Friday, November 5, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Land conservancy purchases Rainforest Reserve
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
The North Coast Land Conser-
vancy has taken ownership of an iconic
coastal rainforest above Arch Cape and
Oswald West State Park.
The purchase of the 3,500-acre
property — previously industrial tim-
berland — comes at a time when a
number of North Coast communities
are looking at ways to protect their
drinking water sources. The Rainforest
Reserve includes headwater streams for
fi ve watersheds and supplies drinking
water to Cannon Beach and Arch Cape.
Some plants and animals at home in
the towering peaks that visually defi ne
the reserve for local communities are
found nowhere else on Earth.
When combined with other neigh-
boring protected or soon-to-be pro-
tected lands, the reserve creates an
uninterrupted 32-square-mile con-
servation corridor that runs from the
Onion and Angora peaks above Can-
non Beach and Arch Cape to the near-
shore ocean off Short Sand Beach in
popular Oswald West State Park.
U.S. Rep Suzanne Bonamici called
the purchase a “remarkable accom-
plishment that will signifi cantly benefi t
our region in many ways.”
“As we address the climate cri-
sis, strategic, community-driven con-
servation eff orts like this project can
help mitigate the most serious risks
to plants, fi sh and wildlife while pre-
serving the ecosystems we cherish for
future generations,” the Oregon Demo-
crat said in a statement.
Ecotrust Forest Management bought
the 5,000 forested acres known as
Onion Peak Holdings from Stimson
Lumber Co. in 2016. That same year,
the for-profi t subsidiary of Ecotrust
entered into an agreement with the
North Coast Land Conservancy to hold
3,500 acres of the property until the
nonprofi t could purchase the land.
The Arch Cape Water District is
pursuing the remaining 1,500 acres in
order to secure full ownership of Arch
Cape’s watershed and create a commu-
nity forest. A purchase could be fi nal-
ized by next summer.
North Coast Land Conservancy
Katie Voelke, the executive director of the North Coast Land Conservancy, leads a tour at the Rainforest Reserve property before
the nonprofi t purchased it. The reserve includes important habitat and is home to rare animals and plants.
The land conservancy has pushed
for the reserve for more than a decade
and it is certainly the most ambitious
project they have tackled, said Katie
Voelke, the executive director.
Besides the scale of the project,
there was the cost. After signing a pur-
chase and sales agreement in 2016, the
land conservancy launched a fi ve-year
eff ort and $10 million fundraising cam-
paign to acquire the acreage.
In 2021, the cost increased unex-
pectedly to $11.8 million. An appraisal
of the property, required ahead of pur-
chase, came back refl ecting a his-
toric high in lumber prices tied to sup-
ply-and-demand issues exacerbated by
the coronavirus pandemic.
It may be tempting to think of the
purchase as an ending, Voelke said.
But, she added, “really it’s the begin-
ning of the rest of the story.”
The land conservancy will need to
create a fi nal stewardship plan for the
reserve that spells out how the prop-
erty will be managed and what kind
of public access and recreation will be
allowed, among other details.
For now, public access at the Rain-
forest Reserve will not change, though
some areas will be closed because they
are dangerous or sensitive. People can
still walk into the reserve to hike or
hunt for deer and elk. Daytime access
only. No camping.
Not every property the organiza-
tion conserves is open to the public,
but Voelke is adamant that the reserve
needs to be one that is.
“It’s wild, it’s huge, it’s tall,” she
said of the reserve. “You’re in the
clouds. You’re above the rain. All this
incredible coastal wildness and it’s just
right there. You can get to it. You can
go for a day hike and have one of the
most incredibly rich experiences on the
coast, and we all need that.
“We need it for ourselves. For our
sanity.”
Up until the purchase documents
were signed on Tuesday, Voelke found
herself getting nervous when she was
out in the reserve.
“Because the more I’m out there,
Hood to Coast: ‘It’s become a much better event’
the more I know how irreplaceable
this particular place in the world is and
how terrible it would feel to fail at this
vision that we have,” she said.
Grants provided about $4 million for
the purchase of the land. The rest of the
funding came from numerous donors,
including people from all walks of life
and political backgrounds: People who
hiked around the property as kids or
who have hunted there all their lives. It
was a place they had been to and seen
and cared deeply about.
Years from now, Voelke hopes the
conservation of the Rainforest Reserve
will seem inevitable — maybe even a
little unremarkable, a natural course of
events.
“Like, of course this happened,” she
said.
Sunrise breaks on steep peaks in the
new Rainforest Reserve above Arch
Cape and Oswald West State Park.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Mandate: ‘The dynamics around
COVID are constantly changing’
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
event. In a typical year, the
relay earns almost $1 mil-
lion for the Providence Can-
cer Institute.
“We had another great
year,” Floyd said. “I do want
to acknowledge we need
to get better every year, to
make sure we remain wel-
coming visitors to the
community.”
The 198-mile relay from
Mount Hood to the Prom
brought thousands of people
to the coast.
Before the City Coun-
cil meeting, Hood to Coast
CEO Jude Hubber met with
city staff . Social media
was the No. 1 concern for
Montero.
“I paid a lot of attention to
what was going on on Face-
book,” she said. “And there
were some very awful peo-
ple saying very awful things.
And one of my policies is,
‘Don’t tell me something’s
happening if you didn’t see
it happen.’”
Montero
suggested
greater marketing eff orts
from Hood to Coast and
The park district pol-
icy comes with a stipula-
tion for booster vaccina-
tions as time progresses.
Prior notice of at least four
weeks will be given to
employees.
Since the start of the
pandemic, about 10 dis-
trict employees have tested
positive for the virus, six
or seven of those before
vaccines were available,
Archibald said. Three
employees tested positive
in 2021 and none since
August.
“The dynamics around
COVID are constantly
changing, but I feel confi -
dent that we’re doing our
part to keep the commu-
nity and our patrons safe,”
Archibald said.
R.J. Marx
People gather on the beach during Hood to Coast in August.
making it easier for the pub-
lic to register complaints
with race offi cials, possibly
via a Quick Response code
with a weblink to relay offi -
cials, or signage on vans.
“We’ll continue to have
open dialogue with every-
body here in this room, out-
side this room to make sure
that we continue to be wel-
come members and contrib-
uting members to this com-
munity,” Floyd said.
Next year is the last of the
fi ve-year Hood to Coast con-
tract with the city. In 2022,
the relay will pay more than
$30,000 to the city. The
event is scheduled for Aug.
26 and Aug. 27.
In 2015, City Councilor
Randy Frank moderated
a workshop where he and
local business owners com-
plained about rude behavior
by runners, arrogant organiz-
ers and vendors who tapped
into private power supplies.
“It’s become a much bet-
ter event,” Frank said. “And
not only here, but all the way
along the route, whether it’s
restrooms or volunteers. ...
It just gets smoother every
year, and it was great having
it in town.”
2022 Medicare ????’s
Art Fleming
503-421-5844
artinportland23@gmail.com
License #6257252