A Community Forest Grows

Columbia Land Trust & the Mt. Adams Resource Stewards have partnered to expand the Mt. Adams Community Forest in Klickitat County

Columbia Land Trust and the Mt. Adams Resource Stewards (MARS) recently announced they are partnering to expand the Mt. Adams Community Forest (MACF) while also conserving a working forest that values community-based forestry and land stewardship.

Through this partnership, MARS acquired 424 acres of land in Klickitat Canyon, east of the Mill Pond tract, from Columbia Land Trust. The land was originally purchased by the Land Trust in order to protect the area around the Klickitat River from development.

A win-win for both, Columbia Land Trust and MARS are working together to manage the land with the same conservation goal in mind — a working forest that keeps the public involved at a community level. Working forests provide benefits such as local jobs, clean air and water, habitat for fish and wildlife, and more space for outdoor recreation. By expanding the MACF, surrounding communities, like Glenwood, can continue to participate in forest management and ensure that revenue from timber harvests is reinvested into local priorities and future stewardship of the community forest.

The MACF seeks to eventually expand to thousands of acres that are managed by the community. It is crucial that action be taken to conserve and protect the working forests in Klickitat County, as the increasing population trends pose more risk for land conversion and development.

MARS takes into consideration the social, ecological and economic factors when it comes to managing the community forest. They take pride in protecting working forestland, providing employment opportunities, and maintaining healthy and functioning ecosystems. As the MACF expands, the benefits grow with it. Revenues from economic activity continue to be reinvested back into the community. The MACF provides local job opportunities and community forest stewardship that furthers economic growth.

This acquisition helps us conserve the larger Klickitat Canyon Phase II property while supporting a community partner in conserving land they would not have been able to purchase otherwise. Through this all, Columbia Land Trust is adding to a group of connected community, state, and federal lands committed to ensuring the region thrives and benefits its people and wildlife for the years ahead.

This was made possible by our staff who continue to strongly advocate for conservation as well as funding from a generous individual donor, and through the collective support of people like you for our conservation agenda.