COLUMBIA LAND TRUST

Description

At Columbia Land Trust, what we do is simple: We conserve and care for the heart of the Northwest, the places that make this an incredible region to live, work, raise a family, and grow old in. Wetlands and oak woodlands. Columbia River tributaries and Columbia River shores. Forests both wild and working. Natural areas in urban strongholds and wide-open spaces that anchor rural communities.

Our lands have high conservation value, whether as working landscapes or as habitat for plants and wildlife. We work respectfully with willing landowners to either buy land or to help them place a conservation easement on their property. This legal tool permanently limits development or other uses on a piece of land, to ensure that, say, a family farm does not become a site for houses. Our stewardship team then builds long-term management plans for each place, based on the best available science, to ensure the land we own is as healthy as it can be.

Our positive, relationship-based approach has helped us become one of the most respected land trusts in the country. To date, we’ve conserved more than 56,000 acres and have thousands of supporters. The region we serve spans two states (Oregon and Washington) and follows the lower Columbia River for 230 miles, in an area stretching from The Dalles to the Pacific Ocean though several diverse ecoregions.