The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife successfully acquired 1,254.77 acres of riparian and associated uplands on Asotin Creek and Charley Creek. This project protects the last remaining privately owned property in the Charley Creek drainage, from the Asotin Creek headwaters down to the Asotin Creek/Charley Fork confluence. The property is located within the Washington State Asotin Creek Wildlife Area and includes salmon bearing streams, riparian habitat and priority. The project provides critical habitat connectivity and opens new public access to over 15,000 acres of adjoining public lands. This prime habitat is located on Charley Creek and Asotin Creek in Asotin County, 15 miles southwest of Asotin and is adjacent to the existing Asotin Creek Unit of Asotin Creek Wildlife Area which is bordered on 3 sides by public lands and provides critical habitat connectivity to fish and wildlife habitats and improved public access on adjoining public lands. Acquisition of the Thornton property addresses watershed limiting factors identified in the Asotin Creek Model Watershed Plan and provides protection for federally listed steelhead, Chinook salmon and bull trout critical habitat as designated in the Snake Region Salmon Recovery Plan (2006).