Nisqually Land Trust buys 720 acres

Tract near Mount Rainier is group's largest purchase

By John Dodge | The Olympian • Published April 07, 2009

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The Nisqually Land Trust announced purchase Monday of 720 acres of critical wildlife habitat and scenic vistas near Mount Rainier National Park, the largest acquisition ever by the 20-year-old trust.

The property, just northeast of Ashford near state Route 706 was purchased for $2.36 million from the Hancock Timber Resources Group. It's part of a long-range effort by the land trust, state and federal resource agencies, Nisqually tribe and upper Nisqually Valley residents to protect land just outside the park from logging and preserve the local tourism economy.

With this purchase, made possible by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant, the upper Nisqually Valley coalition in three years has protected 1,300 acres of the 4,500 acres identified in the Mount Rainier Gateway Initiative.

"To protect habitat in perpetuity, you have make it part of a sustainable system," land trust executive director Joe Kane said. "In the Ashford area, that system includes a commitment to the long-term economic health of the community."

The Hancock Timber Resource Group manages 5 million acres of timberland in the Northwest and around the world for its investors.

The investment firm has sold about 400,000 acres in cases in which environmental values trumped timber production.

"We greatly respect the work of the Nisqually Land Trust and share their commitment to protecting environmentally sensitive land," said Derek Solmie, Hancock's Pacific Northwest project manager.

The new land trust property is frequented by two bird species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act — the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet — as well as bald eagles, elk, cougar and other species, Kane said.

The property includes pockets of old-growth habitat, steep slopes and an elevation range from 2,200 feet to 4,500 feet. From Ashford it represents the scenic view north of Route 706 about two miles west of the park entrance.

At the time of the sale, Hancock had a pending state permit to harvest timber off the purchased property, but faced stiff opposition to continued logging from conservation groups and Ashford-area residents. The rocky bluffs and steep ravines on the property were another obstacle to timber harvesting, as was a landslide triggered by logging in 1997, Kane said. About half of the property consists of timber stands less than 35 years old.

Other partners in the acquisition include the state Department of Natural Resources, which will hold a conservation easement on the property in perpetuity, and the Nisqually Tribe, which provided some funding for the land trust buy.

Negotiations continue between the land trust and Hancock on additional forestland that would complete a wildlife protection corridor from Elbe Hills State Forest to the national park, Kane said.

With the purchase, the land trust has protected about 2,700 acres in the Nisqually River basin, a 400 percent increase in conservation holdings in the past four years, Kane said.