Press Release

June 18, 2001

The Pacific Forest Trust Creates
Largest Forest Conservation Easement in Oregon

Over 7,000 Acres Protected

Portland, OR – Today, the Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) and the estate of Fred M. van Eck announced the creation of the largest managed forest conservation easement in Oregon. This easement not only prevents forest conversion, but also supports ongoing commercial and sustainable forest management. Covering 7,200 acres of Douglas-fir and hemlock forest in Lincoln County, this gift represents Mr. van Eck’s lasting legacy of stewardship.

"Fred believed that forests could be managed for both economic and ecological concerns," his nephew, Derek van Eck, noted. "Now his western properties can become laboratories for innovation in forestry to benefit everyone."

In addition to the easement in Oregon, this gift also includes an easement on over 2,000 acres of redwood in Humboldt County, California. Both the California and Oregon properties possess important fish and wildlife habitat as well as watershed values. The redwood property in California is part of the Mad River drainage and the Douglas-fir tracts in Oregon are in the Yaquina and Elk river watersheds. Four species of salmon are known to utilize the properties, which also provide potential habitat to other threatened species.

"Between 1982 and 1997, the Pacific states lost nearly 900,000 acres of private forestland. In Oregon this is largely due to dramatic population growth and the expansion of urban areas," said Laurie Wayburn, President of PFT. "As we work to expand private forest conservation in Oregon, this property will serve as an important model for how to protect working forestlands."

PFT will manage the properties to restore and maintain mature forest conditions on these highly productive forests, while generating income to benefit the Hardwood Forest Improvement Program at Purdue University in Indiana.

"This arrangement was very important to Fred because it ensures that the properties will be well managed and conserved, but will also benefit other causes that he supported, " said Mr. van Eck.

A conservation easement permanently restricts specified activities on a given piece of property and stays with the property through future ownerships. The gift of a conservation easement can provide the landowner with often very significant income and estate tax benefits, in recognition of the development value foregone through the easement restrictions.

A collaborative, problem solving organization, the Pacific Forest Trust works with landowners, forest managers, public agencies, local communities and others to preserve private productive forestland in the Pacific Northwest. With headquarters in Santa Rosa, California, PFT maintains offices in Boonville, California and Seattle, Washington. PFT will be opening an office in Portland in August, welcoming Craig Jacobson as the Oregon Conservation Director.