Bend Leaders Rally Around Community Forest

By Joseph Friedrichs, 1-07-07

	Caption: Photos courtesy Deschutes Basin Land Trust.

Drive west from Bend on U.S. Highway 20 and marvel at the natural beauty. Snow-capped mountains dominate the horizon. The ruggedness of the Cascades - with 10,000 foot peaks and brilliant snowfalls - often tend to steal the show.

But what rests between the peaks and the city is the icon Bend residents are rallying around: a sea of green ponderosa pines known as the Skyline Forest. When people try to sell the image of Central Oregon, this is what they show. Open Spaces. Room to breathe. Paradise.

The Skyline Forest, also known as the Bull Springs Tree Farm, stands near Highway 20 about 10 miles from Bend. It is a lush, often used outdoor playground for many, both locals and visitors alike.

The forest is poised to become one of the nation’s only - and potentially the largest - community forests. For Bend, it is a chance for one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. to leverage itself to not just save a tree, but an entire forest, from development. At nearly 33,000 acres, the Skyline Forest is seen by nearly every Bend resident that goes outside, or merely peers out a window, each day.

“The community has shown unprecedented interest in this,” said Brad Chalfant, the executive director of the Deschutes Basin Land Trust. “And you only have to drive around town and look out to the mountains to understand why.”

Although there is no dictionary definition for a community forest, it’s essentially forested land that owned by a community, held for the benefit of the community and available for a variety of productive purposes.

“It’s property that transcends what one would typically think of as a park,” Chalfant said.

It also breaks the mold of a national forest, most specifically because it is owned and managed by the local community, he added.

Community forests similar to the Skyline Forest do exist in the U.S. - most of them calling home to the Northeast - but are no where similar in size. In Southwestern Washington, a community attempted to purchase a parcel of land once they found it was likely to be cut down, but their action was too late.

That is why the land trust and many other community members are hoping to move as quickly as possible to secure the Skyline Forest for future generations.

“This is an effort to get out in front of what could possibly happen,” Chalfant said.

There are reasons for the concerns. Of the nearly 75 million acres of private timberland in the country, nearly 55 million acres have changed hands in the past decade. In many cases, speculators are buying the land, taking down as many trees, and as quickly as possible. After that, investors desire more from the land but sometimes lack the patience for new trees to grow. That’s where the chain reaction begins, Chalfant said.

“They want to cut out the trees as quickly as they can,“ he said. “Then comes the subdivisions, homes or resorts.”

Spearheading the campaign to preserve the Skyline Forest is the Bend-based Deschutes Basin Land Trust. The conservation group has had interest in purchasing the land for six or seven years, in hopes of creating a community forest.

The trust plans to use a combination of grants, bonds and donations to purchase the forest. If the deal takes place, the trust would manage the area. Negotiations have been ongoing for nearly a year, with no exact cost or timetable for the exchange having been set at this point. However, the possibility of the deal taking place could happen at any time, Chalfant and his supporters believe.

The Skyline Forest is currently controlled by a Florida-based business known as Fidelity National Financial Inc. Fidelity National took control of nearly 70 percent of Cascade Timberlands, a holding company for 300,000 acres of Oregon forests - including Skyline. Although terms of the deal were never disclosed, it is rumored that Fidelity paid at least $83 million, likely more.

Thus far, the company has been willing to communicate with local organizations regarding the sell and transfer of ownership for the Skyline Forest. The new owners made the initial contact with local conservation groups that are trying to preserve the 33,000-acre parcel, said Tom Tuchmann, the president of US Forest Capital, a forestry and financial services company that specializes in conserving working forests. Tuchmann has taken the role of lead adviser to the land trust’s attempted acquisition and said negotiations have been “very cordial and productive.”

Nancy Craven, an attorney representing Cascade Timberlands, agreed with that sentiment.

“We’re exploring things as best as we can for things that will help both parties,” she said.

Greg Lane, the executive vice president and chief operating officer for Fidelity National Timber Resources, said it’s too early to define exactly what would be the best for both parties. By speaking with not only the land trust, but other community members as well, 2007 should be a prime time to answer that question.

