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Cascade Agenda June Newsletter

Legislature Wins Cascade Agenda Award

More than 1,800 people gathered May 15 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center for the Cascade Land Conservancy’s 12th Annual Conservation Awards Breakfast.

One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of the Cascade Agenda Award to honor the work done this year at the Legislature in the passage of a Regional Transfer of Development Rights Marketplace.

The Award went to Gov. Chris Gregoire, Senator Ken Jacobsen (D-46th District, North Seattle), Senator Dan Swecker (R-20th District, Rochester), Representative Geoff Simpson (D-47th District, Kent), Representative Richard Curtis (R-18th District, La Center), the Washington Farm Forestry Association, the Washington Forest Protection Association, the Washington State Grange and Futurewise.

Governor Gregoire signed the bill beginning the process for creating the marketplace during the breakfast.

Cascade Agenda Coalition Charts Future Action

Members of the Cascade Agenda Coalition met immediately after the breakfast to review accomplishments this year and to lay the groundwork for this year, including the action plan for the next Legislature in early 2008.

Speakers included representatives of Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, the Washington Grange, Audubon Washington and the Association of Realtors, almost a mirror of the “big tent” cooperation that produced the success in Olympia this year.

Looking ahead the Legislature will see efforts aimed at the authorization of Rural Village demonstration projects, the establishment of a state Revolving Fund for Farms & Forests and the first findings from the Regional TDR Marketplace process.

Vintage Connelly

Joel Connelly, the veteran columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, attended the breakfast and filed a report on his blog.  An excerpt:

“The Cascade Land Conservancy does good stuff. The 600 G's Tuesday will go to projects like preserving 2,500 acres of forest and wildlife habitat along the White River, and portions of the Carbon River Canyon leading to the most interesting entrance to Mount Rainier National Park.

“It is also dreaming big dreams, with generous benefactors. Aided by a $1 million grant from the Bullitt Foundation, the conservancy is working on a 100-year action plan to limit sprawl, preserve 265,000 acres of land, and keep one million acres of working forests and farms in the central Puget Sound.

“The conservancy is the kind of outfit that can appeal for corporate help. Its emphasis, as Gregoire put it, is "less on regulation and more on the market's ability to use scarce resources."

As well, times change - and spawn new appliance.”

See the entire column at

TDR workshop draws big interest

What’s a TDR?  Nearly 200 people wanted to know at a workshop on March 27th, 2007 on the workings of a Transfer of Development Rights sponsored by the Cascade Land Conservancy and the Washington State Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development.

The workshop was designed to explore strategies for implementing successful TDR programs throughout the Central Cascades region of Washington State.

National expert Rick Pruetz presented an interesting overview of TDR programs around the country ranging from one of the most successful in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., to some of the variations on how TDRs have worked – or not worked -- in other areas.

Following Pruetz, a panel of local experts took a look at TDRs as they have been applied here “on the ground and in the sky.”  The panel consisted of Mark Solitto, Manager of King County’s Transfer of Development Rights Program; Dennis Meier, City of Seattle; Dan McGrady, Vulcan, and Michelle Connor, Vice President Cascade Agenda at the Cascade Land Conservancy.

Alison Van Gorp and Jeremy Echert, Cascade Land Conservancy’s resident experts on TDRs, discussed what is necessary to implement a successful TRD program in local jurisdictions.

The workshop wrapped up with another panel on how TDRs have worked in local areas. Panelist included Brynn Brady, Pierce County; Debi Kirac, City of Issaquah; Brad Collins, City of Arlington; Tristan Klesick, a local farmer, and Noel Higa, Ronin Northwest.

Big gains for the WWRC

The Legislature this year approved the largest investment in parks and natural areas in Washington's history. 

Lawmakers approved a two-year capital construction budget that increases funding for Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) grants to $100 million.
With the Governor's commitment to support $100 million, the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition chalked up success and a winning campaign to fund 135 projects around the state.

The campaign will fund:

• Outdoor Recreation - $36 million for 68 state and local parks, trails and shorelines.

• Habitat Conservation - $36 million for 34 natural areas, urban and critical habitat and land stewardship.

• Riparian Habitat Protection - $19 million for acquisition or restoration of 23 marine and fresh-water habitat areas.

• Farmland Preservation - $9 million for conservation or restoration of 10 working farms.  This is the first state funding for a farmland preservation program!

• Puget Sound - Of the 135 funded projects, 33 help protect or restore the Sound.  They total $21 million and leverage $30 million in local matching funds. 

WWRP grants go to cities, counties and state agencies.  Public and private dollars match local projects at 50 percent and state projects are used to match federal grants.

Funding for the program has remained around $50 million a biennium ever since the Coalition persuaded the legislature to establish the program in 1990.  Inflation and real estate prices have eroded the WWRP's buying power.

The Capital Budget had solid bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, but House Speaker Frank Chopp (D-Seattle) and Representative Bill Fromhold (D-Vancouver) were early champions of the $100 million goal. 

Activist Summit

If you are an activist, please join Washington Conservation Voters on Bainbridge Island at IslandWood on Saturday June 23rd from 10am-4pm with a reception following from from 4pm-6pm.
 
This free workshop is an opportunity to discuss upcoming opportunities and challenges for environmental issues in the state, participate in IslandWood's environmental learning program, network with a community of activists and environmental leaders and learn new skills for effective activism.
 
Featuring guest speaker U.S. Representative Jay Inslee, (1st District)
 

Elsewhere

Ethanol from trees? 

That’s the possibility raised by the Economist magazine in its April issue.  It is a complicated process and not yet economically feasible, the magazine said, but groups are working to produce the enzymes to make that possible.

Concerns? Environmentalists worry that having struggled for years to protect forests from overexploitation, demand for biofuels could undermine their efforts.

The same issue (April 17) also has a report on Timberland Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) in which private investors pool together to buy timber holdings.  It focused on Plum Creek and Suncadia near Roslyn.

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