Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC) is Washington’s largest independent land conservation and stewardship organization.

Over the past decade, CLC has led the conservation of more than 140,000 acres ranging broadly from the recent expansion of Tacoma’s popular Snake Lake park to conserving vast forested areas in the Snoqualmie Forest.

CLC is uniquely positioned in the conservation community, known for our far-reaching programs, savvy thinking and ability to partner with diverse groups. Our work is closely tied to communities, including active volunteer leadership groups in King, Kittitas, Pierce, Mason, and Snohomish counties.

 The Cascade Agenda

CLC is working with our partners to chart a bold course with The Cascade Agenda.  As we look forward to the next 100 years, the Puget Sound region’s population will grow by 3.5 million people. We need to take steps now to create the best future for our region. The Cascade Agenda links the significant landscape conservation with the creation of livable, vibrant cities and towns.  The Agenda will accomplish these goals through a cooperative, market-based approach recognizing that our region's quality of life depends on conservation, community and a strong economy.

Mission & Vision

The Cascade Land Conservancy envisions a region that combines spectacular landscapes, a vibrant economy and great places to live. We will act with immediacy to protect and steward our region’s most precious resource – the land. We will lead a movement to connect conservation to the fabric of our community and thereby change conservation as we know it.

History of Cascade Land Conservancy

In the late 1980s, several groups of community leaders came together to establish local, county-based land trusts in the Puget Sound region. Prior to that time, land conservation efforts had been limited to the public sector. Although local governments were becoming increasingly active and environmentally aware, the public sector was aware of its limitations due to funding constraints and political boundaries. The organizing groups were concerned that conservation efforts left to the public sector alone would be crisis-focused, and could miss tremendous opportunities. At greatest risk was the ability to work quickly in a proactive and strategic capacity.

Early conservation efforts were directed toward small, but often important parcels of land. However, these civic-minded neighbors set the foundation for a land trust that would become a national model.

In recent years, as the region’s need for conservation continued to grow, the leadership of these organizations took decisive steps to strengthen and expand their capacity. The Seattle-King County Land Trust merged with the Snohomish Land Conservancy in 1998, with the Tahoma Land Conservancy in Pierce County in 2000, and with the Central Washington Land Trust in Kittitas County in 2004. As a result, these leaders created a regional organization with an expanded geographic scope, stronger membership and political support, and new conservation opportunities that are large, compelling and urgent. The combined organization has the ability to protect landscapes on a regional scale, across political boundaries. And for the first time, Snohomish, Pierce and Kittitas counties benefit from full-time, professional staffing. Together, we have protected over 120,000 acres of land, and we're currently negotiating to conserve many hundreds of thousands more.

In 2006, the Conservancy expanded to Mason County at the invitation of the Mason County Commissioners.  The CLC now has a full-time office in the county, bringing the benefits of a full-time, profession staffing to the unique needs of the county.

Cascade Land Conservancy fills a unique and important niche as the only private land trust that is dedicated to this region. CLC is able to utilize a variety of tools and strategies based on each property's ecological values and the goals of its owners. CLC takes an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, utilizing a comprehensive understanding of financial tools and tax law. We look to the future with great optimism that conservation can move forward hand-in-hand with our region’s quality of life and economic well being.

Visit our Get Involved page to learn how you can become a part of our work.