If the land trust is successful, the acquisition of Skyline Forest may pave the way in the protection of other, larger areas of forestland also controlled by Fidelity. Sights have already been set to protect the Mazama Tree Farm, a 92,000-acre area east of Crater Lake near U.S. Highway 97, Chalfant said. The conservation group also has interest in acquiring the Gilchrist Tree Farm, a 145,000-acre forest near Gilchrist.

The framework for the purchase of these lands could later serve as models for not only Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, but for the entire country, Chalfant said. A three-day conference was held in Missoula, in 2005, to gather supporters from throughout the country to discuss issues and possible options regarding community forests.

Tuchmann said the most promising incentives are those that integrate wins for the investor, landowner, community, and the environment. The Skyline Forest proposal fits directly into that mold, he added.

For many years, the Skyline Forest has been popular with hikers, hunters, horseback riders and others who take pleasure in the outdoors, Chalfant said. It is also home to the state’s biggest mountain-bike race. In addition, the forest provides critical habitat for a wide assortment of animals, including the state’s largest herd of mule deer.

“In a place that’s growing as rapidly as Central Oregon, this is a place where people can get to know and connect to the area,“ Chalfant said. “It’s a place where they can get their hands dirty.”

Chalfant, Tuchmann and others working alongside them have their eyes and minds open to the fact that growth is inevitable in Central Oregon. What they desire is that the growth be done in a controlled condition. Also, areas to the north, east and southeast of Bend provide more suitable accommodations to the city’s expansion. For one thing, it won’t involve chopping down a pristine forest, Chalfant said.

“The purists are going to say we should never be cutting a tree,” Chalfant said, as he moved his hand across his beard. “But I live in a world where nothing is pure. We have to work with the realities that we’re handed.”

Tuchman supported that claim in an essay he wrote about the changes America’s forestlands are facing: “There are many incentives that could be created to maintain ecosystem services, but the bigger question is how we make it economically attractive for landowners to maintain the ecosystem service factory - the forests themselves. For without the forest, there is no opportunity to provide the service!”

Much of the Skyline Forest is third or second-growth timber. It has been actively logged for at least the past 80 years. If acquired, the land trust has said it would allow sustainable logging on the land. Proceeds from the harvest will be used to buy back bonds sold to acquire the parcel, Chalfant said. Recent legislation, thanks largely in part to efforts from Tuchmann and State Rep. Chuck Burley (R-Bend), allowed Deschutes County to set up a Community Forest Authority. Essentially what it does is raise money to buy timber land for the community’s benefit by issuing bonds.

Tuchmann said the lower interest rate associated with municipal bonds would allow the property to be managed for various ecosystem purposes while timber harvest revenue pays off the bonds’ principal and interest.

In recent decades, the term “logging” has polarized many Oregon residents on where, when and how much tree-cutting should take place. From protection of the spotted owl to the preservation of old-growth forests, both sides have become “suspicious and separated” when it comes to harvesting trees, Chalfant said. What the land trust hopes to make clear is that if they acquire the Skyline Forest it’s important to log in some instances.

“We just plan to do it a little more lightly,” he added.

The purpose of keeping the forest groomed is chiefly for fire protection. The risk of a large-scale blaze in or around the Skyline Forest is yet another deterrent from development taking place, both city and county officials have said. Deschutes County is the home of 90 percent of the state’s major resorts. A collection of homes or resort would eventually, and inevitably be forced to deal with large-scale fire near their property.

“The risk of fire is extraordinary out there,” Chalfant said. “It’s not a logical place for development.”

If the acquisition takes place, the land trust’s target goals would be to manage the forest to preserve scenic views, recreation and wildlife habitat. However, the forest could also provide an “outdoor classroom” for local schools or groups, and perhaps even students from the University of Oregon, he added.

Essentially, those concerned with protecting the scenic amenities near Bend are looking to keep lights, roads, homes and resorts from destroying the view that has made the town what it was, is, and hopefully, will be.

“This is not about locking things up,” Chalfant said. “This is about bringing the community together.”

A topographic map of the Skyline Forest is available as a PDF file: skyline_topo_0809.pdf. [End of article]