US Fish and Wildlife Service
The Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is located in Lacey, Washington. We are primarily responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats in western Washington. The office is made up of several Divisions, including Environmental Assessment and Restoration, Contaminants, Consultation and Technical Assistance, Conservation Planning, Listing and Recovery, and a Fisheries Resource Office. Our Division of Listing and Recovery focuses on planning and implementing on-the-ground conservation actions for Federally listed species, candidate species and species and concern. A large focus of our work is to closely coordinate with regional partners on actions to benefit grassland dependent species from the islands of North Puget Sound throughout the glacial outwash prairies of South Puget Sound and into the wet prairies of southwestern Washington and the Willamette Valley of Oregon.
US Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the efforts of the South Sound Prairie Working Group to study, share and develop information about Washington's rare prairie ecosystems. EPA's Aquatic Resources Unit has provided funding and technical support toward projects that seek to increase awareness, recognition, conservation and restoration of wet prairie ecosystems in both the Willamette Valley and Puget Trough regions.
Wolf Haven International
Wolf Haven International is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education about South Puget Sound prairies, wolves and wolf conservation, a Red and Mexican wolf breeding program, and a sanctuary for captive reared wolves. Wolf Haven has partnered with The Nature Conservancy, The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Department of the Army, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to actively restore our prairie habitat since 2001. Through these partnerships we have been the recipient of several rare and endangered species reintroductions onto our prairie, including the Golden Paintbrush and Mazama pocket gopher. Future rare species introductions may include the Mardon Skipper and Taylor’s Checkerspot butterflies. We recently signed on as partners in the Department of the Army, Fort Lewis Army Compatible Use Buffer Program, and Candidate Conservation Agreement program with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to further our work in restoration and conservation of our prairie habitat.
Ft. Lewis
The mission of Fort Lewis is to maintain trained and ready forces for Army commanders worldwide, by providing them with superior training support and infrastructure. This includes a land base capable of supporting current and future training needs through good stewardship of the Installation’s natural and cultural resources, as directed by Federal statutes, Department of Defense directives, and Army and Fort Lewis regulations.
The Nature Conservancy
The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Conservancy works in partnership with communities, businesses, governments, partner organizations, indigenous peoples, and individual citizens. Its primary tools include land acquisition and conservation easements, restoration of degraded lands, and partnerships with land-management agencies.
The Conservancy has, for many years, conducted habitat restoration on Southern Puget lowland prairies under cooperative management agreements with Fort Lewis, the State of Washington, and Thurston County. They maintain an office in Olympia dedicated to conservation of these prairies and oak woodlands.
Washington Native Plant Society
The Washington Native Plant Society is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the appreciation and conservation of Washington's native plants and their habitats through study, education and advocacy.
For more than 30 years the Washington Native Plant Society has provided educational resources and opportunities for citizens of Washington to learn about native plants. The Society is active in conservation and advocacy work and hundreds of Society members volunteer their time to restore habitats, strive for good conservation policies, conduct native plant inventories and monitor rare plant populations.
Current conservation priorities include work on invasive species which impact all native plant habitats, and two selected habitats in critical need of protection: Garry Oak Communities and Shrub-Steppe Habitats. www.wnps.org
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