Clean Water for People and Nature

Story by Rebecca Cohen, Proposal Writer
Photograph by Mark Godfrey

Clean water to drink; beautiful mountain rivers and lakesfor fishing and recreation; healthy and abundant water for growing crops. Washington’s waters are integral to our quality of live.

All across Washington, your support enables The Nature Conservancy to protect and preserve the water that sustains us all.

In Puget Sound’s river valleys, we’re leading an initiative to protect communities from flooding, improve water quality and create habitat for salmon. The result is cleaner water flowing into the Sound, protecting shellfish, salmon, orcas and the quality of life we enjoy in Western Washington. This model program has now been adopted by the state Department of Ecology, which has identified more than 20 new projects across the state for Legislative funding.

The rivers that provide fresh water along the Washington Coast are equally threatened. We’re working with tribes and other partners for restoration in the forests that protect the Queets, Clearwater and Hoh rivers, to ensure that they continue to flow with clean and cold water for salmon.

Our recent Forests for Our Future acquisition of 48,000 acres east of Snoqualmie Pass protects the headwaters of the Yakima River, which supports salmon and one of our nation’s most productive agricultural regions. We’re also working with a broad coalition that includes tribes, farmers, conservationists and others to support the Yakima Basin Integrated Water Plan to ensure there’s enough water for fish, agriculture and communities long into the future.

Together we can ensure this vital resource will continue to support life in Washington and around the world.