't see this as a conversion," Large told the nonprofit. "It's just putting it back to the way it was."
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