Columbia Land Trust Working Forest Initiative

All aspects of Columbia Land Trust’s work are intended to serve it mission and vision. A detailed strategic plan guides this work. To understand our Working Forest Initiative, it’s critical to understand this broader strategic context of the mission, vision, and strategic plan.

Mission

Columbia Land Trust conserves signature landscapes and vital habitat together with the landowners and communities of the Columbia River region.

Vision

Columbia Land Trust leads and inspires private actions to conserve the great natural resources of the Columbia River region. We see a future that includes:

• Tens of thousands of acres of interconnected vital habitat and signature landscapes conserved and restored to benefit nature, people and community.
• Communities and people engaged in and committed to conservation. In turn, conserved lands provide sustained support for economy and community, and reflect the values and character of the Northwest.
• Stable and enduring support for the Land Trust from individuals, corporations, foundations, public entities, endowment and related entrepreneurial activities.
• Local and national recognition of the Land Trust’s excellence of conservation, organization, and collaboration. Columbia Land Trust is a name respected for positive conservation work in every household in our region.

Strategic Plan

Columbia Land Trust is currently completing the third year of our latest five-year strategic plan (2006-2010). The plan details four key goals:

• Protect the most important and threatened lands using the tools of private, voluntary land conservation.
• Proactively and adaptively manage conservation values of protected properties in perpetuity.
• Increase awareness and understanding of private, voluntary land conservation and the mission of the Trust.
• Create an efficient and effective organization capable of protecting and stewarding lands forever.

To accomplish these goals, Columbia Land Trust has defined, and is executing, several distinct strategic conservation initiatives:

• Vital habitat
• Working forests
• Ranch and farmlands
• Urban green spaces
• “Select” lands

Each of these initiatives are (or are planned to be) documented in their own initiative plan. Key elements of the Working Forest Initiative are described in the following section.

Working Forest Initiative

Based on our mission to conserve signature landscapes and work with landowners and communities, we have a Working Forest Initiative dedicated to protecting large-scale working forestland that is under threat of conversion by development. Working forest conservation can both preserve critical habitat by providing a conservation buffer around those areas. In addition, the Land Trust believes that conserving the livelihoods of those who depend on the forest is an important objective that can be achieved through sustainable forestry practices. In the last decade, over 75% of the nation’s industrial timberland has been sold. Increasingly, the buyers are financial investors who are looking to maximize their return not just by selling timber, but by selling small tracts or smaller blocks. Such fragmentation and conversion is expected to continue as these investors look to exit their investments over a five to 15-year period. The challenge is that there is expected to be more turnover of smaller blocks in the future at higher per/acre costs. The opportunity is that these sellers are willing to sell to conservation groups if the groups can raise the cash to buy. The Land Trust’s initiative is focusing on ways to blend traditional conservation capital with private equity and debt so that we can conserver the Columbia basin’s most precious working forestlands.

This initiative was approved by the Columbia Land Trust Board of Directors in December 2005 as part of the organization’s strategic plan. Cherie Kearney, Forestry Initiative & Special Projects Manager, is leading the initiative. A Forestry Advisory Council, consisting of board, staff, volunteers, and consultants, is also actively involved in setting direction for the initiative.

Initiative goals

• Prevent fragmentation of large blocks of forestland into smaller blocks and/or conversion of large blocks of private forestland to development.
• Ensure heightened conservation management/protection in critical habitat areas.
• To the extent possible, enhance sustainable forest practices in working forests.
• Maintain sustainable rural economic development opportunities associated with work in the woods (logging, restoration, ecosystem services, etc.)
• To the extent possible, encourage associated development to be sustainable and conserve the environmental, economic and social characteristics of the region.

Strategies

• Acquire easements that remove development rights.
• Acquire fee ownership that allows for better conservation management of forestland with critical habitat areas.
• Facilitate conservation of forestland through like-minded organizations.

Selection Criteria and Phase One Priority Areas

To help identify priority areas for forestry conservation, the Land Trust applied the following criteria:

• Large-acreage forest blocks
• Overlap with other Columbia Land Trust priorities
• Threat of conversion
• Potential for funding
• Prospects to develop landowner relations