Saving Washington’s Working Forest Land Base

Saving Wash= ington’s Working <= st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Forest Land Base

Novem= ber 21-22, 2005

Alderbrook Resort & Spa (Union, Washington)

AGENDA

Objectives of= the Forum

3D"*" Develop a common understanding of the influe= nces on working forests, and financial options for their management

3D"*" Determine strategies for innovative manageme= nt of forests and for financing tools to achieve those strategies

Long-term Obj= ectives

3D"*" Collaborations that advance sustainable fore= stry

3D"*" Ideas interchange among opinion leaders, prompted by facts-based assessments and discussions

3D"*" Transference of useful information and analytical tools

3D"*" Collegial relationships between organizations that own and manage forests and the intellectual capital of the University of Washington, the UW College of Fore= st Resources, and other institutions

DAY ONE - Monday, November 21<= /u>

8:00 = 211; 8:30 Regis= tration

8:30 &#= 8211; 8:45 Kick-= off and Introductions

8:45 &#= 8211; 9:00 The F= orum to Date: Examining What We Agreed Upon in the November 2004 &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Forum and April 2005 Planning Meeting and Where It Has Led Us

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; (Forum Leader Brian Boyle, Northwest Environmental Forum;

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; Dean Bruce Bare, University of Washington College of Forest Resources)

9:00 – 9:30 Brief= ing: Relationship with Legislative Provisos of 2005 – Forestry Economic Growth (Craig Partridge, Washington State Departm= ent of Natural Resources)

· How the College and DNR will address the deliverables over time (2006-07)

· Stakeholder involvement and the role of the Forum

Discussants: Senators Ken = Jacobsen and Mark Doumit, Washington State S= enate; Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland, Washington State Department of Natural Resources

9:30 &#= 8211; 9:50 Discu= ssion and Ideas for future Forum involvement

9:50 &= nbsp; Break

SESSIONS<= /p>

10:00 – 10:45 SESSION ONE: Ownership Trends, Global and Regional Responses, and the Fundamentals of a Future Viable Forest Industry. What do we know about large owners= hip changes happening to forest land, and what are the implications to ownership interests, to forest industry viability, and to the State?

(Moderator= : Gene Duvernoy, Cascade Land Conservancy)

· Are all forest lands created equal?

· What do we want Washington’s forest industry to = look like?

· Wood processing and its criticality to owner= s

Discussants: Ara Erickson,= University of Washington Rural Technol= ogy Initiative; Jim Rinehart, R&= ;A Investment Forestry; Court Stanley, Port Blakely Tree Farms; Nina Carter, Audubon Washington; and Kevin Godbout, = Weyerhaeuser Company

Ideas to Discuss: L= and types and who is buying and why, eco-function, landowner responses, public reactions, and what we do about it.

10:45 = – 11:45 Discussion: What can the Foru= m do within the market?

11:45<= /st1:time> &= nbsp; Lunch

12:30 – 1:15 SESSION TWO: Capi= tal – Incentives, Disincentives, and Choices: Where are the financial too= ls?

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; (Moderator: John Rose, Seattle-Northwest Securi= ties Corporation)

· New market tax credits

· Non-profit bonding status

· Equity investments and public capital

· Partnerships (government, industry, NGOs, tr= ibes)

· Endowments and social investing

· Taxes, state and federal, and their implicat= ion for investment

&n= bsp;

Discussants: Bill Ginn, The Nature Conservancy; Roger Hoes= terey, The Trust for Public Land; Bettina von Hagen, Ecotrust; and Colin Moseley, Green Diamond Resource Company.

1:15 – 2:15 = ; Discussion

1) Are investor goals compatible with sustainable forestry?

2) What can the Forum recommend to find suitable sources of capital?

2:15 &= nbsp; Break

2:30 – 3:15 SESSI= ON THREE: Forest Regulation Landscape ̵= 1; What it is and how it affects different people

(Moderator: John Calhoun, = UW Center for Sustainable Forestry at = Pack Forest)

1) Eastern Washington, Western Washington, and rece= nt and planned DNR innovations

2) Has the regulation environment reduced the sale value of ecosystem services?

&nb= sp;

Discussants: Pat McElroy, = Washington State Department of Natural= Resources; Peter Goldman, Washington Forest Law Center; Maurice Williamson, Wil= liamson Consulting; and Randy Joh= nson, Green Crow Management Service.

3:15 – 4:15 = ; Discussion

1) Are there innovative ideas we can address for regulations to get to desired outcomes?

2) Is there a role for the Forum?

4:15 &= nbsp; Break

&n= bsp;

4:30 &#= 8211; 5:15 SESSI= ON FOUR: Acquisitions or Ecosystem Services payments – What are the choi= ces and who can gain?

&= nbsp; (Moderator: David Weekes, The Nature Conservanc= y)

A. Conservation Easements and Fee Purchases

B. Tweaking the opportunities for landowners to stay in forestry, with eco-credits and regulatory streamlining, or

C. Keeping what we have: who can gain from non-market products

· What are examples of market or quasi-market transactions in ecosystem services?

· Carbon Credits, Cap and Trade – What w= ould it take for State standards?

· Biodiversity Market Creation – Is ther= e a model available?

· Water – Can we price water values from forests and gain value from management?

· Fire and Sprawl Avoidance – What ecosy= stem values can we gain by reducing risks?

Discussants: Michelle Conn= or, Cascade Lands Conservancy; Peter Dykstra, The Trust for Public Land<= /i>; Michelle Passero, The Pacific Forest Trust; Alicia Robbins, Universi= ty of Washington Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest; and Steve Stinson, Family Forest Foundation.<= o:p>

5:15 – 6:15 = ;      Discussion

1)      Can we create an eco-services market in Washington and where would we begin?

2)      Rationalizing regulations as the baseline in an ecosystem services market

6:15        &= nbsp;        Summary of the day and focus of Day 2 workshops

6:30        &= nbsp;        Reception

7:00         &= nbsp;       Dinner and continued discussions

=

DAY TWO - Tuesday, November 22nd

8:30        &= nbsp;        Convene and explain the day

8:45 &#= 8211; 9:45       WORKS= HOP ONE: Determine agenda priorities

1)      Legislative proviso – Feedback and the Forum in 2006-07

2)      Ownership trends and implications – What can the Forum do within the market= ?

3)      Capital – Which investor goals are compatible with sustainable forestry and c= an the Forum recommend suitable sources of capital?

4)      Regulations – Are there innovative ideas that get to desired outcomes, or better = models we can propose to study?

5)      Ecosystem services – Can we create an ecosystem services market in Washington and w= here would we begin (e.g., legislative actions or research proposals)? Are regulations the baseline in an ecosystem services market?

9:45 &#= 8211; 10:00     Workshop leaders prepare reports for discussion

10:00 &= #8211; 11:30   Reports, refining proposals, = and determining priorities

11:30<= /st1:time>        &= nbsp;      Working Lunch

12:00 – 1:30     WORKSHOP TWO: Def= ining proposals for priority actions and writing final recommendations

1:30 &= #8211; 1:45       Works= hop leaders prepare reports for discussion

1:45 &= #8211; 3:00       Works= hop group summaries, Wrap up

3:00        &= nbsp;        Adjourn