The federal Department of the Interior has approved a $3.7 million grant to purchase more than 1,700 acres of private land along the Hoh River for a conservation corridor, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, and state Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland announced Wednesday.
The federal funding, part of a $70 million package for nationwide habitat assistance, adds to $3 million awarded for the Hoh River Project last year.
The project, a collaboration of two Portland, Ore.,-based nonprofits, aims to put about 10,000 acres of land along the lower 30 miles of the river into a trust that will own and manage the land forever.
It has been challenged by some Hoh River valley residents and state Rep. Jim Buck, R-Joyce, who last month suggested Interior is misusing federal funds.
Also on Wednesday, the Interior Department awarded a $79,500 habitat planning assistance grant to Clallam County for a habitat conservation plan on the Dungeness River.