VANCOUVER — A Vancouver-based conservation group says a new deal will prevent development on nearly 3,100 acres of private forestland south of Mount St. Helens.
Columbia Land Trust announced this week that it bought development rights on the timberland, which is owned by Pope Resources, a timber company based in Poulsbo, Washington.
The group said the purchase protects critical riverside habitat and ensures that forestry will continue on much of the land.
It is part of a larger project to protect from development more than 20,000 acres of land near Swift Reservoir on the Lewis River. The land is west of Pine Creek in Skamania County.
Washington Wildlife &Recreation Program provided nearly $1.3 million in state grant money for the conservation easement.
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