More than 3,000 acres of old-growth and second-growth forest in western Clallam and Jefferson counties are earmarked for preservation under a nearly $10 million grant from the Department of Interior.
The grant, part of a $70 million package announced by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, will go toward protecting marbled murrelets, northern spotted owls and other endangered species that live in the West End forests, Norton said.
The grant was awarded to the state Department of Natural Resources, which with other partners will likely purchase the forests for conservation.
“Not only does it provide good, high quality habitat, but it contributes to the management of all our forestland in Washington,” state Department of Natural Resources communications director Todd Myers said Tuesday.
The earmarked land includes 987 acres of old-growth forest, called the Butterfly Parcels, just south and east of Lake Ozette, and 2,374 acres of predominantly old-growth and second-growth forest along the Hoh River south of Forks.
The Butterfly Parcels are owned by Rayonier Inc.
The Hoh River Conservation Corridor, which includes several parcels, is owned by Western Rivers Conservancy.
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The rest of the story appears in the Wednesday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition.