Land Trust Alliance

After a Dam Falls, 400 Prime Acres along Hood River Given to County, Land Trust

Kimberly Seese — 2013-03-31T04:00:00Z

March 31, 2013 | The Oregonian | Hood River, OR

Preserving Special Places

Kimberly Seese — 2013-03-18T04:00:00Z

March 18, Mail Tribune | Medford, OR

Land Conservancy Has Biggest Year in Acquisitions

Kimberly Seese — 2013-03-13T04:00:00Z

March 13 , 2013 | The Daily Astorian | OR

Editorial: We Have valuable, Critical Real Estate

Kimberly Seese — 2013-01-03T05:00:00Z

January 3, 2013 | The Daily Astorian | OR

Conservancy Saves Prime Warrenton Land

Kimberly Seese — 2013-01-01T05:00:00Z

January 1, 2012 | The Daily Astorian | OR

The Climate of Conservation in America: 50 Stories in 50 States

Erin Derrington — 2012-11-09T02:35:00Z

This series from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides state-by-state narratives of how accelerating climate change is impacting or may impact fish and wildlife, as well as collaborative efforts to respond to these impacts across the nation.

Philanthropist Makes Down Payment on Oregon’s Future

Kimberly Seese — 2012-11-08T05:00:00Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Wendy Ninteman
Western Director
406-549-2750 | wninteman@lta.org

Boosts Land Trust Capacity to Save Farms, Forests and Watersheds

PORTLAND, OR -- The family of John Gray today announced an unprecedented gift to Oregon’s land trust community, a $4.5 million grant to build the capacity of land trusts to conserve the lands most important to their communities. The generous grant was made shortly before John’s death through the Yarg Foundation, a Gray family private foundation, and will be disbursed to members of the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts. The money will be used exclusively for the Oregon Advancing Conservation Excellence (ACE) program through the Land Trust Alliance, which hired Oregon land trust veteran Brad Paymar to manage the program. John Gray passed away at age 93 on October 19th, 2012, leaving a legacy of philanthropy focused on supporting education, health and the environment in Oregon. Gray’s generosity will continue through the charitable endeavors of the Gray Family Foundation.

“Oregon land trusts are poised to make a big impact on the quality of life for all Oregonians,” said Nick Walrod, a Gray family member. “Land trusts have proved that they know how to conserve land for the economic, social and environmental benefit of their communities for generations to come. My grandfather’s hope was that this will be a cornerstone that brings further recognition to land trusts and the fundamental role they play in our communities and state.”

Land trusts are local, state or nationwide nonprofits whose mission is to conserve land in its natural or traditional state, including farming, ranching, and forestry, through voluntary agreements with landowners. From coastal estuaries in Nehalem to the Wallowas, Oregon land trusts work to protect the land we all depend on for our livelihoods and well-being, and are part of an extensive network of over 1,700 land trusts across the country that have collectively protected over 47 million acres according to the national census released by the Alliance. Land trusts in Oregon have permanently protected 53,000 acres – more than half of the acreage in all Oregon state parks combined.

Land Trust Alliance President Rand Wentworth praised the foresight of Mr. Gray, saying that “This is a smart investment by someone who cared deeply about Oregon’s irreplaceable landscape and Oregonians who depend on it. Land trusts have the local knowledge, tools and support of their communities to do meaningful conservation that benefits everyone.”

The grant period is for five years and the family foundation expects this initial gift to attract and leverage additional funding for the work of land trusts from organizations and individuals across the state. While the investment from the Gray family is truly remarkable in its breadth, in reality the funds are a portion of the true costs of conservation in Oregon. “This gift is meant to be a catalyst,” John Gray explained when planning the gift, “I want Oregonians to take an active role in being stewards of this land, and to join my family in committing to funding conservation and restoration.”

In fact, this gift has already leveraged an early investment from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to advance the Land Trust Alliance work in the Pacific Northwest. “I’m thrilled to be a part of this unique venture,” said Brad Paymar, Northwest Conservation Manager for the Alliance and former Deputy Director of the Columbia Land Trust, which serves Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington. “It’s exciting to be working with the local land trusts in Washington and Oregon. I am pleased that the Alliance will launch our Pacific Northwest work in partnership with the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts to save the lands that give meaning to our lives, and to play a role in helping to continue the legacy of John Gray.”

About the Land Trust Alliance

The Land Trust Alliance is the umbrella organization for the nation’s 1,700 land trusts. The Alliance saves land people love by increasing the pace of conservation, so more land and natural resources get protected; improving the quality of conservation, so the most important lands get protected using the best practices in the business; and ensuring the permanence of conservation by providing resources needed to defend protected land over time. The Land Trust Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and has several regional offices, including a new Portland area office. Visit www.landtrustalliance.org.

