Landowners in partnership with the North Olympic Land Trust have permanently conserved about 13 acres and a quarter-mile along the Sol Duc River near the former town site of Hecklesville, between Port Angeles and Forks.
The Sol Duc Sanctuary, owned by Paul Chasman and Anna Wiancko, was placed in a conservation easement June 21, the land trust said this week, adding that it will help protect habitat for one of the largest wild steelhead populations in the state, according to the land trust.
The area also provides habitat for cutthroat trout, chum, pink, sockeye, chinook and coho salmon.
A conservation easement protects land from development in perpetuity.
“Preserving quality salmon and steelhead habitat is of high importance to our community,” said Tom Sanford, land trust executive director.
“This new easement will help maintain and grow strong fish populations in the Sol Duc. We’re so pleased to help Paul and Anna achieve their vision of conserving their land.”
The Sol Duc River flows about 65 miles from high in Olympic National Park down to where it joins the Bogachiel River and forms the Quileute River, about 5 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
The land trust was formed in 1990 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving land on the Olympic Peninsula.
Since then, the organization has conserved more than 2,700 acres of land.
