Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Partners Complete Acquisition of Springwood Ranch for Water, Fish, Wildlife, and Agriculture

Trust for Public Land, Yakama Nation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Kittitas County, and Kittitas Reclamation District are thrilled to announce the completion of the acquisition of Springwood Ranch. Using funds from the Washington State Legislature, these partners secured Springwood Ranch to help fulfill the goals of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan. The Integrated Plan is a collaborative effort comprised of private, local, tribal, state, federal, and environmental interests that have come together to improve water resources for fish, families, farms, and forests in the Yakima Basin.

An effort several years in the making, Trust for Public Land acquired the 3,600-acre Springwood Ranch in March of 2023. Since then, Trust for Public Land worked with Yakama Nation, WDFW, Kittitas County, and Kittitas Reclamation District to apportion parts of Springwood Ranch for ownership by each of those four entities. On October 31, 2024, Trust for Public Land conveyed all of Springwood Ranch to its new owners.

"The acquisition of Springwood Ranch is a tremendous collaborative success that will continue the hard work of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan to meet the water needs in the Yakima Basin and will allow us to restore important ancestral homelands of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation," said Phil Rigdon, Superintendent of Yakama Nation's Natural Resources Department.

Once Trust for Public Land purchased Springwood Ranch, the Integrated Plan partners worked closely with legislators from across Washington State to secure over $25 million in state capital funds, made available through grants from the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office and the Washington Department of Ecology, to cover the costs of the acquisition and transition of Springwood Ranch to its new owners.

"We are proud to convey the Springwood Ranch to partners who will ensure this land will be managed to advance the many-faceted goals of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan," said Trust for Public Land's Northwest Director Mitsu Iwasaki. "We are deeply grateful to the Washington State Legislature for its willingness to continue its decade-long support of the Integrated Plan, particularly for the funding for the Springwood Ranch acquisition."

The purchase of Springwood Ranch was driven by the Integrated Plan partners' interest in a portion of the property for the development of an off-channel water reservoir that can store water needed to address the ever-increasing impacts of drought on fisheries and agriculture in the Yakima Basin. Kittitas Reclamation District will own that portion of the property while the Integrated Plan partners work on a multi-year study to examine the feasibility of the off-channel reservoir.

"Kittitas Reclamation District continues to be dedicated to the incredibly diverse partnership that made the Springwood Ranch acquisition possible. We are already hard at work with our colleagues in the Integrated Plan to explore the possibility of new water storage at Springwood Ranch," said Urban Eberhart, District Manager. "We are deeply indebted to Trust for Public Land for purchasing Springwood Ranch to make possible this critical water supply effort."

The collaborative nature of the Springwood Ranch transaction also made it possible for Kittitas County to take ownership of some of the property to support local agriculture.

"Purchasing Springwood Ranch is essential for the people of Kittitas County. This project will allow us to retain a portion of Springwood Ranch for agriculture while also finding ways to secure future water supplies so crucial to our economy," said Kittitas County Commissioner Cory Wright.

Finally, in a first-of-its-kind arrangement, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yakama Nation will jointly own and manage other portions of the ranch that contains crucial wildlife habitat and includes several miles of Yakima River frontage.

"The Yakima Basin Integrated Plan has created an opportunity for strengthening our relationship and stewardship of fish and wildlife between the Department of Fish Wildlife and the Yakama Nation, ," said Mike Livingston, Region 3 Director for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. "Joint ownership and -management of vital habitat lands on Springwood Ranch will allow that relationship to build in ways I never imagined."

As the new landowners begin the collective work of managing the property, Springwood Ranch will not initially be open for public access. Fences and signs need to be installed, and public access areas need to be designated to ensure all intended uses of the property, especially the reservoir study, are compatible with public access.

About Trust for Public Land

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,420 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $94 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.7 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.