About the Yarg Foundation

The Yarg Foundation was established in 2011 by John Gray as a private family foundation of the Gray family. The Yarg Foundation seeks to fulfill John and Betty Gray’s faith in the human spirit. The Gray family acknowledges their responsibility to give back to the systems that nurture all of us: our culture, our natural environment and our communities. The primary purpose of the Yarg Foundation is to implement and fund a 10-year, $10M initiative to support the land trust movement in Oregon. The vision of the Initiative is to instill in Oregonians that we all individually and as a collective are the stewards of our natural spaces and in so doing we strengthen our community, provide a connection to the natural world and can support a healthy economy.

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Oregon Land Trusts Make Gains in Preserving Acreage

Kimberly Seese — 2012-04-18T04:00:00Z

April 18, 2012 | The Register-Guard | Eugene, OR

920-Acre Former Ranch on Columbia River to be Restored to Estuary and Prime Fish Habitat

Kimberly Seese — 2012-01-24T05:00:00Z

January 24, 2012 | oregonlive.com | St. Helen's, OR

Farmers Swap Grass Seed for Trees

Kimberly Seese — 2011-12-22T05:00:00Z

December 22, 2011 | gazettetimes.com | OR

Video: Ron Roth Discusses Conserving Eagle Mill Farm

Kimberly Seese — 2011-08-01T04:00:00Z

August 1, 2011 | Southern Oregon Land Conservancy | Ashland, OR

First Conservation Easement on Wallowa County Working Ranch

Kimberly Seese — 2011-02-15T00:00:00Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: James Monteith
Wallowa Land Trust
james@wallowalandtrust.org

Julia Lakes
Wallowa Land Trust
julia@wallowalandtrust.org | 541-426-2042

Woody Wolfe
Landowner
541-263-0802

Easment Protects 197 Acres

ENTERPRISE, OR -- Today the Wallowa Land Trust and Woody Wolfe Ranch announced establishment of the first agricultural Conservation Easement on a working farm in Wallowa County. This mid-Wallowa Valley easement covers ranchlands surrounding the confluence of the Lostine and Wallowa Rivers, near Highway 82 between the towns of Lostine and Wallowa, on both sides of Baker Road.

This Conservation Easement encompasses 197 acres: 161 acres of prime farm ground and 36 acres of aquatic lands, including about 2.5 miles of river, the confluence itself, and associated riparian areas and wetlands. It will dedicate the property to agricultural uses in perpetuity, guaranteeing the tradition of farming and ranching while precluding residential development. The easement will reduce pressure on streamsides from commercial grazing and development along the river corridors, restoring critical wetlands functions and enhancing habitat for spring Chinook salmon, summer steelhead, resident bull trout, and other fish and wildlife populations.

Conservation Easements are voluntary legal agreements between landowners and land trusts, created to protect natural and traditional values of the property in perpetuity. This is the fourth such easement in the county and the first on a working farm or ranch. The Wolfe family will continue to own and farm their property.

For the landowner, this Conservation Easement provides several economic benefits. Woody Wolfe, who with his wife Megan farms this property and adjoining agricultural lands, noted “the easement was something I could do to bring my net cost of property down closer to agricultural production value, without dividing off pieces and selling them for homes. Since this has been in the works for almost seven years, we’ve had time to be thorough. It ensures the land will stay in farm production. We’ve donated part of the assessed value of the easement. However, the land trust is buying most of it, and we can use the income to reduce debt and improve our cash-flow position.”

This is the Wallowa Land Trust’s first purchased Conservation Easement. “The easement will help stabilize the agricultural landbase in the middle valley as well as secure intact reaches of the Wallowa and Lostine Rivers,” commented James Monteith, President of the Trust, based in Enterprise. “It underscores our commitment to working farms and ranches throughout the Wallowa Country, and demonstrates how voluntary private lands conservation can serve both agriculture and fish and wildlife resources,” he continued. “This easement guarantees the property will remain in agricultural production, and also will improve water quality by protecting riparian areas and critical wetlands in this important river system.”

Wolfe elaborated on his family’s interest and motivation for the farm easement. “I don't want this valley to look like a suburb. A lot of people in this county seem to be attached to scenic values. This is a way to capitalize on its economic value while preserving what people like here.” A sixth generation member of his family, he raises a variety of crops, primarily wheat, and leases portions of the property for cattle grazing.

