L A N D P R OT E CT I O N P L A N O F T H E B L U E M O U N T A I N L A N D T R U S T

CONSERVATION 2020/2024

PA RT 1 : CO N S E RVAT I O N E A S E M E N T S

CONTENTS

1 Introduction

The Region We Serve

Conservation Protection

The Five Imperatives

Conservation Goals

Public Participation & Outreach

Natural Resource Inventory

Conclusion

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

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INTRODUCTIONThe Blue Mountain Land Trust (BMLT) preserves the farm and ranch lands, fish and wildlife habitat, and open space of the Blue Mountain region in eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. To protect these lands, we engage in conservation activities guided by successive five-year plans that identify important conservation resources and critical landscapes.

This report is the first part of the most ambitious conservation plan in our land trust’s history. It focuses on BMLT’s five conservation imperatives and the resulting potential conservation easement sites throughout the Blue Mountain region. As you’ll see, the opportunities for land conservation easements are abundant. We hope you’ll enjoy learning about them.

The plan’s forthcoming second part will explore other conservation actions we might employ to protect the Blue Mountain region’s natural resources and communities. Conservation beyond easements. Regenerative agriculture could be one of those activities. Improving food system management by reducing food waste could be another. Climate mitigation will also become a major focus of our work.

The balance of this year will be dedicated to developing the second element of this plan. Implementing its guidance will be challenging and immensely rewarding. We hope you’ll join us in this adventure.

Amanda Martino, Conservation DirectorJohn Day, Oregon

Tim Copeland, Executive DirectorWalla Walla, Washington

May 2020

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Figure 1. BMLT’s service area. Orange depicts the South Region, and blue the North Region.3

UMATILLA

UNION

WALLA WALLA

COLUMBIA

GARFIELD

BAKERGRANT

MORROW

WHEELER

GILLIAM

ASOTIN

BLUE MOUNTAIN LAND TRUST’S SERVICE AREAThe Blue Mountain Land Trust’s service area is vast – comprised of most of the Blue Mountain ecoregion in Washington and Oregon. The North Region, shown in blue, encompasses Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin counties in southeastern Washington, and Umatilla, Union, and Morrow in eastern Oregon. The South Region, shown in orange, is comprised of Grant, Wheeler, Gilliam, and Baker counties. The region is defined by the forested Blue Mountains, which traverse all eleven counties.

Table 1. Service area counties by the numbers. Sources: Oregon by the Numbers, OSU Extension and Ford Family Foundation, 2018. United States Census Bureau.

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County Square Miles Acres % Public Land

% Private Land Acres Private Population

OregonBaker 3,088 1,976,320 52% 48% 948,634 16,030Gilliam 1,223 782,720 8% 92% 720,102 1,913Grant 4,529 2,898,560 62% 38% 1,101,453 7,227Morrow 2,049 1,311,360 17% 83% 1,088,429 11,207Umatilla 3,231 2,067,840 27% 73% 1,509,523 76,582Union 2,039 1,304,960 49% 51% 665,530 25,578Wheeler 1,715 1,097,600 29% 71% 779,296 1,369Subtotal 17,874 11,439,360 40% 60% 6,812,967 139,906WashingtonAsotin 641 407,949 30% 70% 285,236 22,610Columbia 874 558,684 32% 68% 377,613 4,059Garfield 718 459,140 25% 75% 345,267 2,247Walla Walla 1,299 828,580 5% 95% 790,982 60,922Subtotal 3,523 2,254,353 20% 80% 1,799,098 89,838Total 21,406 13,693,713 37% 63% 8,612,065 229,144

Primary water bodies include the:

• Snake River. This river forms the northern, eastern, and western boundaries of the Washington counties, with the confluence of the Snake River and the Columbia at Pasco, Washington.

• Walla Walla River. The Walla Walla’s headwaters are on the western flank of the Blue Mountains and flow west to the Columbia River. The Touchet River is a major tributary of the Walla Walla.

