Western Rivers Conservancy

Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) protects outstanding river ecosystems in the western United States through land acquisition. Its motto is "Sometimes to save a river, you have to buy it." WRC buys critical properties to conserve habitat for fish and wildlife, protect key sources of cold water, provide public access, and secure the health of whole river ecosystems. The organization buys strategic properties that deliver the greatest impact and ultimately transfers those lands to permanent conservation stewards. These include the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Tribal Nations, state parks and counties with conservation visions that align with WRC.

Over the next 1-2 years, WRC will advance or complete nearly 30 river conservation projects, which include:

• Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary & Yurok Tribal Community Forest (California). WRC and the Yurok Tribe are in the final stretch of a 15-year effort to buy and protect 47,097 acres along Blue Creek and the lower Klamath River, including a 14,790-acre Salmon Sanctuary and 32,307-acre community forest. The project will conserve the entire Blue Creek watershed including 9 miles of Blue Creek, the single most important cold-water refuge in the Klamath system, as a new fish and wildlife sanctuary. 100% of the acreage will be conveyed to the Yurok in 2024.
• Estero de San Antonio, Dillon Beach (California). WRC will complete the conservation of a 466-acre property located 40 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Our efforts will protect 1.5 miles of the southern bank of the Estero de San Antonio and 1.5 miles of California Coastline within the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the California Coastal Monument. WRC will convey the lands to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria in 2024.
• Doloros River (Colorado). WRC will complete the conservation of a 160-acre, critically important wetland meadow complex at the headwaters of Colorado’s famed Doloros River. Situated between the Doloros East and West forks, the meadows serve as cold-water sponges, collecting, filtering, and holding spring snowmelt and stormwater for gradual release later in the summer and fall, when critically needed for fish survival. WRC will convey it to the San Juan National Forest in 2024.
• Hood River (Oregon). On the northern slope of Mt. Hood, WRC will advance efforts to place a conservation easement over the 19,079-acre Green Diamond Resource Company Mid-Columbia Tree Farm, including 98 miles of streams that anchor imperiled salmonids. When complete, the project will ensure it can operate as a working forest, remain an important economic driver for the community, and safeguard irrigation sources and water supply for 8,000 residents in Hood River County.
• Bear River (Washington). WRC will complete the conservation of 2,366 acres of industrial timberland located in Washington’s coastal forest and convey the land to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. The project will protect key waters that harbor spawning chum, coho, winter steelhead, fall Chinook, coastal cutthroat trout and Pacific lamprey.