The Lostine-Wallowa Confluence Conservation Easement comprises a little under half the full parcel of 454 acres of farm ground eventually to be under easement. It’s the first in a two-step process to secure funding for the entire Conservation Easement by the Wallowa Land Trust, which is now in the process of raising additional monies to complete the easement on the remaining 257 acres of this parcel.

The Easement Property represents many significant Wallowa County traditions. It lies within the larger Wolfe Century Ranch, originally established in 1897 and designated a Century Farm in 1997. From time immemorial, it served as a traditional Indian summer fishing camp for the Wallowa Band Nez Perce (the W’al’wama), and today is a private lands unit of the Nez Perce National Historical Park. Old Chief Joseph died here in 1871 and was originally buried nearby, before being reinterred in 1926 at the Indian Cemetery at the foot of Wallowa Lake, adjacent to the recently acquired Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site.

Many local families and individuals contributed to this effort, helping the Trust pay for the easement. Along with a series of small grants, these donations provided initial support to complete the required natural resource inventories, surveys and appraisals. Acquisition funds were provided in part by generous grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, to protect important fish and wildlife habitat identified in Oregon’s Wildlife Action Plan, and by PacifiCorp/PGE.

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About the Wallowa Land Trust

The Wallowa Land Trust was founded in 2004 and is governed by local residents. Its mission is “to protect the rural nature of the Wallowa Valley and surrounding areas by working cooperatively with private landowners, governmental entities, Indian tribes and local communities.” The Trust uses economic incentives to help conserve the valley’s natural, historic, cultural and agricultural resources, including forests, farmlands, ranchlands, grasslands, wetlands, waterways and open space, for the benefit of present and future generations. It purchases, and/or receives in donation, Conservation Easements and fee title properties from willing sellers. In some instances it works with landowners to find motivated buyers to maintain traditional uses of their lands.

The Trust operates three major programs: Farms & Ranchlands, its largest program area, whose purpose is to secure agricultural ground as perpetual working lands, helping keep farms and ranches intact; Indian Sacred Lands; and Habitat & Open Ground. Its office is on South River Street, across from the county courthouse.

Wallowa County Ranch and Rivers Confluence Protected

Kimberly Seese — 2011-02-15T00:00:00Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: James Monteith
President
541-426-2042 | james@wallowalandtrust.org

Julia Lakes
Director of Education & Outreach
542-426-2042 | julia@wallowalandtrust.org

First Agricultural Conservation Easement in the Valley Completed

JOSEPH, OR -- On the 15th of February 2011, the Wallowa Land Trust and Woody Wolfe Ranch announced establishment of the first agricultural Conservation Easement on a working farm in Wallowa County. This mid-Wallowa Valley easement covers ranchlands surrounding the confluence of the Lostine and Wallowa Rivers, near Highway 82 between the towns of Lostine and Wallowa, on both sides of Baker Road.

This Conservation Easement encompasses 197 acres: 161 acres of prime farm ground and 36 acres of aquatic lands, including about 2.5 miles of river, the confluence itself, and associated riparian areas and wetlands. It will dedicate the property to agricultural uses in perpetuity, guaranteeing the tradition of farming and ranching while precluding residential development. The easement will reduce pressure on streamsides from commercial grazing and development along the river corridors, restoring critical wetlands functions and enhancing habitat for spring Chinook salmon, summer steelhead, resident bull trout, and other fish and wildlife populations.

Conservation Easements are voluntary legal agreements between landowners and land trusts, created to protect natural and traditional values of the property in perpetuity. This is the fourth such easement in the county and the first on a working farm or ranch. The Wolfe family will continue to own and farm their property.

For the landowner, this Conservation Easement provides several economic benefits. Woody Wolfe, who with his wife Megan farms this property and adjoining agricultural lands, noted “the easement was something I could do to bring my net cost of property down closer to agricultural production value, without dividing off pieces and selling them for homes. Since this has been in the works for almost seven years, we’ve had time to be thorough. It ensures the land will stay in farm production. We’ve donated part of the assessed value of the easement. However, the land trust is buying most of it, and we can use the income to reduce debt and improve our cash-flow position.”

This is the Wallowa Land Trust’s first purchased Conservation Easement. “The easement will help stabilize the agricultural landbase in the middle valley as well as secure intact reaches of the Wallowa and Lostine Rivers,” commented James Monteith, President of the Trust, based in Enterprise. “It underscores our commitment to working farms and ranches throughout the Wallowa Country, and demonstrates how voluntary private lands conservation can serve both agriculture and fish and wildlife resources,” he continued. “This easement guarantees the property will remain in agricultural production, and also will improve water quality by protecting riparian areas and critical wetlands in this important river system.”