• Grand Ronde River. A major tributary of the Snake River, the Grande Ronde flows north and includes numerous tributary streams that flow from the eastern flank of the Blue Mountains.

• John Day River. The John Day is the third-longest undammed river in the western United States, which flows to the Columbia and bisects much of eastern Oregon.

Snowmelt from the Blue Mountains feeds the streams and rivers in the region. Native vegetation is grassland, shrub-steppe, ponderosa pine forests, and mixed conifer forests.

Agriculture has been developed over much of the private land in lower elevations for over a century. Intensive irrigated cropland in the Walla Walla River Valley makes it one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. Most of eastern Oregon is utilized for cattle ranching and grazing.

Middle photo by Marshall HediBottom photo by John Clements5

CONSERVATION PROJECTS: COMPLETED & IN-PROCESS

During its first 20 years of operation, BMLT protected 6,500 acres of land through fourteen conservation easements. Its conserved lands include wetland and riparian areas, farms and ranch land, and fish and wildlife habitat.

The Land Trust is currently working on six conservation easement projects across its service area that will conserve an additional 16,600 acres of farmland, ranch land, and fish and wildlife habitat.

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UMATILLA

UNION

WALLA WALLA

COLUMBIA GARFIELD

BAKER

GRANT

MORROW

WHEELER

GILLIAM

ASOTIN

COMPLETED EASEMENT

IN-PROCESS EASEMENT

THE FIVE IMPERATIVESWhen developing the Land Trust’s conservation priorities for the next five years, Land Trust staff were inspired by the poignant words of Young Chief, a Cayuse Chief:

“I wonder if the ground has anything to say? I wonder if the ground is listening to what is said? I wonder if the ground would come alive and what is on it? Though I hear what the ground says. The ground says, it is the great spirit that placed me here. The great spirit tells me to take care of the Indians, to feed them alright. The great spirit appointed the roots to feed the Indians on. The water says the same thing. The great spirit directs me, feed the Indians well. The ground, water and grass say, the great spirit has given us our names. We have these names and hold these names. The ground says, the great spirit has placed me here to produce all that grows on me, trees and fruit. The same way the ground says, it was from me man was made. The great spirit, in placing men on the earth, desired them to take good care of the ground and to do each other no harm...”

Young Chief 1855 Treaty Council

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) has organized its natural resource management through a focus on the link between the natural environment and people. Their emphasis on traditionally gathered “First Foods,” including water, fish, big game, roots, and berries, helps determine the Tribe’s management and restoration practices. We were struck by the connection CTUIR makes between the active ecological processes on the landscape and the sustainment of First Foods and CTUIR’s culture and heritage.

In similar thinking, we considered those aspects of our natural environment that, with preservation and enhancement, would connect and sustain our human, plant, and animal communities in the Blue Mountain ecoregion. As a result, we homed in on the protection of five critical resources to guide our future conservation work: climate, soil, food, water, and species. We call these resources “The Five Imperatives.” Each imperative is critical for the future of the Blue Mountain region’s human, animal, and plant inhabitants. BMLT will pursue projects that achieve results within one or more of these imperatives.

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CLIMATEAll landscapes store carbon, above-ground in living and dead plant material, and below-ground in soil and root systems. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants during photosynthesis and stored as biomass. Carbon dioxide is later released into the atmosphere during plant decomposition or disturbance events such as fire. Table 2 provides a summary of the amount of carbon stored, on a global average, in various biomes (an area of the planet that can be classified according to the plants and animals that live in it.) Biomes present within BMLT’s service area are highlighted in blue.

The amount of carbon stored in terrestrial systems (a land-based community of organisms and the interactions of living and non-living components in a given area) varies greatly based on land use and site-specific characteristics. By preventing conversion of natural landscapes to uses that store less carbon, such as conversion of forests to development, and by managing land in a way that maximizes carbon storage, atmospheric carbon dioxide can be sequestered, contributing to the mitigation of global climate change.

