Fall 2010

“Public Agencies Focus on Threats to Privately Owned Forests”

Inside this Issue:

• Forest Fete 2010 – Roots & Revelry
• Lyme Timber’s Peter Stein Named 2010 Forest Champion
• A Call to Conserve America’s Great Outdoors – Public Agencies Focus on Threats to Privately Owned Forests
• Peter Davis – A Passion for Natural Landscapes Leads to Legacy for Conservation
• Sierra Valley Easements Approved
• Accreditation Achieved!

Forest Fete 2010 – Roots & Revelry

‘Innovation is what America—and PFT—is good at,’ Speaker Dan Esty says, calling for post-election climate action

On the eve of the midterm elections, Pacific Forest Trust supporters and partners gathered for our annual celebration of forests and their champions, Forest Fete 2010: Roots & Revelry. Following a lively networking reception, we sat down to dinner to celebrate Lyme Timber general Partner Peter Stein, our 2010 Forest Champion of the Year, and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), our Outside-the-Box Award honoree.

It was a festive evening, but not without a call to action for the work that still lies ahead in conserving and stewarding our nation’s forest landscapes.

“Without dampening the fine spirit of the evening, I do want to say that this is a group that needs to step up and respond to [the] challenges,” said keynote speaker Dan Esty, Yale professor and renowned expert on green economics, referring to the climate and energy legislation stalled in Congress. “I think it’s a challenge for all of us here tonight to figure out how to re-engage the creative process, to move us toward what we’re meant to be celebrating in a rising green economy.”

“Someone once said to me, wouldn’t it be great if we had a device that could take the carbon dioxide out of the air. And I was pleased to be able to respond that we grow millions of those in Oregon’s forests.”

— Sen. Jeff Merkley, 2010 Outside-the-Box Honoree

Innovation and public-private partnerships will be essential for the U.S. to develop a clean energy economy, Esty emphasized, and forest conservation has a critical role to play. “Innovation is what America is good at. This is what this region is good at. What Saudi Arabia is to oil, we are to innovation. I think it is not only the key to climate change and these other things, it is also a key opportunity for forest conservation,” Esty said. “I do want to salute Laurie and the team here at the Pacific Forest Trust because I think there has been great creation and innovation brought to bear in the work of PFT.”

Esty urged PFT to “keep up the good work”— but not without a challenge.

“Actually, that’s not enough. You really need to redouble your efforts. So I hope that all of you here who are friends of the organization will step up. It’s a critical next couple of months and frankly a critical next couple of years. The innovations that we need are not just in technology, but also in the mechanisms we use.” (Read more about an “innovative policy mechanism” PFT is promoting for land conservation on pages 5–7.)

Esty wasn’t the only one urging Fete guests to help us build momentum for innovative conservation solutions and partnerships at the local, state, regional and federal level.

Nancy Skinner Nordhoff, the 2009 Association of Fundraising Professionals Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year, came to issue a challenge at Fete. “Donate now,” said PFT Board Chair Charlie Swindells, announcing her gift, “and Nancy will generously match your gift two to one, up to $15,000.”

Nordhoff, a native of Seattle, has been a generous PFT supporter since 2004. She comes from a family with a long history of generous philanthropy and is particularly interested in historic and environmental preservation, sustainable development and support of the rural economy.

“We’re so grateful to Nancy for this generous gift and to our other supporters who answered her call,” said PFT President Laurie Wayburn (pictured right, speaking to Nordhoff). “It’s clear this is the time to intensify our efforts. We can meet the challenges ahead with support from Nancy and others who join her call for matching gifts.”

Forest Fete 2010 was presented with the generous support of Mendocino Redwood Company, Humboldt Redwood Company, and many other businesses and individuals.

Photos by Toni Gauthier. From top: More than 200 Forest Fete guests filled the Golden Gate Club at the Presidio, where Yale University Professor Dan Esty delivered the evening’s keynote speech (center).

Lyme Timber’s Peter Stein Named 2010 Forest Champion

Peter Stein was characteristically modest when told by PFT’s president Laurie Wayburn that he had been selected to be our 2010 Forest Champion of the Year. “I tried to talk her out of it,” he admitted. “But then she talked me out of talking her out of it.”

It’s a good thing she did. Our record attendance at Forest Fete 2010 was due in no small part to those who came to honor Stein, who has inked more than 100 innovative conservation partnerships during his two decades with the Lyme Timber Company.

