Clearing up confusion about the CLC

Change has quietly swept through the conservation community. No longer are agriculture and logging necessarily viewed as antagonists to conservation but as important sources of wildlife habitat and open space. Similarly, some conservation groups are even working with developers and builders, recognizing that vital goals like trails, viewsheds and wetland protections can be attained by influencing the planning of new developments. 

The organization in Washington that best represents this new, flexible philosophy is the Cascade Land Conservancy, which has offices in four counties including, most recently, Kittitas County. CLC works with landowners of all kinds to achieve its core mission of preserving working forests and farms, natural areas and recreational access. Some might call it an opportunistic approach; others call it realistic. It is also an acknowledgement that traditional conservation strategies -- usually finding money to buy land --  can only work for a tiny fraction of worthy projects.

A willingness to think creatively and to use market-based conservation has made the Cascade Land Conservancy the largest land trust in Washington. To date it has found ways to protect nearly 130,000 acres with a value of over $100 million, with many more projects in the works. In Kittitas County, it has already helped replant streamside vegetation along a channel of the Yakima River and recently facilitated the purchase of 400 acres of forest south of Lake Easton State Park, as part of a plan to keep it in working timberland. 

But land is only rarely purchased outright. Typically, CLC works with landowners to create a conservation easement, basically a contract where the land remains private with no right of public access but the owner promises not to develop. The reasons for establishing such an easement vary widely but are often rooted in a deep love of the land and a wish to keep it in its natural condition. In return the landowner can also save on estate and property taxes. 

The creativity begins when landowners expect compensation for agreeing not to develop. When that happens, CLC first looks at government programs with money for habitat or even timberland protection. If that fails, a donor can occasionally be found with an interest in preserving the land. Even if no funding sources exist, a project doesn't necessarily die. Again, creativity and the marketplace have few limitations. An example is a relatively new concept called "conservation development." Under this scenario a portion of a property is developed and the resulting profits are used to preserve the rest. Yes, it¹s a compromise, but it can mean the difference between preserving some land and none at all. 

Not every conservation group uses these new approaches to land preservation but the Cascade Land Conservancy believes that, in many cases, they represent the only chance to preserve both important lands and our region's high quality of life. And sometimes -- especially with agriculture and timber production -- it also means retaining economic diversity and important sources of jobs. With stakes this high, a little creativity and flexibility are a small price to ask.

Jim Armstrong is the current chairperson of Cascade Land Conservancy's Kittitas County Board of Trustees.