Meeting Information

Agenda

Hotel and Registration Info

Support

Support for WGA's Enlibra program is provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and by Region IX of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Background Information on Enlibra

Examples of Enlibra in Action

Policy Resolution Outlining Enlibra Principles

Frequently Asked Questions

Advisory Committee

Publications, Press Releases and Speeches

Meetings

Resource Guide

Environmental Summit
on the West II

Successful Partnerships and New Tools
to Conserve Open Lands in the West
Breakout Session I 

New Success Stories and Tools in Land Conservation

Background 

The plenary and breakout session will present a range of examples of innovative land conservation strategies and success stories that illustrate the creative and effective on-the-ground results that can be achieved when the Enlibra principles are applied. The plenary will highlight an enormous forest conservation project in Washington State that uses conservation easements and unique financial tools and partners, which will be discussed more fully in the breakout. The breakout will consider different land conservation examples from other parts of the West involving preservation of historic, urban, scenic, and tribal lands, as well as innovative assessment and finance tools.

Goals of the Breakout 

• Identify opportunities presented by examples
• Identify challenges to success
• Identify policy implications of experience
• Identify lessons learned

Hosts/Moderators: Lynn Scarlett, Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management, and Budget, Department of the Interior, and Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming State Treasurer

Case Studies:

The Evergreen Forest Trust

The Trust announced in January 2002 that it had signed a purchase and sale agreement with the Weyerhaeuser Company for the acquisition of approximately 100,000 acres of forestland. These forests are located between the greater Seattle metropolitan area to the west and the national forests to the east. The Trust is using a new forestland ownership and financing concept that has been pioneered by US Forest Capital, LP.

The concept brings regional business, environmental and community leaders together in the formation of a private nonprofit conservation company. The company will continue to harvest timber from the land, but it will also preserve sensitive areas and ratchet up lighter forest management practices over time. A permanent conservation easement will be donated to the Cascade Land Conservancy - a regional land trust - to assure that these forestlands will not be converted to other uses. The Trust plans to finance the $185 million transaction by selling Community Forestry Bonds™.

Presenter
Thomas Tuchman, U.S. Forest Capital LP, a forestry and financial services company

Peaceful Valley, Utah

This case study includes preservation of an historic site and ranchland using conservation easements. The 7300-acre Clayton-Macfarlane property (also known as Peaceful Valley Ranch) is located in East Canyon, on the eastern border of the Wasatch Mountains, which flank Salt Lake City, Utah. Peaceful Valley illustrates the pastoral beauty of northern Utah, with mountainsides of gambel oak, rich riparian corridors of cottonwood and willow, and lush valleys supporting large herds of elk and mule deer. This working ranch has been in the Clayton and Macfarlane families' ownership for over 100 years, and contains tremendous historical values. Along with five long-distance trails bisecting the property (including the Mormon Pioneer Trail and the Donner Party Trail), the landowners have recently renovated the Bauchmin Pony Express Station, and have unearthed fortifications erected by the Mormon Militia during the "Utah War" of 1857. TPL is hoping to protect the entire ranch through the acquisition of two conservation easements.

Presenters
Deb Love, Trust for Public Land (TPL)
Grant Macfarlane, attorney and cattle rancher

Taos Overlook, New Mexico

This case study describes a unique partnership between TPL, the San Felipe Pueblo, private landowners, and the Bureau of Land Management. The Taos Valley Overlook is one of New Mexico's most notable landscapes. The property is located within the Orilla Verde Recreation Area immediately outside the city limits of Taos, New Mexico. Situated within and adjacent to the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River corridor, the property offers spectacular views of the Rio Grande Gorge and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The property also provides critical riparian habitat for peregrine falcon, native brown trout, and the federally listed endangered southwestern willow flycatcher. The project involves a series of purchases of the property and a land exchange between the BLM and the San Felipe Pueblo that served to return almost 10,000 acres of culturally significant lands to the pueblo. Given the property's exceptional recreational amenities (including a stretch of the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River Corridor), the property will be managed for light recreation use, including kayaking, rafting, fishing, mountain biking, hiking, and scenic viewing.

