1. Ocean/Envir 260 The Cascade Agenda (and related issues) Lecture #20:

2. Cascade Agenda Led by Cascade Land Conservancy Initiated in 2005
Preceded by “Cascade Dialogues”
3,500 citizens, experts, leaders
Supported 100-year vision, starting NOW
The Cascade Agenda focuses on Snohomish, King, Pierce, and Kittitas counties

3. Goal Minimizing footprint of doubling current population
Urban and rural
sprawl
Loss of “working
lands”
Isolation of
protected lands
Images of central Puget Sound in 2100, with population growth allowed to sprawl (top) or contained largely within existing urban growth boundaries (bottom)

4. Key Components Conservation of additional 1.26 million acres
Foothill forests, farmland, riparian/floodplain, parks, natural heritage
Vibrant cities
Dialog over rural growth
Market-based funding mechanisms

5. Conservation: forests
Build on 2.3M acres already protected
Conserve 93% designated “working forest”
777,000 acres
Additional 5% permanent preserve
48,000 acres
Focus on foothills: most productive, at-risk
Private forest lands across 4-county area. Deeper orange are easiest opportunities—large parcels and/or adjacent to public land.. Yellow are at most risk of conversion.

6. Conservation: natural heritage, farmland
Conserve 85% of designated farmland
106K acres west-side
Strengthen farm economy
Wildlife corridors, major habitat types
140,000 acres
CLC role: acquisition
Currently designated farmland across 4-county area; 2/3 is in Kittitas

7. Vibrant cities Key to success: CLC roles:
90%+ new residents want to live in cities
CLC roles:
Support good design, planning
Expand, improve parks
30K acres, urban
83K acres, “destination”
Stewardship
Green Cities Partnership
Excerpt from 2008 progress report, Cascade Agenda

8. Rural Dialogs Recognizes rural sprawl as key issue
Fragmentation
Water withdrawals
Downstream impacts
Flows, water quality
Biological health
Challenge: conflict between solutions and “rural character”?
EPA graphic used by Cascade Land Conservancy, illustrating reduced stormwater runoff from more compact development

9. Conservation villages
Current Regulation:
Traditional Rural Development
213 residential lots
0 acres conserved
Current Regulation:
Cluster Development
306 residential lots
750 acres conserved
New Strategy:
Conservation Villages
200 residential lots
1,965 acres conserved

10. Political Challenges for Rural Priorities
Widespread rural view:
“Urban residents trashed their own, now they want to ‘save’ nature by restricting my rights”
Rural Republicans vs.
urban Democrats
Cultural individualism
Compensation sought for property restrictions
Political protesters against King County ordinance to preserve rural forest cover

11. Political Challenges for Rural Priorities
Rural disenfranchisement
Rooted in facts:
Counties govern land use in unincorporated (rural) areas
Fewer rural voters than urban across whole counties
=> Officials elected by urban voters govern rural land use
Rural secession efforts post- GMA, failed in courts
Distrust continues
Petition to create “Freedom County,” seceding rural areas from Snohomish County, mid-1990s

12. Market-based tools Examples: Transfer of development rights
No/little development allowed on “sending property”
More development allowed on “receiving property”
Goal: private market
Community forest bonds
Tax-exempt if harvest meets high stewardship standards
Payments for ecological services
Snoqualmie Valley, with King County TDR purchase (above); likely future without (below)

13. Economics of land conversion
Land can be used for multiple purposes
Low-density development allowed in forest, ag zones
Conflicts with resource use, ecological values
Relative values determine actual use
Higher costs, lower revenues for farming or forestry => residential development becomes more attractive
“Rural estates” have become their own real estate category; listings from 11/19/10

14. Critique Focused on ecologically least important part of region
Need for new funding, which addresses “negative externalities”
Many issues beside land conservation to address
“Fair” = “…build on existing legal framework”?

15. CLC response Reaching out across region “Big tent” philosophy
Olympic Agenda
Partnership with other efforts
Skagit, Whatcom, etc.
“Big tent” philosophy
Keep coalition, strong funding
Avoid controversial tax,
regulatory proposals
Focus on what do best
Land conservation, market approaches

16. Recap: Cascade Agenda 100-year vision, but urgent timeline
Goal: conserve 1.3 million acres
Vibrant cities, rural dialog
Market-based, non-regulatory approach
Different roles for urban, rural areas in SHARED vision for landscape