Programs: Land conservation: columbia land trust conserves and cares for the lands, waters, and wildlife of the lower columbia river region through sound science and strong relationships. The land trust finds common ground with landowners and community stakeholders to permanently conserve the scenic and intrinsic values of land and water. In 2017, the land trust conserved more than 800 acres across its service area, which extends along the columbia from the dalles, oregon to the pacific ocean. Major conservation successes in 2017 included 137 acres across three properties on long beach peninsula in washington's pacific county, 285 acres along the chinook river at baker bay, 190 acres continued on schedule oacross willapa bay at seal slough, and 31 acres at near grays bay in wahkiakum county these six projects include vital salmon and steelhead habitat, forests, and interdunal wetlands that support elk, bear, amphibians, and thousands of migratory shorebirds and waterfowl.
public outreach: columbia land trust increases awareness about the benefits of private land conservation and the importance of its mission: to conserve and care for the vital lands, waters, and wildlife of the columbia river region through sound science and strong relationships. The land trust focuses outreach and engagement to support conservation in priority areas, showcases successful projects to promote conservation and stewardship, and connects communities to land conservation through tours, volunteer days, publications, and events. Continued on schedule oeach year, the land trust produces three issues of its newsletter, fieldbook, a monthly e-newsletter, the moss, and a year-end conservation & restoration report, while also maintaining an active and engaging presence on social media. Through these channels, the land trust aspires to encourage curiosity in the natural world that will help foster a culture of stewardship.
land stewardship: protecting and enhancing the conservation values of acquired lands is some of the most important work for columbia land trust. It is the responsibility of the stewardship program to protect conservation values and to be a good neighbor and community member for all columbia land trust properties through science-based management. The land trust evaluates each property for its conservation value, the threats to these values, and for opportunities to enhance conservation through responsible management. A stewardship plan is developed and implemented based on this analysis to include annual monitoring as part of an adaptive management framework. Continued on schedule oa number of columbia land trust properties currently include significant restoration work to replace lost functions and increase the conservation value of the property. Notable 2017 restoration projects include the completion of a 5-year effort on the elochoman river in wahkiakum county, washington and the culmination of a decade-long effort on the klickitat river. Together with partners at yakama nation fisheries and scores of contractors, we removed a total of eight miles of asphalt and well over 170,000 tons of road fill. A stewardship funding strategy, including gift donations during the acquisition process, is an integral part of every new conservation project. The fund is used to provide for future expenses of restoration, monitoring, enforcing compliance with easement restrictions, and underwriting legal defense of the conservation protections for all columbia land trust properties. Columbia land trust has also established a stewardship endowment to provide permanent support for program activities.
