Seattle, May 14, 2008 -- More than 8,000 acres of commercial forestland in the upper Green River watershed was permanently protected from building and development recently through the cooperation of the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Olympic Resource Management and the Cascade Land Conservancy.

Washington DNR has completed the purchase of a Forest Legacy Conservation Easement from Olympic Resource Management (ORM), a subsidiary of Pope Resources, on two tracts of King County forestland, the Eagle Lake Tract and the Smay Creek Tract.

The Cascade Land Conservancy worked with the Department of Natural Resources and the Washington congressional delegation to secure the Federal Forest Legacy grant.  Washington DNR purchased the Conservation Easement from Olympic Resource Management for approximately $2.2 million, using a grant from the federally funded Forest Legacy program.  Working together, all three organizations collaborated to facilitate the transaction and develop the specific terms of the easement.

The Forest Legacy program is a nationwide program designed to prevent the conversion of working forests to non-forest uses, such as conversion to residential lots.  In Washington State, the program’s focus includes retention of forest management opportunities, preservation of wildlife habitat, and protection of water quality. The Legacy program in Washington State is one of the most active in the nation, counting over 22,000 acres of forest land protected from future conversion to other uses.

“Washington was among the first five states to participate in the Forest Legacy Program and our success is a function of the collaboration among public, private and non-profit organizations to protect and consolidate forest land that would otherwise convert to non-forest use,” said Doug Sutherland, Commissioner of Public Lands. “This project with the Cascade Land Conservancy is a perfect example and we are very pleased to be a part of it.”

“This is an important and significant project,” said Gene Duvernoy, President, Cascade Land Conservancy.  “It will go a long way toward accomplishing The Cascade Agenda goal of conserving working forestlands in King County rather than see them converted to other uses.”

David Nunes, president and CEO of Olympic Resource Management, added “This project is a great example of partnering with conservation and government to deliver the potential value of development to our timberland owners without having to disturb a landscape best suited for growing trees.  We are pleased to see these lands remain as working forest and look forward to working with the CLC and DNR again in the future.”

This project is one of the three successful Forest Legacy projects CLC has recently undertaken in partnership with DNR – in the Skykomish River, Green River, and Carbon River areas.  CLC and DNR will continue collaborating on additional Forest Legacy projects in the future.

About Doug Sutherland: As the elected Commissioner of Public Lands, Doug Sutherland manages the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and administers a $625 million, two-year budget. Doug chairs the state Board of Natural Resources, which sets policy for the management of state trust lands. These lands include some 3 million acres of publicly owned forests, agricultural and grazing lands, and commercial properties. For more information please go to www.dnr.wa.gov

About the CLC: The Cascade Land Conservancy is a regional land trust and stewardship organization operating in Washington State with headquarters in Seattle and principal offices in King, Kittitas, Mason, Pierce and Snohomish Counties.  The CLC was founded in 1989 and has conserved nearly 150,000 acres of working forests, farmlands and natural areas as well as estuary lands on the Olympic Peninsula and along the Washington Coast.   Since 2005 it has been the host organization of The Cascade Agenda, which links conserving great lands with creating great communities. For more information please visit www.cascadeland.org and www.cascadeagenda.com

About Pope Resources and Olympic Resource Management:  Pope Resources, a publicly traded limited partnership, and its subsidiaries Olympic Resource Management and Olympic Property Group, own or manage over 430,000 acres of timberland and development property in Washington and Oregon. In addition, we provide forestry consulting and timberland management services to third-party owners and managers of timberland in Washington, Oregon and California. The company and its predecessor companies have owned and managed timberlands and development properties for more than 150 years. Additional information can be found at www.orm.com.

 www.orm.com

Contacts: 

John Shea, Olympic Resource Management, 360-394-0562, JShea@ORM.com

Princess Jackson Smith, Washington DNR, 360-902-1066, princess.jackson-smith@dnr.wa.gov

Kent Whitehead, Cascade Land Conservancy, 206-905-6919, kentw@cascadeland.org