Working Lands and Conservation
It was a sunny fall day as I made my way down a single-lane gravel road to a tree farm in southwest Washington. This was my first time visiting a tree farm, and I didn’t know what to expect. I was there to learn about how private tree farms can benefit wildlife.
This field trip was part of a two-day-long event, put together by the Pacific Northwest Coast Landscape Conservation Design project, called the Working Lands and Conservation Community Forum. The goal of the field trip and meeting was to identify shared values among working lands, land management agencies and conservation organizations. There are several shared threats to the region, including population growth and climate change. One thing that I learned is that that the goal of keeping working lands working is compatible with Defenders’ goal of maintaining structural habitat for connectivity. This part of the state is very rural, and there isn’t much public land here. That makes planning for connectivity more challenging: there are more stakeholders to engage, there are more competing interests vying for the land, and the pressures rural lands face are different than those public lands face. If we hope to ever create a wildlife corridor that stretches from Mt. Rainier to the Olympics, private landowners have to be at the table to help create a plan that works for people and wildlife.
On the tree farm, Ken Miller showed us around, talking about some of the projects he’s worked on, like removing two salmon-blocking culverts on his land to replace them with big bridges. He also bought a wetland before it was purchased by developers and he works to remove invasive species from his land. Ken also cuts down trees for a living. Many forest owners love having a rural lifestyle, which includes being close to wildlife, and with good science and management, logging can be done in ways that reduce impact on the environment, create wildlife habitat, and contribute to the local economy.
The next day, farmers, ranchers, loggers, agency staff, and conservation nonprofits met in Chehalis to talk to each other about the various challenges that southwest Washington faces. It was an opportunity to listen to each other and attempt to find some common ground. As the day went on, I was more and more optimistic. There were farmers talking about ecosystem services, forest owners talking about carbon sequestration, and agreement that increasing development pressures and climate change were major threats that needed to be addressed. Breakout sessions in the afternoon yielded even more great ideas about ways that everyone in that room can come together to protect and restore wildlife habitat and working lands in the region.
Defenders has a long history of working with nontraditional allies. Instead of fighting, we look for collaboration. We believe that people and wildlif can coexist on the landscape: whether that’s a cattle rancher in wolf country, hikers in bear country, rain gardens at schools next to Puget Sound, or farmers and loggers protecting wildlife habitat in southwest Washington.
After the end of the meeting, most people left feeling optimistic. Just a generation ago, a meeting like this would have been laughed off the table. Nobody would have thought that this group of people would be able to set aside their difference to talk to each other for just a day. But this conversation is just the beginning. Defenders and our partners are continuing to work with diverse stakeholders throughout the region to develop an action-oriented blueprint to improve wildlife connectivity southwest Washington while supporting rural working lands and communities.
- Robb
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