10 Fall 2014 conservationnw.org
Feature: Coast to Cascades
Valerie Tarico and Brian Arbogast of Seattle have been
generous and engaged members of Conservation Northwest
since the Loomis Forest campaign in 1999. eir daughter,
Brynn, was one of our outstanding interns who helped study
and report on wolverine recovery in the Cascades. Brian has
Canadian roots, and they first expressed interest in buying
property in B.C. for conservation objectives several years ago.
e project led us through more than three years, several field
trips, and some twists of fate. But last year Val and Brian took
ownership of the 257-acre Spray Creek Ranch in the gorgeous
Fraser Canyon, near Lillooet. e ranch is vital to grizzly bear
conservation, not only for the spring habitat on the actual
property, but because owning it enabled Brian and Val to re-
duce cattle grazing on a 60,000 thousand acre lease that had
been impacting public land in nearby Texas Creek. We spoke
with them recently to discuss the property aer a half year of
ownership.
an Interview with
spray Creek ranchers
PurChaSING laND For CoNSerVaTIoN
Mitch Friedman executive director,
mitch@conservationnw.org
Views from Spray Creek Ranch near Lilooet, B.C., where Texas Creek heads into the mighty Fraser River. The ranch is vital to the upland areas
home to the Stein-Nahatlatch population of grizzly bears within the Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative area. Photos: Mitch Friedman
What made you originally think about buying property for
conservation?
In 2010, we traveled with our daughters, then aged 13 and
15, in India and Africa. Our trip combined ecotourism, cul-
tural tourism, and visits with international nonprofits we had
supported. e combination was both wonderful and sober-
ing. In Rwanda, we hiked in a fragment of cloud forest that
The family sits down for dinner at Spray Creek Ranch. Photo: Mitch Friedman
