Guest columnist
A second chance to preserve a nearby forest landscape

By Larry Phillips
Special to the Times

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Last year, the opportunity to permanently protect the Snoqualmie Tree Farm from development seemed like the "one that got away," but it turns out we have a second chance.

I'm happy to report that yesterday King County and our partners renewed action to protect more than 90,000 acres of Cascade forestland — an area twice the size of Seattle — from ever turning into a sprawl of housing developments, highways and strip malls. This is not a patchwork of parcels with dozens of owners, but one huge chunk of land owned by one timber company.

Last year, Hancock Timber Resources Group purchased the tree farm from Weyerhaeuser. Even as the purchase was being announced, I suggested that King County use its Conservation Futures Fund to buy the tree farm's development rights. Every year, King County taxpayers contribute roughly $15 of their property taxes to the fund, which is dedicated to open-space acquisitions and preservation.

Hancock is a progressive timber company, applauded for its responsible land stewardship. By buying the development rights, we would guarantee that if Hancock should ever decide to stop logging the land, developers could not pick off parcels one by one, or turn the tree farm into a suburb sitting nearly atop the Cascade crest.

In the 1960s, King County residents cleaned up polluted Lake Washington so we could go swimming and fishing again. Now, working with local conservation organizations, such as the Cascade Land Conservancy, our generation has the chance to permanently preserve a huge forest a mere 30 minutes drive east of Seattle.

A brief history: For nearly a decade, a private conservation group, the Evergreen Forest Trust, has been working to keep our Cascade foothills forest intact and available to the public for years to come by attempting to buy timberland with tax-exempt bonds, then paying them off over time by logging the farm in an environmentally sensitive manner.

The trust set its sights on the Snoqualmie Tree Farm, which lies east of Carnation and stretches between Interstate 90 and Highway 2. The high plateau, dotted with solitary hills and laced with streams, is perfect for wildlife and easy to log — and the trust feared it would catch a developer's eye.

Using tax-exempt bonds is common for other projects that serve the public, such as hospitals, but this would have been the first time such bonds would have been used for conservation purposes and it was dependent on congressional approval. Weyerhaeuser was a patient seller, but time ran out on the trust, and Hancock purchased the tree farm, putting an end to the Evergreen Forest Trust's effort to acquire it.

Although we may not be buying the land, King County can still obtain the development rights by using our Conservation Futures Fund, preventing a future of housing subdivisions and "big-box" developments from creeping through the trees.

The Metropolitan King County Council will soon be considering legislation to appropriate the funding to purchase the development rights, and should take final action next month. The chance to protect such large-scale forestland comes once in a lifetime, and I can't wait to vote yes on this when it comes before the full council.

The tree farm's development rights are worth approximately $22 million — a sound investment in a legacy of clean air, wildlife habitat and recreation for ourselves and generations to come.

Our region is committed to managing our growth wisely, and choosing our own development destiny rather than letting out-of-state concerns move in and build as they wish.

King County is proud to work with private companies, conservation groups, and state and local jurisdictions to make these investments happen, and to see that your tax dollars are working for you and future generations.

Hundreds of our neighbors have worked to restore local waterways and shorelines, and replant forests. Now, we can work together to ensure that our Cascade foothills and mountain landscapes are protected forever.

Larry Phillips is chairman of the Metropolitan King County Council, and a founding member of the Evergreen Forest Trust.