Table 2. Average amount of carbon stored, per ton acre, within each global biome. Source: Adapted from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “Table 1: Global carbon stocks in vegetation and carbon pools down to a depth of 1 m [meter],” Summary for Policymakers: Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry. A Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, at http://www.ipcc.ch/pub/srlulucf-e.pdf, p. 4.

Photo by Kim Fetrow8

Global Average Carbon Stocks for Various Biomes(in tons per acre)

Biome Plants Soil TotalTropical forests 54 55 109Temperate forests 25 43 68Boreal forests 29 153 182Tundra 3 57 60Croplands 1 36 37Tropical savannas 13 52 65Temperate grasslands 3 105 108Desert/semidesert 1 19 20Wetlands 19 287 306Weighted Average 14 59 73

SOILSoil is one of the most important elements for plant and animal survival on our planet. This thin layer of biologic and geologic material on the earth’s surface provides plants with essential minerals and nutrients for growth. Healthy soils provide air for gaseous exchange between roots and the atmosphere, protect plants from erosion, and store water for plant uptake. Soil can also help regulate the earth’s temperature by sequestering carbon, potentially reducing the effects of climate change.

However, human activity has resulted in large volumes of soil loss through development and erosion. Once prime agricultural land is lost to development, the strain on less productive farmland increases. In turn, this strain can lead to additional use of chemical soil additives to maintain or increase productivity. These unhealthy soils store less moisture and carbon, erode more easily, and provide fewer nutrients for plant growth.

Conservation easements can sequester carbon on protected properties through well-developed management plans. Management of cropland and grazing land for optimal soil health maximizes the potential of these lands to sequester carbon, which may also result in greater yields and profits for operators. Management of working forests to maintain mature, well-stocked stands of timber directly sequesters carbon into standing trees.

The Land Trust is exploring working with carbon consultants to generate carbon offset credits on protected land. For conservation easements, this needs to be done in partnership with the landowner. Carbon credits from protected land could be sold on regulatory or voluntary markets to generate a stream of income. In some cases, this income stream may provide a funding source to purchase a conservation easement or implement management changes on the property.

FOODFood production is an important byproduct of healthy soils. By preserving our region’s farms and ranches through conservation easements, BMLT can protect land that contributes to our local, regional, and national food systems. Preservation of farm and ranch land through conservation easements can also offset rising land costs by reducing the land value, helping future generations of farmers afford land that may otherwise be unattainable.

By permanently preserving land with high-quality soils using conservation easements, we can protect land critical for food production and plant and animal habitat.

Working lands conservation easements require management plans to ensure that management practices comply with conservation easement provisions. Through management plan development, BMLT can work with landowners to maintain or improve existing farming and ranching practices that enhance soil health.

WATERWater is critical to all aspects of our life. Throughout the western United States, and the rest of the world, water is rapidly becoming a scarce resource. Source water, or surface water (e.g., streams, rivers, and lakes) and groundwater aquifers can serve as sources of drinking water. Source water provides water for human consumption, fish and wildlife, plant life, livestock, and agricultural use.

As our climate changes, the effects on source water in the Pacific Northwest will increase, adversely affecting human, plant, and animal communities. Changes in climate may result in reduced snow pack and increased rainfall, increased and more variable stream-flow in winter, decreased stream-flow in late spring and summer, higher water temperatures that decrease suitable habitat for fish and other aquatic species, and increased algal blooms. Water availability for plants will change vegetation cover patterns and plant species distributions. These changes, along with increases in human population, will challenge our abilities to balance irrigation, hydro-power, and municipal needs.

Through the use of conservation easements, BMLT can preserve and enhance the quantity and quality of water resources and conduits. Conservation easements can prevent the development of water resources and the fragmentation of their ownership, and protect important water sources for human consumption, fish and wildlife habitat, and agricultural use.

