Deadline: 3-May-22
The Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) is pleased to announce its Forestland Preservation: Wildlife and Recreation Program to provide funding to lease or buy voluntary land preservation agreements (also called conservation easements) for forests to ensure they remain available for timber production in the future.
The land must be devoted primarily to timber production and be enrolled in a county’s open space or forestland property tax program.
- Open Space Property Tax Program designates timberlands for the production of forest crops to assure the use and enjoyment of natural resources and scenic beauty for the economic and social well-being of the state and its citizens.
- Forestland Property Tax Program designates lands to enhance water supply; minimize soil erosion and storm and flood damage to people or property; provide habitat for the wild game; provide scenic and recreational spaces; contribute to the natural ecological equilibrium; contribute to employment and profits, and contribute raw materials for products needed by everyone.
Typical Projects
- Buying a conservation easement or lease for a forest threatened with development
- In conjunction with a conservation easement or lease, restoring stream corridors to support clean water and fish habitat
Funding Information
- Funding comes from the sale of state bonds and is estimated to be $575,000 every 2 years.
- Grant Limits: Grant applicants may request any amount up to $500,000.
Eligible Projects
- Land acquisition through easements or leases (required for all projects). Public access is not required.
- Habitat enhancement or restoration, in conjunction with land acquisition. These activities, such as installing fences or bridges, replanting riverbanks, and replacing culverts, must further the ecological functions of the forestland.
- Combination of land acquisition and either restoration or enhancement
Note: Projects must include correcting all fish passage barriers on property owned by a private, small forest landowner not otherwise required by the Forest Practices Act. Grant recipients also are required to do a baseline inventory of the condition of the property.
Eligibility Criteria
- Cities
- Counties
- Nonprofit nature conservancies
- State Conservation Commission
- The following types of forests are eligible: industrial, private, community, tribal, and publicly owned forests.
Ineligible Projects
- Acquisition of rights for a term of less than perpetuity, of land already owned by the grant applicant or sponsor, of properties acquired via a condemnation, and of land to satisfy a Habitat Conservation Plan under the Endangered Species Act
- Consumable supplies such as fuel, fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, except as a one-time application if they are part of an otherwise eligible acquisition or restoration activities
- Elements that cannot be defined as fixtures or capital items
- Environmental cleanup of illegal activities, such as meth labs
- Indoor facilities
- Purchase of maintenance equipment, tools, or supplies
- Restoration work is done before a grant agreement is signed
- Restoration work is required under the Forest Practices Act or another regulatory mitigation requirement, except as described under the Fish Passage Barriers section
- Routine operation and maintenance costs
- Transfer of development rights
- Utility payments such as monthly water or electric bills
For more information, visit RCO.
For more information, visit https://rco.wa.gov/grant/washington-wildlife-and-recreation-program-forestland-preservation/