July 3, 2020
T he C olumbia P ress
4
Effort to save local rainforest reserve wins large grant
A portion of North Coast
characterized by scientists as
the “Galapagos Islands of Or-
egon” moved a big step closer
to permanent conservation
last month.
Oregon Watershed En-
hancement Board announced
a $2.13 million grant to North
Coast Land Conservancy.
With the grant, the nonprofit
land trust has raised a total of
$8.1 million and is launching
a campaign to raise the final
$1.9 million needed to com-
plete its landmark marine re-
serve project.
“Many people have worked
for so many years to conserve
this spectacular coastal gem,”
said Katie Voelke, NCLC ex-
ecutive director. “Thank you
to everyone who has come to-
gether to get the project this
far.”
The conservancy is in the
third year of a five-year ef-
fort to acquire what it calls
the Rainforest Reserve: 3,500
acres of forested coastline
south of Arch Cape, adjacent
to Oswald West State Park
and above Cape Falcon Ma-
rine Reserve.
When complete, the reserve
will create an uninterrupted
32-square-mile conservation
corridor stretching from the
coastal range to the sandy
Above: The mountainous
horizon line south of Cannon
Beach includes the peaks of the
proposed Rainforest Reserve
(photo by Justin Bailie).
Right: Chambers painbrush is
found only within the proposed
reserve and on one nearby
peak (courtesy NCLC).
seabed and rocky reefs of the
shore.
“Times of crisis and upheav-
al such as what we are experi-
encing nationwide remind us
of our need for nature and its
healing power,” Voelke said.
“Wide open spaces are food
for our souls.”
The Galapagos comparison
stems from the area’s geo-
logical history and biological
diversity. An unusual mix of
plants and animals are found
in the area.
The property includes the
headwaters of streams pro-
viding drinking water to Can-
non Beach and Arch Cape. So
conservation of the Rainforest
Reserve will help ensure clean
drinking water for residents
and visitors and will help low-
er water treatment costs.
Protection of the proposed
Rainforest Reserve has been
a goal of coastal conservation-
ists for decades. Seventy years
ago, Oregon’s first state parks
superintendent, Sam Board-
man, characterized the prop-
erty as “one of the greatest op-
portunities for creating one of
the outstanding natural parks
in the nation.”
In 2016, North Coast Land
Conservancy entered talks
with Ecotrust Forest Manage-
ment, a forestland investment
management company that
promotes sustainable forest-
ry. That led Onion Peak Hold-
ings, a subsidiary of Ecotrust,
to purchase 5,000 acres of
forest from Stimson Lumber
Company.
NCLC immediately signed a
purchase and sales agreement
with the owner, giving the
conservancy five years to raise
the money needed to buy the
property. Arch Cape Water
District is meanwhile working
to acquire an additional 1,500
acres to create a community
forest with support from the
conservancy.
The grant awarded to NCLC
is unusually large.
“Our land acquisition grant
program is very competitive
and seeks to protect places
with a high ecological value,”
said Katie Duzik, a director
with the Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board. “The
Rainforest Reserve property
was selected … (because) the
opportunity to acquire a large
intact forest on the immediate
coast for conservation is un-
common.”
North Coast Land Conser-
vancy has its headquarters
in Seaside and is protecting
52 habitat reserves and con-
servation easements totaling
nearly 5,000 acres between
the Columbia River and Siletz
Bay.
Children still can get free meals
Two summer meal pro-
grams for children continue
to operate in Warrenton.
Warrenton-Hammond
School District continues its
meal offerings along several
bus routes. The meals also
can be picked up at Warren-
ton Grade School from 10 to
10:45 a.m. and from 11 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. on Mondays,
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays through summer.
Meals next week include
muffins, toaster tarts, blue-
berry waffles, cereal, and
sausage-pancake sticks for
breakfast. Burgers, chicken
nuggets, chicken tacos, tur-
key hot dogs, and deep-dish
pizza for lunch. Each bag also
contains two servings of fruit,
carrot and celery sticks and an
extra snack such as crackers.
For information, call 861-
2281.
A program during Camp
Rosenbaum, offered at Camp
Rilea, provides free breakfast
and lunch. Breakfast is from
7 to 8 a.m. and lunch is from
noon to 1 p.m. July 19-24 at
33168 Patriot Way. For infor-
mation on the Rilea program,
call 503-504-2169.
The meals are free and open
to all children.