Easements can include special riparian area protections to preserve riparian vegetation, management of grazing in riparian areas, and the development of additional water resources.

BMLT currently works with the CTUIR and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (CTWSRO) to place conservation easements on properties undergoing riparian restoration with plans to preserve important water resources.

SPECIESThe Blue Mountains are home to a wide variety of plant and animal life. Preserving and enhancing critical species of plants, animals, and microbes is a key goal of BMLT’s conservation of land and water.

Threats to the region’s rare, threatened, endangered, and important species include loss of habitat, migratory corridors, and nesting, breeding and spawning grounds; loss of food sources; competition for space, food, and resources from invasive species; and changes in suitable habitat due to climate change.

Conservation easements can protect important habitat areas from development, conversion to other uses, or activities that would cause harm to species. Protecting large swaths of land can create wildlife corridors or areas of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures. These corridors are important for species migration and distribution.

BMLT can also work with partners to acquire easements that facilitate or enable restoration of habitat areas. Management plans for conservation easements can require land management practices that benefit key species and habitats.

CONSERVATION GOALS

Utilizing available data, BMLT can select and develop conservation easement projects that achieve preservation or improvement of one or more of the five conservation imperatives, such as preserving farms with prime soils for food production, protecting critical fish and wildlife habitat, protecting source water, and increasing their ability to sequester carbon.

BMLT contracted with FloAnalytics to utilize the inventory data collected in 2019 to develop a parcel-level analysis tool. BMLT staff will use this tool to obtain specific property attribute data for potential projects. BMLT will complete the parcel-level analysis by the second quarter of 2020.

GOAL 1: Complete the development of a parcel level analysis database to aid BMLT staff in project development and selection.

GOAL 2: Increase land conservation throughout our service area that achieves results in one or more of BMLT’s five conservation imperatives.

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BMLT works with willing landowners to permanently protect their private property. Continued education of our communities, including landowners, community members, and natural resource professionals, is critical to expanding the knowledge of and support for conservation projects in our service area.

GOAL 3: Continue organizational education about conservation work in addition to easements. BMLT staff and board have been learning about soil health and regenerative agriculture practices since the beginning of 2019 through conferences, courses, and partner organizations. BMLT will continue this education and build relationships with leaders in these fields to expand our conservation work beyond conservation easements.

GOAL 4: Continue community education about conservation projects.

Top photo: Kim FetrowBottom photo: Bill Rodgers 14

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION & OUTREACHFocused outreach helped inform BMLT about its conservation priorities. The goals of the outreach were to: (1) inform the community about BMLT’s past and future work; (2) define the main conservation values of the region; (3) learn about conservation priorities of the region; and (4) engage a broad community of diverse voices in BMLT’s conservation planning.

BMLT engaged the community by developing a survey that asked for input about BMLT’s conservation goals, priorities, and plans for the future. The survey was comprised of 12 questions, detailed in Appendix A. The survey was sent out on January 17, 2020, and closed February 7, 2020. It was distributed through direct email, newspapers, BMLT website, and emailed to 1,200 constituents. A total of 205 surveys were completed.

RESULTSThe survey results revealed several key findings:

• Respondents support BMLT’s protection of large natural areas, wetlands, streams and rivers, wildlife habitat, wildlife corridors, and working farms and ranches.

• The top three actions the respondents thought BMLT should undertake are: (1) Protection of wildlife habitat/natural areas. (2) Protection of water sources. (3) Restoration/improvement of natural habitats and ecosystems.

• Climate change was identified as the greatest threat to the Blue Mountains, followed closely by loss of wildlife habitat and development of open space.

• The top two strategies respondents believe BMLT should focus its resources on are: (1) Helping private landowners establish conservation easements on their land. (2) Educating community members, partners and stakeholders about land and natural resource conservation.

