Wildlife & Lands
Generating clean, renewable hydropower goes hand in hand with caring for the lands and natural resources surrounding our hydro projects. Across western Washington, Tacoma Power and our partners manage approximately 22,000 acres of land associated with our four hydroelectric projects. These lands provide important habitat for fish, wildlife and native plants.
Our Wildlife & Lands team works to protect and enhance habitat, monitor wildlife, restore native vegetation and steward natural and cultural resources associated with our hydro projects. This work is an important part of our environmental stewardship and helps Tacoma Power meet the requirements of our Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licenses.
22,000 acres of land managed by Tacoma Power and our partners
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The Cowlitz Wildlife Area is one of the largest designated wildlife areas in western Washington. It covers about 14,000 acres of forests, wetlands, shorelines, lowland valleys and riparian habitat owned by Tacoma Power and managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
The area provides habitat for a variety of wildlife, including deer, elk, pileated woodpeckers, Douglas squirrels, osprey and bald eagles. Peterman Hill, Tacoma Power’s largest contiguous block of wildlife land in the area, is specifically managed to support habitat for deer, pileated woodpeckers and Douglas squirrels. It also includes the approximately 20-mile Peterman Hill Trail and a portion of the Great Washington Birding Trail.
The Cowlitz Wildlife Area is open for low-impact recreation, with access and activities subject to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations, seasonal closures and posted restrictions.
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Tacoma Power protects and enhances approximately 3,900 acres of land for wildlife in the Nisqually River basin. Our habitat management and wildlife protection work includes:
- Maintaining approximately 100 acres of high-quality forage fields for elk in the upper Nisqually River basin
- Maintaining more than 25 nesting boxes for wood ducks along the Alder Lake shoreline and downstream of the dams
- Providing roosting boxes for bats
- Thinning dense forests to promote the development of mature forest structure and biodiversity to improve wildlife habitat and forest resiliency
- controlling and eliminating non-native, invasive and noxious plant along the river corridor downstream of LaGrande Dam
- Installing visual markers on power transmission lines to help birds avoid them
- Providing no-wake zones on Alder Lake to protect waterfowl, eagles and osprey
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As part of the Wynoochee River Project, we contract with the WDFW to enhance 1,030 acres of high-quality forage area for Roosevelt elk. This includes 230 acres of forage fields.
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Tacoma Power protects more than 2,800 acres of habitat for elk, deer, eagles, osprey, wood ducks and other wildlife at the Cushman Hydro Project.
Our habitat management and enhancement work includes:
- Maintaining three osprey nesting platforms, including two at Lake Cushman and one at Lake Kokanee
- Installing and maintaining wood duck nesting boxes and bat roosting boxes
- Creating and maintaining elk forage fields
- Managing forests to support healthier, more resilient forests
- Creating and monitoring snags for wildlife cavity nesters and foragers