The Cedar River Watershed east of Seattle is a forested area of 90,346 acres. It’s been the region’s primary water supply for longer than a century, providing much of the clean water to more than 1.3 million residents of Seattle, Bellevue and other areas of King County in the state of Washington.

The 50-year HCP, signed in April 2000, established the entire watershed as no-logging forest reserves. Commercial timber harvesting is barred and 40 percent of the area’s logging roads will be removed. Stream flows on the lower Cedar River are designed to maintain tribal and commercial salmon fisheries, and aid in recovery of depressed salmon and steelhead runs.

The city restored salmon access to about 17 miles of high quality habitats on the river in September 2003 as part of its commitments from the HCP. Landsburg Diversion Dam had blocked salmon since 1901, but fish passage is now operating there.