Washington’s Loomis State Forest has 25,000 roadless
acres, and environmentalists say they’ll spend millions to preserve
it. In just a few months, the Loomis Forest Fund raised $3 million,
but contributors say they need $10.1 million more to compensate the
state for the cash it could make by logging. The forest, which
borders Canada, is part of an endowment of state lands where
logging revenue is used to build new public schools (HCN, 6/22/98).
“This is a good deal for everybody,” says Fred
Munson, director of the Loomis Forest Fund. “The money will go
directly to the school trust, and no money will be wasted on road
building and timber production.”
The forest is
home to the healthiest lynx population in the lower 48 and also
serves as a critical habitat corridor for Canadian wildlife. Yet if
the land is purchased, locals will still be able to hunt, fish and
hike in the Loomis.
“This forest has a huge
potential for recreation,” says Bill Pope, a lifelong Washington
resident and former Microsoft lawyer, who has given more than
$300,000 to preserve the forest. “It’s not going to be easy and
it’s certainly not in the bag,” says Pope, “but we have our fingers
crossed.” Washington conservationists face a tight deadline: July
1.
For more information, contact the Loomis
Forest Fund at 600 First Ave., Suite 416, Seattle, WA 98104
(206/264-0477) or email fmunson@ecosystem.org.
*Rebecca Clarren
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Tree lovers are willing to pay.
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