0

1 March 18 – 20, 2014 Federal Grants Program Review

2 Forest Legacy Purpose Carbon River Conservation Easement, Pierce County Protect environmentally significant forest areas threatened by conversion Maintain ecologic and economic contributions of working forests

3 Summary/Overview Program oversight by Forest Stewardship Committee and State Forester Implemented by Transactions Section Funded by federal administrative grants and state general fund appropriation Staff is 1 – 2 FTEs depending on funding level Federal dollars purchase development rights (“conservation easement”) or the entire property (“fee ownership”) 25% cost share by state and/or partners

4 Strategy Initial projects helped build the Mountains to Sound Greenway along I-90 After 2001, emphasis shifted to protecting large forest blocks Conversion threat and significance are keys to identifying successful projects: -In path of urban development -Risk of fragmentation (rural areas) -Protect habitats, species, water quality -Protect timber-related jobs, local economy -Support other federal, state, local initiatives

5 Performance Measures Early Years – I-90 Greenway

6 Skykomish River CE 2003

7 Mt St Helens CE 2010

8 Skykomish River Tahuya Mt St Helens Carbon River Yakima River Cedar Green Grouse Ridge Kimball Creek; Plum Creek (State & Fed) Raging River Mitchell Hill Forest Gateway Edge Issaquah Creek Lind (Fed) Forest Legacy Properties

9 Acres protected through fee or easement: 37,906 Acres of cost-share property: 4,112 Total 42,018 Conservation easements 11 Fee ownership 3 Total sites 14 Project grants received in 12 out of 16 years applied ( ) About $29 million spent on program and projects (± $700/acre) 20 years of Forest Legacy in Washington

10 Positive results: Recognized good management Successful even with limited staff and state budget issues Strong commitment to conserving working forest Leverages conservation dollars Regularly submits competitive projects Good quality appraisals, knowledgeable staff 2011 Program Review 2012 Quality Assurance Inspection

11 Improvements needed: IssueCorrective Action Consistently follow procedures when appraisal revisions needed. Revised internal appraisal procedure for CEs to be consistent with USFS guidelines. Conservation easement template requires additional language; tighter restrictions on reservations by grantor Revised template to add required language, added notes regarding allowable reservations. Complete documentation, file organization, clearer maps Organized all files, obtained missing documentation, improved internal checklist and project instructions, created new map templates 2011 Program Review 2012 Quality Assurance Inspection

12 March 18, Skykomish River Tahuya Mt St Helens Carbon River Yakima River Cedar Green Grouse Ridge Kimball Creek Raging River Mitchell Hill Forest Gateway Edge Issaquah Creek Lind (Fed); Rattlesnake Mtn. (State & Fed) Pysht Klickitat Canyon New Projects

13 What’s ahead: “Building Capacity” grant – program development for WA FLP through workshops involving federal, state, non-profit conservation partners Update to Forest Action Plan in 2015 will include update to Forest Legacy Assessment of Need On-going grant applications and grant management

14 Forest Legacy Program Forest Legacy website: Transactions/Pages/forest_legacy.aspx

15