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.