The Pacific Crest Trail is one of America’s “triple crown” long-distance trails, along with the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. Stretching an astounding 2,650 miles from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, the trail — which traverses California, Oregon and Washington, and the Sierra and Cascade mountain ranges along the way — is nothing short of majestic.

While a vast majority of the trail is located on public land or protected on private property through a conservation easement, about 10% of the trail remains vulnerable to development, clear-cutting and barriers to public access. One such area is Stevens Pass, which draws hikers, horseback riders, backcountry skiers and bird-watchers from the greater Seattle area and serves as a gateway to some of the most spectacular wilderness in the North Cascades.

In 2015, the owner of a 402-acre property at Stevens Pass that contains three quarters of a mile of the Pacific Crest Trail expressed interest in closing off public access to the trail and selling the property to a developer. The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA), the nonprofit organization that maintains and protects the trail, and the U.S. Forest Service, which administers the trail, worked with the landowner to purchase the property. But, in 2017, the federal funding secured for the purchase was diverted to help pay the cost of fighting wildfires, leaving the deal in jeopardy of falling through.

Our Role

With the landowner’s funding deadline looming, PCTA turned to TCF’s Conservation Loans program, which provided $1.2 million in bridge financing. Combined with funds raised from Pacific Crest Trail supporters, PCTA was able to purchase the property at the last minute. The property will remain under PCTA ownership until additional federal funding can be secured to enable its transfer to the U.S. Forest Service.

Why This Project Matters

The Stevens Pass region along U.S. Route 2 in Washington connects wilderness areas on existing public lands and provides an important north-south connection for many local wildlife species, including grizzly bears, Canada lynx, wolverines and American martens.

The property contains nearly one mile of Nason Creek, a tributary of the Wenatchee River that supports runs of species protected under the Endangered Species Act, including Upper Columbia steelhead, Upper Columbia spring Chinook and bull trout. Safeguarding this stretch of Nason Creek also benefits important salmon habitat restoration efforts occurring downstream.

The Pacific Crest Trail gains in popularity year after year, which helps strengthen the country’s $887-billion outdoor recreation economy. In Washington alone, the outdoor recreation economy generates more than $26 billion in consumer spending, $7.6 billion in wages and salaries, $2.3 billion in state and local tax revenue, and more than 200,000 direct jobs.