How citizens saved the Loomis Forest

In 1999 the Loomis Forest Fund succeeded in doing what few thought possible. In just 12 months, a coalition of over 70 organizations and businesses marshalled by Conservation Northwest raised $16.5 million from private individuals and foundations. The donations protected 25,000 acres of the Loomis State Forest, much of it school trust land, in northeast Washington State. The money was paid into the school trust fund, protecting the forest from logging.

The Loomis Forest Fund stands today as a great success wrought by the imagination, forethought, and generosity of all who were part of it.

Protected status

Today, this largely roadless protected area is split into two parcels, both natural resources conservation areas:

• Loomis North adjoins the Pasayten Wilderness Area to the west and Canada to the north, and
• Loomis South contains the Upper Sinlahekin River drainage.

The conservation areas are today protected from roadbuilding and logging, and managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

A place for lynx

The Loomis, with mid-elevation, fire-adapted forests of lodgepole pine and higher elevation stands of spruce and fir, is particularly rich habitat for Canada lynx and for snowshoe hares, the main prey for lynx. It is estimated that 50 of the approximately 100 to 150 lynx remaining in Washington live in the Loomis Forest.

The Loomis transfer protected wilderness vital to the resurgence of the threatened lynx; simultaneously, it compensated the school trust to bolster education. Supporters of the Loomis Forest Fund gave a most generous gift to Washington State residents, children, and wildlife. All who helped make this a reality deserve many thanks.

A bit of campaign history

In 1998, the Loomis Forest Fund, a coalition effort spearheaded by Conservation Northwest (then Northwest Ecosystem Alliance) set out to raise $13.1 million in little more than a year to compensate the school trust for the fair market value of these lands. This opportunity came about as the result of a landmark agreement with the state of Washington, settling lawsuits over management of 25,000 mostly roadless acres in the Loomis State Forest.

Conservationists had a year, till July 1, 1999, to raise the funds to pay fair market value of the standing timber to the school trusts and protect the Loomis Forest.

In the summer of 1999 things were going well–and the Loomis Forest Fund had raised much of the money from 1,600 people in donations ranging from $1 to $1000–when, in the last few breathless weeks of the campaign, a second assessment of the timber value of the lands came back $3.4 million higher than the original assessment. In the nick of time, philanthropist Paul Allen contributed the entire amount extra amount, clenching the deal. That closing price then went directly into the school trust fund to benefit the schools.

On January 4, 2000, the Board of Natural Resources unanimously approved the final quitclaim deed to transfer ownership of the Loomis wildlands from school trust to natural resource conservation area status, where they are now managed to benefit all the people of Washington.