Bottom photo by Bill Rodgers 16

NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORYIn 2019, BMLT worked with FloAnalytics to develop maps of areas of high conservation value. BMLT’s five focus areas of food, climate, species, water, and soil guided the development of maps identifying areas where land protection can advance one or more conservation goals. These resource concerns were chosen based on (1) their environmental significance, (2) their relationship to the purposes of available conservation funding, and (3) their potential to motivate investment in land protection within the region.

No effort was made to assign rankings to these resources or to prioritize areas for conservation because available funding sources for land conservation have varied and differing priorities.

A parcel-level analysis that will allow BMLT staff to view conservation traits on a parcel-specific basis is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2020. By providing detailed information about a property’s habitat and features, this tool will help the staff determine whether a specific conservation project will meet BMLT’s conservation priorities.

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BMLT relied on existing sources of data to map critical conservation values in the eleven-county region. This section illustrates the distribution of:

Agricultural land and prime soils

Salmonid habitat

Sage grouse and other critical species

Priority habitat types

High quality habitat

Conservation opportunity areas

Climate change resiliency

Regional connectivity

Photo by John Clement 18

AGRICULTURAL LAND AND PRIME SOILS

BMLT’s top conservation priorities are soils and foods. Productive and healthy soils are critical for the future of food production.

Cropland and prime soils are resource concerns because preventing the conversion of highly productive farmland to non-agricultural uses is essential to the future of communities within the Blue Mountains. These resources contribute to local, national, and global food systems and are critical to agricultural communities in our service area.

To map highly productive agricultural lands, BMLT considered two factors: the quality of the soil and the current use of the land. Soil data was taken from the Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) developed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Lands currently in crop production were identified using data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Land used for hay production was considered cropland because these lands may have soils and water availability suitable to produce other crops as well.

Three types of land are shown:1. Prime agricultural soils currently in crop production. These areas possess soils that have been identified as either prime

farmland or prime with restrictions and that are currently in crop production. These areas are likely to be capable of producing a wide variety of crops as part of an economically-viable agricultural operation. However, a short growing season may limit productivity in higher elevation areas.

2. Prime agricultural soils not currently in crop production. These are areas that have the soils to support productive agriculture but are not currently being cropped.

3. Other areas currently in crop production. These areas lack soils that are designated as “prime” or are located in areas without soil data but are presently being cultivated. Despite lacking the “prime farmland” designation, many of these areas may be highly productive farmland.

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Yakima

Benton

Franklin

Walla WallaAsotin

Columbia

Garfield

Grant

Agric ultura l Land and Prime SoilsCounties of InterestPublic LandsPrime farmland soils inproductionPrime farmland soils not inproductionNon-prime soils in cropproduction

0 10 20 30 405Miles

Prepared for the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

Klamath

Harney

Lake

Malheur

Gilliam

Wheeler

Grant

Morrow

Umatilla

Baker

Union

Agricultural Land and Prime SoilsCounties of InterestPublic LandsPrime farmland soils inproductionPrime farmland soils not inproductionNon-prime soils in cropproduction

0 20 40 60 8010Miles ¯

Prepared for NRCS by the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

WASHINGTON OREGON

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SALMONID HABITAT

Species protection is one of BMLT’s top five conservation priorities. Throughout our service area, salmon have a historical, cultural, economic, tribal and ecological importance to communities in eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. Salmon are considered an indicator species for the health of a river ecosystem, and many conservation easement funding sources prioritize salmon habitat.

Salmonid habitats were also selected as a resource concern due to the importance of and threat to salmonid populations in eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, several of which are listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. BMLT has identified salmon as a critical species for the health of the region, and entities throughout BMLT’s service area are partnering on a wide variety of projects to support salmon populations.