“I’m truly honored and grateful for this recognition,” he said, giving thanks and credit to his partners in conservation — including his wife Lisa — and to no small amount of luck. This good fortune was evident the day he crossed paths with PFT Co-CEO Connie Best in 1990; they soon began discussing ideas for conservation incentives for owners of working forests.

That year, Stein, formerly of the non-profit Trust for Public Land, had gone to work for The Lyme Timber Company, a private forestland investor. “It really gave me the platform to experiment with things that seemed kinda crazy in 1990.”

Things that seemed “kinda crazy” nearly 20 years ago included the working forest conservation easement (WFCE), an innovative public-private conservation tool that mixes private capital, philanthropic support and voter-approved public funding. Pioneered by PFT and championed by Stein, WFCEs have since conserved millions of acres across the U.S., bringing new revenue to landowners and perpetually safeguarding lands from development.

What’s the next big conservation innovation on the horizon? Stein agreed it will be critical to increase federal investment in the conservation of working lands at a landscape scale, which the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Forest Legacy Program can help accomplish (see above).

Secondly, state and federal lawmakers must act to create markets that reflect the value of improved forest management over time.

Lastly, Stein would like to see more land trusts develop PFT’s level of expertise in the policy arena. “I don’t know of any land trust in America that has achieved the policy traction that PFT has achieved. It’s created a comfortable pathway for more land trusts to engage in the political process,” Stein said.

“There are four million members of land trusts in America with significant political force. And I think that Connie, Laurie, the staff at the Pacific Forest Trust, and the partners they’ve developed have really created a model for using their members and their voices to achieve better public policies at the local, state, and national level.
Photos by Toni Gauthier. Above: The Lyme Timber Company’s Peter Stein accepts the 2010 Forest Champion award from PFT Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Connie Best (left) and Laurie Wayburn.

A Call to Conserve America’s Great Outdoors

Public Agencies Focus on Threats to Privately Owned Forests

If you’re reading ForestLife, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with the Pacific Forest Trust mantra: privately owned forests provide vital public benefits. Clean air and water, natural flood control, sustainably harvested wood products, rural jobs, wildlife habitat and migration corridors, climate regulation and recreation opportunities — all are inextricably linked to the fate of America’s forested landscapes. That is why 2010 feels like a watershed moment for our efforts to raise the profile of our nation’s forests and the essential roles they play.

This year President Obama and key members of his cabinet put considerable muscle into efforts to raise awareness of both the benefits that forests provide and the threats they face. Every day, we lose 6,000 acres of this vital open space in the United States as more people choose to live on the fringe of urban areas and in scenic, rural places. It’s a sobering statistic. Yet we were encouraged last April when the Pacific Forest Trust was invited to join land trusts from across the country at a White House conference on “America’s Great Outdoors.”

The meeting, which featured a personal appearance by President Obama, kicked off an initiative to coordinate joint-agency conservation efforts and “reconnect Americans to the land.” A top goal identified by the President was determining how the federal government can best advance conservation goals through “public-private partnerships and locally supported conservation strategies.”

“This is the first time in recent memory that a President of the United States from either party has personally engaged with conservation groups on how we can work together to save our natural heritage,” said PFT President Laurie Wayburn. “It’s truly exciting and presents a tremendous opportunity to scale up from focusing on individual projects to conserving our nation’s working forests at a landscape level.”

President Obama has tasked four members of his cabinet to review the challenges facing conservation in the 21st century and to submit their proposed recommendations to him by November 15th of this year. His advisors include the heads of the Departments of Interior and Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Council of Environmental Quality. They will work in coordination with the Departments of Defense, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Transportation, Education, and the Office of Management and Budget.

“Our vision for the 21st century is an interconnected network of open space across the landscape that supports healthy ecosystems and a high quality of life for Americans.”

— USDA’s Open Space Conservation Strategy

In August, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack convened a special listening session in New Hampshire focused on working forests. PFT was asked to join the discussion and recommend additional speakers on the issue. At this and three other sessions around the U.S. — and in a number of private meetings with senior officials in Washington, D.C. — PFT has been advocating for changes in federal policies to promote the conservation of privately owned, working forests. And we’re not alone. We’ve been urging our landowning partners and our allies in conservation to join us in calling upon policy makers to act now to protect our open spaces.