Presenters
Deb Love (TPL)
San Felipe Pueblo Governor Lawrence Trancosa

Prescott, Arizona - A Conservation Finance Success Story

Residents of the high-desert mountain community of Prescott, Arizona banded together to pass a 10-year sales tax extension for the preservation of open space and local road improvements. In a community with a history of not supporting public spending, the issue of overwhelming growth brought together an incredibly diverse group of citizens to successfully pass this ballot measure. The city has acquired--with the help of TPL--a number high-profile tracts in the Prescott Buttes and Granite Dells preservation areas that were threatened by inappropriate development. This discussion will focus on conservation finance tools including: fiscal and legal research, ballot measure design, public opinion surveys, message development and communications, and campaign strategy and management.

Presenters
Eric Love, Trust for Public Land
Becky and Elisabeth Ruffner

Background Information 
US Forest Capital (www.usforestcapital.com)

Evergreen Forest at Snoqualmie

Building Green Infrastructure: Land Conservation as a Watershed Protection Strategy (Download available in PDF at ) This report demonstrates that preventing development on sensitive lands is one of the best and most cost-effective ways of protecting sources of drinking water and safeguarding waterways. The 35-page report, funded by EPA and published by TPL, cites four case studies where land protection is a central strategy to ensure long-term supplies of pure drinking water and avoid costly water treatment. The report also explores how land protection is helping these communities preserve critical wildlife habitat and ensure public access to recreation areas on rivers and coastal waterways. Programs highlighted are in Austin, TX; Barnegat Bay, NJ; Mountain Island Lake, NC; and Indian River Lagoon, FL (1999 ).

Community Choices: Thinking Through Land Conservation, Development, and Property Taxes in Massachusetts  --  An economic analysis on the relationship between land conservation, development, and property taxes (i.e. that new developments often don't generate enough new property taxes to cover the increases in municipal service costs )(1998 ).

Conservation Priorities: An Assessment of Freshwater Habitat for Puget Sound Salmon -- This TPL-commissioned report provides a regional snapshot of Puget Sound's most pristine, intact freshwater salmon habitat. A synthesis of existing information and expert opinion, it is intended to complement and enhance the work of many organizations that are striving to recover Puget Sound salmon runs (2001).

The Economic Benefits of Parks and Open Space: How Land Conservation Helps Communities Grow Smart and Protect the Bottom Line  -- A tool to help community conservationists and local governments make the case for protecting the valuable open spaces that in many areas of the country are threatened with sprawl or unwise development. The 48-page report provides an overview of research findings and examples of communities that are protecting the landscapes that contribute to their quality of life and economic well-being (1999).

LandVote 2001 -- The LandVote 2001 report provides a complete listing of the LandVote methodology and analysis of 2001's land conservation voting results across the U.S.

A Legacy of Land for Texas -- Sponsored by TPL and the Texas Recreation and Parks Society, this report assesses of the park and recreational needs of local governments in Texas (2001).

Local Parks, Local Financing, Volume I: Increasing Public Investment in Parks and Open Space -- This handbook takes a close look at the revenue-generating options granted by states to local governments, and at the variety of ways in which communities are using these tools to support parks, open space, and recreational facilities. It is designed to share ideas for working with park and open space advocates and to spur new and innovative thinking about municipal park financing mechanisms and methods (1998).

Protecting the Source -- A report linking watershed protection through land conservation with safe drinking water (May 1997).

Purchase-of-Development Rights: Conserving Lands, Preserving Western Livelihoods -- This report from TPL, the Western Governors' Association, and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association describes how Purchase of Development Rights programs work, their history, and how some Western programs are funded. It suggest how new programs might be started and provides a complete list of programs and their funding sources and of organizations that can help (2001).

The Land of Wide Open Spaces: Setting an Open Lands Conservation Agenda for the West report, WGA 1997