Wolfe elaborated on his family’s interest and motivation for the farm easement. “I don't want this valley to look like a suburb. A lot of people in this county seem to be attached to scenic values. This is a way to capitalize on its economic value while preserving what people like here.” A sixth generation member of his family, he raises a variety of crops, primarily wheat, and leases portions of the property for cattle grazing.

The Lostine-Wallowa Rivers Confluence Conservation Easement comprises a little under half the full parcel of 454 acres of farm ground eventually to be under easement. It’s the first in a two-step process to secure funding for the entire Conservation Easement by the Wallowa Land Trust, which is now in the process of raising additional monies to complete the easement on the remaining 257 acres of this parcel.

The Easement Property represents many significant Wallowa County traditions. It lies within the larger Wolfe Century Ranch, originally established in 1897 and designated a Century Farm in 1997. From time immemorial, it served as a traditional Indian summer fishing camp for the Wallowa Band Nez Perce (the W’al’wama), and today is a private lands unit of the Nez Perce National Historical Park. Old Chief Joseph died here in 1871 and was originally buried nearby, before being reinterred in 1926 at the Indian Cemetery at the foot of Wallowa Lake, adjacent to the recently acquired Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site.

Many local families and individuals contributed to this effort, helping the Trust pay for the easement. Along with a series of small grants, these donations provided initial support to complete the required natural resource inventories, surveys and appraisals. Acquisition funds were provided in part by generous grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, to protect important fish and wildlife habitat identified in Oregon’s Wildlife Action Plan, and by PacifiCorp/PGE.

The Trust operates three major programs: Farms & Ranchlands, its largest program area, whose purpose is to secure agricultural ground as perpetual working lands, helping keep farms and ranches intact; Indian Sacred Lands; and Habitat & Open Ground. Its office is on South River Street, across from the county courthouse.

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Mary Sojourner New Writer in Residence at Deschutes Land Trust

Kimberly Seese — 2010-08-18T18:53:20Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Brad Chalfant
Executive Director
Deschutes Land Trust
(541) 330-0017
bsc@deschuteslandtrust.org
www.deschuteslandtrust.org

Bend, OR—Central Oregon community organizations, the Deschutes Land Trust and Experience Works, combined efforts to place Mary Sojourner, national author and NPR commentator, at the Deschutes Land Trust as Writer in Residence.

One of Sojourner’s first tasks was to launch the new Deschutes Land Trust blog, Trusting the Land, with her initial post Earth Alchemy. She will write for the Deschutes Land Trust website; research and write articles for national publications; create media and public relations materials---and teach twice-monthly Writing from Place workshops.

“We’re incredibly excited to have Mary join our work,” Brad Chalfant, Executive Director says. “She has written about and for Western lands for twenty-five years. She brings not just writing and teaching skills to the Deschutes Land Trust, but rapidly growing knowledge of Central Oregon forests, deserts and waterways.”

“I’m equally excited by this opportunity,” Sojourner says, “especially since I believe so strongly in the work of Land Trusts. I’ve read, written and taught for many of them at both local and national levels. Land Trusts are more than good neighbors—they keep the greater neighborhood alive.”

The Deschutes Land Trust has been keeping the greater Central Oregon neighborhood alive for 15 years since its beginning at the Deschutes Brewery in 1995. It is fitting that Sojourner will begin teaching her Writing from Place workshops on the anniversary of the Land Trust’s founding.

“We will meet on the gorgeous properties the Deschutes Land Trust is protecting and let the land tell us its stories. Writing from Place is for beginning adults and kids and for those writers who want to move into writing about the land. I’ve taught this workshop for twenty years—in the Southwest and the Mojave Desert—and I’m delighted to begin teaching it here in a vastly different landscape.”

The Deschutes Land Trust conserves land for wildlife, scenic views, and local communities. Experience Works places older, low-income workers at partnership sites that can offer new opportunities and training to help them secure permanent jobs. “This is an incredible opportunity for me,” Sojourner says, “to finally learn the inner workings of operating a Land Trust and the lands we all love in Central Oregon.”

For more information about Experience Works, visit www.experienceworks.org. To register for a Writing from Place workshop, contact the Deschutes Land Trust at (541) 330-0017 or visit www.deschuteslandtrust.org.

The Deschutes Land Trust conserves land for wildlife, scenic views, and local communities. As Central Oregon’s only nationally accredited and locally-based land trust, the Deschutes Land Trust has protected more than 7,700 acres in since 1995. For more information on Deschutes Land Trust, contact us at (541) 330-0017 or visit www.deschuteslandtrust.org.

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Volunteers Spruce Up Bald Hill Natural Area

Kimberly Seese — 2010-04-13T20:04:38Z

April 13, 2010 | Corvallis, OR