“Since early June, we have held 18 listening sessions across the country”, Secretary Vilsack told the group that gathered in New Hampshire. “Some common themes have emerged. We have heard about the importance of local partnerships and collaboration in conserving large landscapes. We heard how the federal government can be a better partner in these efforts by providing technical assistance and financial resources. Participants have emphasized the importance of reconnecting children to the outdoors through education, recreation and outdoor learning. Landowners and conservationists alike have talked about the need for tax incentives and funding for conservation easements.”

The urgent need for action is clear in the new USDA report released this summer, “Private Forests, Public Benefits,” which estimates development will consume more than 57 million acres of America’s privately owned rural forests from 2000 to 2030. The report highlights the fact that two-thirds of our nation’s forested landscape is privately owned and at risk of conversion and development to other uses such as housing or commercial development.

Multiple economic forces drive that conversion. Even in today’s economic climate, timber companies are finding real estate to be more profitable than selling logs. Concurrently, multi-generation family forest owners often struggle to pay high estate taxes, leaving heirs little choice but to sell their forest legacies to land developers.

“The ‘Private Forests, Public Benefits’ report shows that now, more than ever, we need to take an ‘all lands’ approach to managing our nation’s forests, whether they are national forests or are under the stewardship of state or private entities,” said Secretary Vilsack after the report’s release (Land Letter, Aug. 19).

“While the prospect of losing a forested area the size of Idaho is a grim one, it’s encouraging to see the administration spotlight a critical issue that affects rural and urban dwellers alike,” Wayburn says, adding that these issues were the primary motivation for PFT’s founding and were first focused on in-depth in our publication “America’s Private Forests.”

“This new report serves as a reminder that forests sustain everyone who breathes air and depends on the water provided by our nation’s forested watersheds,” Wayburn says. “Now we must press the administration and our lawmakers to act before it’s too late. It’s up to us and our policymakers to make this happen.”

Leveraging the Forest Legacy Program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund

The Forest Legacy Program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) are two programs that have been instrumental in public-private partnerships in the past, and could have an even greater impact in the future. These highly successful federal programs already have conserved millions of acres of land in communities across the nation. However, to meet the new challenges facing conservation in the 21st century, both programs must be enhanced through full funding and greater flexibility. Expanding Forest Legacy and LWCF would directly support community-based conservation by making federal funding available to land trusts for conservation easements or acquisition. Already, more than 40 other conservation groups and landowners from across the country have joined PFT in this campaign.

“These changes will allow us to leverage scarce federal conservation dollars more effectively, Wayburn says. “With increasing development pressures and the onset of climate change, we need to re-tool federal programs so that conservation organizations can protect even larger landscapes.”

You can learn more about our recommendations and offer your support directly by visiting the USDA’s “IdeaJam” website at: http://bit.ly/dtf6Zy or view our letter to key Administration officials at: http://bit.ly/9BRmah.
Second photo: A view over the Sierra Nevada from Campstool Ranch in Calaveras County, Calif. Photo by Chris Harrison.

Peter Davis

A Passion for Natural Landscapes Leads to Legacy for Conservation

Investor Peter Davis knows at least two things for sure. The British- born climber, backpacker and avid outdoorsman is dedicated to conserving the natural landscapes he loves.

“And I’m not immortal,” he quips. “So it was clear to me that once my children’s and grandchildren’s needs are met, I want to both today and after I’m gone.” As part of this philanthropic vision, Davis recently made provisions in his estate planning to leave a substantial bequest to the Pacific Forest Trust.

“My passions have always been to conserve mountains, forests, oceans, beaches — our natural landscapes. So when I contribute to charitable organizations, that’s the field they’re in. The Pacific Forest Trust fits very firmly into that,” he said. “PFT is marketing an incentive-based strategy that is good for the earth, good for the public, good for the environment and good for landowners. I know and I like the mission of PFT, as well as its people and their approach to their work. They’re doing a great job.”

Now a resident of Tiburon, California, the investor has been very savvy about making planned gifts that reduce his tax burden while supporting causes he believes in. In fact, he has delivered several talks about the various ways successful people can structure planned charitable gifts — such as appreciated stock, land or cash — either as outright gifts, bequests, or in trusts that yield annuity payments to a donor or their partner throughout their lifetime.