Fish distribution data from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) was used to map salmonid habitats in Oregon and data from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Priority Habitats and Species (PHS), and Statewide Washington Fish Integrated Fish Distribution (SWIFD) were used to map salmonid habitats in Washington. The habitats are for Chinook salmon, steelhead, bull trout, and redband trout. Steelhead and bull trout are listed as Threatened throughout both eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington under the federal Endangered Species Act. Chinook salmon are listed as Threatened in the Snake River and Lower Columbia regions only. Redband trout are not listed, but are identified as a strategy species for conservation by ODFW and are included in mapping because they are the only salmonid species present in many of the rivers and streams of southeastern Oregon. Their inclusion highlights the major water resources in this area. The following two maps depict salmonid habitat in Washington and Oregon, respectively.

Water resources are another one of BMLT’s identified core areas of conservation. With a changing climate, increasing human population and demands for water, conservation of water resources for fish and other species, agriculture, and human consumption will become increasingly important over the next 50 years.

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Yakima

Benton

Franklin

Walla WallaAsotin

Columbia

Garfield

Grant

Sa lmonid HabitatCounties of InterestPublic LandsSpawning habitat for Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, and Bull TroutAll other salmonid habitat

0 10 20 30 405Miles

Prepared for the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

Klamath

Harney

Lake

Malheur

Gilliam

Wheeler

Grant

Morrow

Umatilla

Baker

Union

Salmonid HabitatCounties of InterestPublic LandsSpawning habitat for Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, and Bull TroutAll other salmonid habitat

0 20 40 60 8010Miles ¯

Prepared for NRCS by the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

WASHINGTON OREGON

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SAGE GROUSE AND OTHER THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIESSage Grouse are another key species in our service area. BMLT selected sage grouse as a resource concern for mapping because of the regional importance of this species and the conservation efforts that are ongoing throughout eastern Oregon. Although it is not listed under the ESA, the greater sage grouse has been the target of significant conservation investment by both federal and state agencies that fund conservation easements.

Other Threatened and Endangered Species were selected as a resource concern. Mapping consisted of critical habitat designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and known occurrences as documented by Portland State University’s Oregon Biodiversity Information Center. Table 3 shows the following species that were mapped.

The Land Trust conservation efforts help preserve areas that vulnerable species need for their survival.

Table 3. Threatened and Endangered Species mapped to inform conservation priorities.

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Yakima

Benton

Franklin

Walla WallaAsotin

Columbia

Garfield

Grant

Sage Grouse and other Spec ies of InterestCounties of InterestPublic LandsSage Grouse Priority Areas for ConservationSage Grouse Current RangeCritical habitat and documented occurences of federal Threatened and Endangered species

0 10 20 30 405Miles

Prepared for the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

Klamath

Harney

Lake

Malheur

Gilliam

Wheeler

Grant

Morrow

Umatilla

Baker

Union

Sage Grouse and other Species of InterestCounties of InterestPublic LandsSections with Known Sage Grouse Occurences Sage Grouse Priority Areas for ConservationSage Grouse Current RangeCritical habitat and documented occurences of federal Threatened and Endangered species

0 20 40 60 8010Miles ¯

Prepared for NRCS by the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

WASHINGTON OREGON

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PRIORITY HABITAT TYPES

Quality habitat is one of the most critical resources for the survival of species throughout the Blue Mountain ecoregion. In Oregon, priority habitats include grasslands, ponderosa pine woodlands, sagebrush, and wetlands. In Washington, priority habitats are herbaceous forest, evergreen forest, shrub-steppe/scrublands, and wetlands. Preserving these habitats, especially on private lands, will provide endemic plant and animal species with the habitats, on a large scale, that are necessary for long term survival.

Oregon priority habitats were determined using habitats designated by the Oregon Conservation Strategy, an overarching state strategy for conserving fish and wildlife. Washington priority habitats were determined by the 2016 National Land Cover Database (NLCD).

