Our Role

At The Conservation Fund, we recognize that financial sophistication and innovative collaboration are required to solve 21st century challenges, especially urgent ones such as climate change. When SDS — a driving force and major employer in the Columbia River Gorge — announced its intent to sell over 96,000 acres of working forestland along with its mill and timberland business, we saw our opportunity to secure this large landscape. But the task before us was not without challenges.

These 96,000 acres form a critical natural connection between national forests, wild and scenic rivers, and numerous conserved and public lands. However, the potential for a real estate developer or commercial timber liquidator to threaten these lands with conversion and aggressive harvesting was high. To prevent that outcome, we brought together a unique consortium of for-profit businesses to design and offer a competitive purchase solution for the land that would balance conservation with economic sustainability.

In November 2021, after a year of hard work,  Twin Creeks Timber LLC acquired 61,000 acres of timberland to be managed by Green Diamond Management Company, while Wilkins, Kaiser & Olsen Inc., a local company that operates two sawmills in the region, purchased SDS’s lumber and plywood mills for continued operation.

But how did conservation play a role? TCF, through its affiliate Lupine Forest LLC, acquired over 35,500 acres of sensitive forestland using funding derived in part from our green bonds. This purchase provided time for our Working Forests program to fundraise and develop and implement a range of permanent conservation strategies with public agencies and the Columbia Land Trust that seek to secure public recreational access and ensure sustainable forest management.

In addition, we are committed to working with Green Diamond to secure conservation easements that will ensure the lands it manages are protected from development and can continue to provide valuable wood products, jobs and environmental benefits across this important landscape for years to come.

Why This Project Matters

Columbia Gorge Forest will be one of the largest conservation victories in the Pacific Northwest. It took a mission-driven, business-savvy nonprofit such as The Conservation Fund, along with willing partners, to make this dream a reality.

This Douglas fir and ponderosa pine forest is at the heart of local timber economies. Continued sustainable management of this landscape supports hundreds of forest-related rural jobs and will ensure these forests, oak woodlands and river habitats will be maintained for an array of wildlife, including rare, threatened and endangered species such as the northern spotted owl, Oregon spotted frog, western gray squirrel, fisher, salmon, steelhead and golden eagle. In addition, these habitats support the municipal drinking water supplies for The Dalles, Oregon, and White Salmon, Washington.

These lands also hold cultural and natural importance to Native American communities. People of the Yakama Nation have lived in this area — from the lowlands around the Columbia River to the snow-peaked Cascade Mountains — for thousands of years. We recognize them as exceptional stewards of natural resources and leaders in watershed restoration.

This beloved landscape, with its four rivers — the Klickitat, White Salmon, Little White Salmon and Hood — is a premier, world-class destination for white-water kayakers and rafters. Large waterfalls and powerful rapids challenge expert boaters, while other scenic sections are ideal for beginners. Our efforts will help secure over 34 miles of river frontage, including 4.5 miles of frontage along the White Salmon Wild and Scenic River. The region also offers multiple locations for mountain biking, hiking, hunting and fishing.

Situated in an ecological transition zone between the western and eastern Cascade Mountains, this region has greater ecological diversity than anywhere else along the lower Columbia River. Since these working forestlands offer connections from the Columbia steppe habitat to the high-elevation mixed conifer forests of nearby national forests, their conservation will be key to managing the landscape for climate resilience and species migration. Scientists estimate that more than 8.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent are stored in the forests — comparable to the emissions from 1.8 million passenger vehicles over the course of a year.

We Need Your Help

The Conservation Fund is actively raising funds to implement permanent conservation solutions for these lands. For more information about how you can support our ongoing efforts to conserve Columbia Gorge Forest, please contact Samaria Jaffe.