Land Trust Alliance

Day at the Ranch: Students Take Self-guided Tour of Agricultural Property

Kimberly Seese — 2013-03-06T05:00:00Z

March 6, 2013 | Ravalli Republic | MT

County Commissioners to Vote on Knott Ranch Conservation

Kimberly Seese — 2011-09-26T18:15:00Z

September 26, 2011 | Steamboat Today | Steamboat Springs, CO

Conserving Our Heritage

prichardson — 2009-04-07T18:50:00Z

April 7, 2009 | Napa Valley Register | CA

Conservationists Team Up with Ranchers, Loggers

Kimberly Seese — 2012-12-15T05:00:00Z

December 15, 2012 | San Jose Mercury News | CA

Conservation Loans and Investments: Tools to Achieve REPI Success

Kimberly Seese — 2013-02-04T22:27:15Z

When: March 27, 2013, 1:00 PM ET

Sponsor: Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI) for U.S. Department of Defense

This webinar is designed to educate you and your land conservation partners about tapping into “other people’s money” to potentially overcome the common hurdles you may face from gaps in funding or funding requests not being processed fast enough to meet a closing deadline. Logan Yonavjak, from the Conservation Private Capital Group, and Reggie Hall, from The Conservation Fund, will discuss conservation loans and investments that can help you focus on the project and not worry whether you will have the funds to move on it when the time is right.

Instructions on How to Join the Webinar:

Click this link.
Select “Enter as a Guest” and enter your name.
Upon entering the meeting room, you will be prompted to enter your phone number.
After entering your phone number, you will be called automatically by the system into the audio conference.

Conservation Easements Approved for Ranches North of Hayden

Kimberly Seese — 2012-05-03T04:00:00Z

May 3, 2012 | Steamboat Today | Steamboat Springs, CO

Conservation Easements and Land Trusts Growing Trend in North State

Kimberly Seese — 2012-07-28T04:00:00Z

July 28, 2012 | redding.com | CA

Conservation Easement Sought for 1,200 Acres near Beale

Kimberly Seese — 2012-03-18T04:00:00Z

March 18, 2012 | appealdemocrat.com | Yuba, CA

Conservation Easement Protects One of Oldest Operating Family Ranches in Green River Valley

Kimberly Seese — 2012-01-28T05:00:00Z

January 28, 2012 | The Republic | Pinedale, WY

Conservation Easement Deal Worked Out for Sierra Pacific Land

Kimberly Seese — 2011-08-09T04:00:00Z

August 9, 2011 | The Sacramento Bee | Truckee, CA

Conservation Bill Will Aid in Protection of Nation's Agricultural Lands

prichardson — 2009-05-08T17:35:00Z

May 8, 2009 | The Prairie Star | WY

Conservancy Saves Prime Warrenton Land

Kimberly Seese — 2013-01-01T05:00:00Z

January 1, 2012 | The Daily Astorian | OR

Community Forestry Bonds

Sean Robertson — 2009-08-27T20:35:00Z

Drinking water, rural jobs, habitat, recreation; these are just some of the critical services that the country’s working forests provide for our communities. And now, there’s a proposal in Congress to add a powerful new tool to the working forest conservation toolbox. A unique coalition of conservation organizations, timber companies and business leaders has formed to advance legislation in Congress that would enable non-profit conservation organizations to use municipal bonds to purchase working forests for both long-term conservation and economically sustainable timber management.

The bill could conserve an estimated 2.2 million acres of working forests throughout the country and preserve an estimated 13,500 direct and indirect jobs using private capital markets.

The Community Forestry Conservation Act (H.R. 1982/S. 1105) was introduced by a bi-partisan group of legislators. Supporters now include Senate co-sponsors Patty Murray (D-WA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and House of Representatives co-sponsors Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Dave Reichert (R-WA).

The list of organizations supporting the co-sponsors in advancing the legislation includes Land Trust Alliance, Bank of America, Weyerhaeuser Company, National Alliance of Forest Owners, Washington Forest Protection Association, US Forest Capital, The Nature Conservancy, Cascade Land Conservancy, and many others.

Fast action is needed.

While deforestation has been balanced by reforestation of agriculture lands in recent decades, the U.S. Forest Service estimates that 23 million acres of forestland will be lost by 2050. There are multiple reasons for this trend, including population growth, the lucrative residential and commercial real estate market, tax policy, global competition, loss of mill infrastructure, and changing inter-generational demographics.

