Capitol Land Trust acquired the Ramos property through fee title: 36.6 acres of Black River floodplain, including approximately 2,200 feet of the Black River (both banks) and more than 7,000 feet of side channel. This conservation property is located in Thurston County, Washington, near river mile 14 of the Black River - a tributary to the Chehalis River. The majority of the property is a rare wetland habitat type, unique to the Black River and identified by Washington Natural Heritage Program as low elevation riparian wetland. The property is adjacent to 75 acres conserved by Capitol Land Trust in 2006, and protection would result in the continuous and perpetual conservation of over 4,000 feet of the Black River. The project will protect multiple priority habitat types that provide crucial habitat for numerous priority species including at least Chinook, steelhead, coho, chum, coastal cutthroat trout and numerous neo-tropical bird species. The Black River sub-basin is one of the largest remaining riparian wetland systems in western Washington and also one of the most rapidly developing areas in the state, resulting in a primary threat to salmonids. This project addresses both habitat protection and water quality needs by preventing future habitat loss and water quality degradation associated with development. This project was also intended to protect, through the acquisition of a conservation easement, a 94-acre property in the middle reach of the Black River hosting 2,200 feet of the Black River, 1,000 feet of Beaver Creek, and 75 acres of wetlands in Thurston County, WA. However, negotiations with the landowner caused delays and acquisition could not occur under the timing of this grant. The acquisition will occur on a new project. The general terms of the easement will limit farming to areas currently farmed, widen riparian buffers to 100 feet on Black River and Beaver Creek, and limit development intensity and location on the property. The target species addressed by this project are adult and juvenile Chinook salmon, steelhead, coho salmon, chum salmon and coastal cutthroat trout. The project is directly north of our recently acquired Ramos Preserve, and will create a single conservation block of over 200 acres, 7,000 feet of mainstem Black River, and thousands more feet of side channels and sloughs.