The Little Spokane River, a critical waterbody in our region, winds through the Verbrugge conservation easement property in Pend Oreille County. Gary Verbrugge, a private landowner, donated a permanent conservation easement on his property in 2007 to protect the healthy forests, wildlife habitat, and Little Spokane River corridor forever. The land is in private ownership and not open to the public, but has substantial conservation value in the region and protects ecosystems we all benefit from.
To further protect these values, Gary has been planting trees along the Little Spokane River for many years, to create a shaded buffer along the river to keep the water cool, clean, and clear – ideal for native fish and water quality – and in recent years, partnering with the Kalispel Tribe Natural Resources Department to do so! For this project, we’ll be supplementing Gary’s efforts and planting about 150 native trees and shrubs in the Little Spokane River floodplain. This will be a great opportunity to learn about and explore lands that are not open to the public – a great way to see someplace new and beautiful!
No experience is needed for this project – we’ll provide all the tools you need, along with a planting demonstration to show you how to plant properly. This is a good projects for kids to help with, too!
If this project sounds interesting to you, please register below!