WA protects mountain wetland in Toutle
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources designated a new Natural Area Preserve in Cowlitz County.
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The 166-acre Toutle Ridge Fen Natural Area Preserve was identified in 2019 and formally designated this month. The preserve is intended to protect a montane fen, a type of mountain wetland that is home to five rare plant associations and two rare plants as well as amphibians, mammals and songbirds.
It is the DNR's first new Natural Area Preserve in at least six years, the department reported.
Natural Area Preserves contain the highest-quality examples of native ecosystems and habitats for rare plant or animal species, according to the department. They are intended to both conserve resources and function as reference sites for scientific research and education.
The DNR Natural Areas Program has submitted a request to transfer the land out of the state land trust portfolio and into conservation status.
Due to the sensitive nature of the environment, DNR is not identifying the exact location of the preserve, Communications Manager Courtney James wrote in an email.
The preserve is home to northern microseris and few-flowered sedge. Both are designated as state-sensitive plants, meaning they are vulnerable and could become threatened or endangered within Washington.
The few-flowered sedge population at Toutle Ridge is the southernmost in western North America, James wrote.
The preserve also houses five rare plant associations: the Sedge - Howell's Marsh Marigold Fen, Sitka Sedge Fen, Many-spiked Cottongrass and Peat moss Fen, Bog Blueberry and Sitka Sedge Shrub Fen and Western Bluejoint Wet Meadow.
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