Kittitas Conservation Trust

11/06/2026

https://www.nature.org/en-us/newsroom/cle-elum-community-forest/
We here at Kittitas Conservation Trust are excited to see the Cle Elum Ridge become a community forest to benefit the people of our community. Protecting the resources and cultural values honor those from the past and continue to provide for future generations. KCT would like to thank the many folks who have worked on this landmark achievement. The Checkerboard Partnership included many local citizens from around Kittitas County to find a conservation outcome for this land, your thoughtful efforts have made this gift possible. The Smith Family Foundation, the Hein Legacy Foundation, the Suncadia Fund for Community Enhancement, and hundreds of residents helped to provide critical matching funds to make this acquisition possible. Together we have raised over $400,000 in local private matching dollars required to activate the $6,000,000 in state funding and conserve 2,600 acres above the upper Kittitas County communities. KCT would also like to give credit to the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan and the Lands Subcommittee in their efforts to bring together Kittitas County, state agencies, and other partners to understand critical issues and facilitating solutions to meet mutual goals and objectives around this project. And to the Nature Conservancy for protecting and stewarding these lands. And finally, a big thank you to the Yakama Nation and Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust for stepping up to own and manage the Cle Elum Ridge Community Forest. We share in your commitment to stewarding these lands and collaborating with the community on its management. This is a big win for conservation and our community. I hope to see you on the trail sometime soon!

The new 2,600-acre Cle Elum Ridge Community Forest is to remain protected and accessible.

09/15/2026

09/08/2026

A log jam's perspective...

09/03/2026

https://www.inlander.com/news/massive-projects-in-the-yakima-river-basin-are-offering-hope-for-sockeye-salmon/article_d54a6df7-a5e5-47b7-9c72-16bc14e9ad7e.html

This year marks the fourth consecutive year of drought in the Yakima River Basin, a roughly 6,100-square-mile region in south-central Washington.

09/03/2026

In case you were wondering what it looks like up at Gold Creek...here is a sneak peek at about 1/2 mile of the 2 1/2 miles. This is the restoration work happening this year.

08/31/2026

If you've hiked along Gold Creek in late summer, you probably found something unsettling for a mountain stream near Snoqualmie Pass: no water. By late July, the lower mile and a half of the creek runs dry, leaving Bull Trout stranded in isolated pools, exposed to predators and heat, unable to reach....

08/25/2026

From drawings on a page to reality on the ground. For over 13 years Kittitas Conservation Trust has worked to plan The Gold Creek Valley Restoration Project through assessment, design, and permitting. This construction season is beginning to show the fruits of this labor, seeing the implementation happen is what keeps us pushing onward with our mission. KCT would like to thank our partners at Natural Systems Design for sticking with this project and building a process-based design and KLB Construction for their diligent work on implementation. We also want to thank our partners at the Yakama Nation, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Bureau of Reclamation, WA State Department of Fish and Wildlife, WA State Department of Ecology, WA State Recreation and Conservation Office, Mid-Columbia Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group, Forterra, Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board and Trout Unlimited for their support and collaboration to help make this project a reality.
https://www.kittitasconservationtrust.org/projects/gold-creek-restoration-flow-and-habitat/

07/30/2026

We are thrilled to provide an update on the progress at Gold Creek! Our goals are to reduce the extent and duration of Gold Creek's dewatering and provide instream habitat complexity. We are thankful for the many partnerships and wonderful contractors (KLB Construction, Columbia Helicopters, Natural Systems Design) who have made this project successful thus far!
To date we have successfully:
- Placed over 175,000 cubic yards of fill into Gold Creek Pond to reduce the siphoning of ground water
- Removed legacy gravel mining berms surrounding Gold Creek Pond that have disconnected the creek from its historic floodplain.
- Restored the Heli's Gravel Pit to reduce groundwater siphoning.
- Constructed 50 Type 5 Engineered log jams (28 with a helicopter and 22 with ground based equipment) to provide instream habitat.
- Placed 5,750 cubic yards of fill to narrow the floodplain to restore channel width to historic conditions.
- Excavated 5 historic side channels to reduce flooding risk to private property and provide off channel refuge for fish.
- Added over 70 pieces of supplemental wood to the instream and floodplain to slow high velocities and augment natural log jams.

We are thrilled at these accomplishments and are continuing to work throughout the summer building fish hotels.

06/23/2026

Lots of great work at Gold Creek Pond.