Press Release

September 10, 2001

Pacific Forest Trust, U.C. Cooperative Extension to Hold Workshop for Forest Landowners

Santa Rosa, CA -- The Pacific Forest Trust, a specialized land trust for working forestlands, and the University of California Cooperative Extension are sponsoring a workshop titled "Conservation Easements: Rewarding Forest Stewardship." Local forest landowners, foresters, and anyone concerned about forest and oak woodland conservation are encouraged to attend. The workshop will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Mt. Shasta City Park.

The purpose of the workshop is to provide in-depth information about conservation easements, a voluntary tool increasingly used to protect land from breakup and unwanted development, and to guide long-term forest stewardship. While conservation easements are currently being applied on many properties in northern California, details about them are still poorly understood. A conservation easement permanently restricts specified activities on a given piece of property and stays with the property through future ownerships. In establishing a conservation easement that protects the significant public benefits of a property, the landowner can accomplish personal, ecological and financial goals. This workshop explains how, using real life examples.

"Keeping forests as forests is a major challenge as northern California grows and changes," said Amy Chesnut, PFT's Conservation Project Director. "Conservation easements are an important tool that landowners can use to create a lasting legacy of stewardship."

Speakers at the workshop will include: • Amy Chesnut, PFT's Conservation Project Director, a real estate attorney who has worked in private practice and as a Real Estate Negotiator with the Portland Metro Regional Parks and Greenspaces, Open Spaces Acquisition Division. • Parker Godar, PFT's Conservation Associate, who in addition to holding a law degree, has an M.S. in Natural Resources from Humboldt State University and has worked in conservation and restoration for over eight years. • Gary Nakamura, RPF, an Area Forestry Specialist with the University of California Cooperative Extension Program. •Special Guest Gary Hendrix, a Shasta County Landowner.

Pre-registration for the workshop is encouraged. Please call Parker Godar at 578-9950 for more information or visit www.pacificforest.org.