Columbia Land Trust Purchases 3,000 Acres

In 2013, Columbia Land Trust purchased around 2,300 acres of land near Mount St. Helens.  On Monday, the nonprofit organization announced a conservation easement and purchase that will secure another 3,000 acres of forestland in the same area. 

The Vancouver-based nonprofit purchased development rights on the land, which will remain under the ownership of Pope Resources.  According to the land trust, it will also remain active in forestry and produce tax-generating timber harvests.  “This landmark project shows what can be achieved when a timber company, a conservation group and public leaders put their heads together to find lasting conservation solutions that benefit both people and nature.” 

The effort began several years ago after controversy swirled around housing developments popping up on privately owned forests in the area.  Columbia Land Trust began working with Skamania County and Pope Resources, the county’s largest private landowner, around 2006.  “Rather than viewing conservation, forestry and development as competing interests, the partners’ goal was to achieve a balance of these interests with a special emphasis on the long-term maintenance of working forests.”

See Eric Florip, Deal Secures 3,000 Acres of Forest Near Mount St. Helens, The Columbian, Dec. 22, 2014.