Under the proposed legislation, Congress would authorize that qualified non-profit organizations could use funds derived from municipal revenue bond sales to purchase working forests and keep them working. This new tool will provide a mechanism for acquisition of lands that are at a high risk of conversion and parcelization, and for other lands that may be difficult for long-term commercial management. The bonds would be paid off with proceeds from environmentally sensitive timber harvests.

“Our communities have an urgent need for a financing mechanism that would provide stable, long-term capital to purchase working forests and prevent their conversion,” said Gene Duvernoy, President of the Seattle-based Cascade Land Conservancy. “Community Forestry Bonds conserve working forests and the jobs that go with them, protect the environment and respect landowners’ rights.”

“A massive forest ownership transition has taken place with nearly 84% of America’s industrial forests changing hands in the past 12 years,” said Tom Tuchmann, President of Portland, Oregon-based US Forest Capital. “In this economic environment there are real opportunities for large-scale conservation purchases. With funding for such purchases being the limiting factor, tools such as Community Forestry Bonds will be of benefit to all.”

“The municipal bond capital market has been funding public purposes for 100 years. With the right cash flows from working forests around the country, this market could be used to finance forest acquisitions, which would help keep America’s working forests in production,” remarked David Hospodar of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The conservation community has built a partnership with the financial and forest products industries to create a solution to the financial obstacle hindering long-term working forest conservation.

“This bill works by providing an economic incentive, or funding mechanism, to maintain working forests. It will protect rural community jobs by keeping renewable working forestry on the landscape. This works for landowners, it works for the environment, it works for local governments and it works for communities across the state of Washington and the country,” said Mark Doumit, Executive Director of the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA). WFPA represents private timber owners in Washington State.

View a fact sheet about this exciting legislation

Press Coverage of the Bill

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Times
The Bond Buyer
Create your own: Newsletter Article Template

More information or to get involved, contact:

Dan Stonington
Cascade Land Conservancy
(206) 905-6903
dans@cascadeland.org
www.cascadeland.org

Tom Tuchmann
US Forest Capital, LLC
(503) 220-8103
tuchmann@usforestcapital.com
www.usforestcapital.com

CCALT Receives El Pomar Foundation’s Outstanding Nonprofit Award

Kimberly Seese — 2012-10-12T04:00:00Z

October 12, 2012 | Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust | Arvada, CO

Cayucos Land Conservancy Wins State Award

prichardson — 2008-11-25T14:00:00Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Greg Bettencourt, CLC Board President
805-995-1675 | gmbett@charter.net

Roger Lyon, CLC Board Member
805-995-1787 | 805-459-6222 | rlyonlaw@gmail.com

Cayucos Land Conservancy wins the Governor's State-wide Environmental and Economic Leadership Award

CAYUCOS, CA -- The Cayucos Land Conservancy has won the 2008 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for 2008, in the category of Environmental and Economic Partnerships. This award, California's most prestigious environmental honor, recognizes CLC, a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, for its unique and continuing environmental and economic partnership with State, County, and local organizations as well as individual landowners. The award will be presented in Sacramento to CLC board members November 25, 2008. A podcast of the awards ceremony can be viewed at 6pm November 25 at: http://www.calepa.ca.gov/broadcast/CentralVideo.asx

In 1999, CLC obtained a conservation easement over Estero Bluffs, the four miles of coastline north of Cayucos, and entered into a unique arrangement to share the management of the Bluffs with State Parks. Then in 2007, complementing Estero Bluffs, CLC purchased the conservation easement on the 900-acre San Geronimo Ranch protecting, in perpetuity, scenic views seen for over six miles along Highway 1. Most recently, CLC has again partnered with State Parks to open the 700-acre Harmony Headlands State Park, and has launched an Ambassador docent program to help the public enjoy this beautiful area.

Greg Bettencourt, Cayucos Land Conservancy President, said, “We are honored to accept this award on behalf of the citizens of Cayucos, who support CLC through their donations and volunteer hours in order to preserve the natural beauty around our town. We are also grateful to our partners, State and local agencies and committed individuals, who have worked with us to protect over 1250 acres and miles of beautiful California coastline.”

CLC was also recognized earlier this year with the San Luis Obispo Community Foundation’s Environmental Achievement of the Year Award.

More information on CLC can be found on their website www.cayucoslandconservancy.org.