The Nature Conservancy used this grant to protect some of the most productive salmon habitats in the Skagit watersheds, including fee purchase of two properties totalling 87 acres along 1/4 mile of Sauk River frontage. Chinook, Pink, Chum, Coho, Cutthroat, Steelhead and Bull Trout all spawn and/or rear in the mainstem reach. TNC manages the land as part of its Skagit River preserve to ensure its long-term protection. The Skagit River is the most productive salmon river in the Puget Sound. The middle Sauk River hosts the second highest salmon spawning density in the Skagit system. It is home to large numbers of ESA listed Chinook and many other salmonids. Perhaps the most complex reach in the system, its numerous side channels, sloughs, and tributaries provide a wide range of spawning and rearing habitats. This project complemented other salmon recovery efforts in the area. The Skagit Fisheries Enhance Group has implemented restoration projects along tributaries of this reach. The state owns land on two sides of the parcel. Seattle City Light (SCL) has aquired three nearby parcels in the last two years. The Dupuis and Ranking property aquisitions are a tremendous addition to protected habitat. Both TNC and SCL are committed to future work in this area.