Wildlife will have more places to roam in 2009 with the acquisition of the Upper Wallace and Pacific Crest Trail parcels by the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests.

"We just completed two purchases which will increase wildlife and recreational opportunities in the forest," said Scott Lynn, Forest Service Realty Specialist. "The combined acquisition is over 1,200 acres, with 149 acres in the newly established Wild Sky Wilderness and the rest along the Pacific Crest Trail."

The Pacific Crest Trail is a nationally significant long-distance trail extending from Canada to Mexico along the rugged and remote crests of the Cascades, Sierra Nevada and southern California mountain ranges.

The Forest Service bought the land from the Cascade Land Conservancy and The Trust for Public Lands. According to Lynn, acquiring privately-owned parcels within national forest boundaries allows the Forest Service to better manage the land in a contiguous ownership block.

Right now, the Snoqualmie and Cle Elum Ranger Districts face the largest concentration of checkerboard-pattern ownership on these forests. These districts straddle I-90 east of North Bend. Each privately-owned parcel creates troublesome trespass issues, boundary maintenance costs and potential right-of-way access situations.

"The Forest Service has been working with Cascade Land Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land over six years to obtain funding for these projects," he said, adding that the purchases were finalized in December 2008.

"Anything we can do to simplify land management while protecting key wildlife areas is something we work towards," Lynn explained.

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