Such “planned giving” allows donors to leave money or assets to a nonprofit as part of their legacy. It can also provide a way to invest money so that the donor receives benefits during his/her life and then bequeaths the remaining funds to the nonprofit. Various financial instruments can be adapted to each donor’s needs. To learn more about how you can support PFT through planned giving, contact our Development Office at 415-561-0700.

Sierra Valley Easements Approved

Conservation Corridor Will Protect Nationally Significant Watershed Region in Calif.

The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) is making significant progress toward creating a unique conservation corridor in the wildlife-rich Sierra Valley, the largest alpine valley in North America.

This summer two key state agencies — the California Wildlife Conservation Board and Sierra Nevada Conservancy — approved funding for two of the conservation easement projects we are developing in Sierra Valley. The valley is located north of Lake Tahoe where the headwaters of the Feather River form the most extensive wetlands ecosystem in the Sierra Nevada.

The projects are strategically located where upland forests transition to meadowland on the valley floor, ensuring unbroken continuity among these diverse habitats needed by many species and protecting the flow of clean water for millions of Californians.

Once these easement projects are completed, PFT will have conserved 4,470 acres in partnership with five ranchers in the Sierra Valley, which is located at the southern tip of our broader Klamath-Cascade focal area. Our conservation staff also is working to establish conservation easements on an additional 2,683 acres of neighboring land in the area.

“We’re creating a large conservation corridor of well-managed forest and ranchlands in an ecologically significant area,” says Megan Wargo, Klamath Cascade Program Director. “Closing on these easements will represent real progress in our efforts to conserve this southwestern section of Sierra Valley and its water resources, which support a rich array of plants and wildlife, complement downstream conservation and restoration projects, and help sustain local ranchers and the community as a whole.”

Our work in Sierra Valley is establishing a much-needed brake on encroaching development in the region, a stone’s throw from Reno, Nev., and a popular spot for second homes and ranchettes. It also assures wildlife an unbroken habitat corridor from the valley floor up to the forested ridgetop.

“Acquiring the funds to close these easements represents significant momentum in our work to assure a sustainable, natural resource-based future for this beautiful and productive valley and the larger Klamath-Cascade region,” said PFT Co-CEO Connie Best.

Linking Forests, Land Use and Sprawl to Climate Change

PFT Leverages Environmental Quality Laws to Safeguard Forests’ Climate Benefits

Deforestation here and abroad is responsible for a staggering 40 percent of the excess man-made carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today. The forests that remain now serve as a critical climate defense, safely absorbing and storing greenhouse gases that fuel climate change by trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Which is yet another key reason why the Pacific Forest Trust and so many others are urgently working to reduce or mitigate for the negative impacts of forest development and conversion now.

In addition to our efforts at the federal level, PFT is working in several states to mitigate emissions from forest loss by leveraging existing state environmental regulations. In states where such environmental quality laws don’t exist or where regulators need additional legal directives to act, we’re also supporting legislation that recognizes and mitigates the environmental and climate impacts of development and associated forest loss in particular.

Accreditation Achieved!

PFT Awarded National Recognition

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, announced this summer that the Pacific Forest Trust has been awarded accredited status.

“Accredited land trusts meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever,” said Commission Executive Director Tammara Van Ryn. “The accreditation seal lets the public know that the accredited land trust has undergone an extensive, external review of the governance and management of its organization and the systems and policies it uses to protect land.”

“I want to say hats off to the Pacific Forest Trust for being one of the ‘first in the country’ of accredited land trusts — it’s really a big deal.”

— Peter Stein, Former Commissioner, Land Trust Accreditation Commission

The Pacific Forest Trust was one of 12 land trusts from across the country to be awarded accreditation in August. These organizations join 93 other land trusts — out of more than 1,750 such conservation groups in the United States — awarded accreditation since the first organizations were designated in the fall of 2008.

The award particularly distinguishes PFT by virtue of its breadth, covering all areas in which PFT works. It specifically recognizes three performance areas: the development, acquisition and management of conservation easements; transactions conserving lands for transfer into public ownership; and stewardship of lands PFT owns and manages.

“The accreditation process enabled us to both assess the robustness of our policies and practices and improve further with feedback from our peers,” said PFT Board Chair Charlie Swindells. “Accreditation shows we can walk the talk and uphold the highest standards throughout our organization.”

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., awards the accreditation seal to community institutions that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. More information on the accreditation program is available on the Commission’s website, www.landtrustaccreditation.org.