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Yakima

Benton

Franklin

Walla WallaAsotin

Columbia

Garfield

Grant

Priority Habitat TypesCounties of InterestPublic Lands

Habitat

HerbaceousEvergreen ForestShrub/Scrub

Wetlands

0 10 20 30 405Miles

Prepared for the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

Klamath

Harney

Lake

Malheur

Gilliam

Wheeler

Grant

Morrow

Umatilla

Baker

Union

Priority Habitat TypesCounties of InterestPublic Lands

HabitatGrasslandsPonderosa Pine WoodlandsSagebrushWetlands

0 20 40 60 8010Miles ¯

Prepared for NRCS by the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

WASHINGTON OREGON

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CLIMATE - CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE

All of the natural resources in BMLT’s service area are subject to potential impacts of climate change. In 2015, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) released a report identifying areas in the Pacific Northwest where natural communities would be more likely able to adapt to the effects of a changing climate. This quality is referred to as climate resilience. This report and underlying data can be a useful tool to use in considering the long-term viability of conservation easement projects in various parts of BMLT’s service area.

This data only addresses the resilience of terrestrial natural communities and does not assess the resilience of wetlands and aquatic systems or agricultural lands. TNC is currently working on a project to map freshwater resilience, but at this time, no existing dataset is known to address resilience of aquatic or agricultural resources.

These maps show areas in BMLT’s service area with the greatest concentration of climate resiliency. The data displayed is not the resilience value itself, but rather a calculation of the density of climate-resilient sites within an area.

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Yakima

Benton

Franklin

Walla WallaAsotin

Columbia

Garfield

Grant

Climate Change Resilienc e

Counties of InterestPublic Lands

Percent of land that isclimate resilient

0% - 20%21% - 40%41% - 60%61% - 80%81% - 100%

0 10 20 30 405Miles

Prepared for the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

Klamath

Harney

Lake

Malheur

Gilliam

Wheeler

Grant

Morrow

Umatilla

Baker

Union

Climate Change ResilienceCounties of Interest

Public Lands

Percent of land that isclimate resilient

0% - 20%

21% - 40%

41% - 60%

61% - 80%

81% - 100%

0 20 40 60 8010Miles ¯

Prepared for NRCS by the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

WASHINGTON OREGON

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REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY OF HABITAT

Another important factor to consider in conservation planning is connectivity of key habitats. Well-connected landscapes support movement of individual animals over daily or seasonal time frames, prevent populations from becoming isolated, and allow natural communities to migrate over long time frames and distances in response to changing conditions.

Conserving areas of connectivity improves habitat access for species as climate change affects their home ranges. As human populations grow and development expands, the preservation of migratory corridors for wildlife becomes increasingly critical.

TNC’s climate resilience project also produced habitat connectivity data. This dataset does not represent the movement or migration routes of any single species. Rather, it represents the general connectivity of natural areas in BMLT’s service area. Over a longer timescale, this data may be used to identify the potential for communities of plants or animals to spread, or to identify populations that are at risk of being isolated.

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Yakima

Benton

Franklin

Walla WallaAsotin

Columbia

Garfield

Grant

Regional Connec tivityCounties of InterestPublic LandsDeveloped and agriculturallandMovement unrestricted byland usesMovement partiallyrestrictedMovement severelyrestricted

0 10 20 30 405Miles

Prepared for the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

Klamath

Harney

Lake

Malheur

Gilliam

Wheeler

Grant

Morrow

Umatilla

Baker

Union

Regional ConnectivityCounties of Interest

Public Lands

Developed and agriculturallandMovement unrestricted byland usesMovement partiallyrestrictedMovement severelyrestricted

0 20 40 60 8010Miles ¯

Prepared for NRCS by the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

WASHINGTON OREGON

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This conservation plan will guide us in evaluating conservation easement projects across our service area. The first step of this plan’s implementation is completing our analysis at a finer scale and finishing a parcel level database with FloAnalytics. When this tool is completed in late 2020, it will help our staff develop projects that preserve and enhance many of the five conservation imperatives.

Given the large size of our service area, and extensive mapping of its natural resources, we believe there are thousands of acres of private land that meet all of our conservation priorities. Over the last five years, there has been a dramatic increase in landowners interested in conservation services. There is no shortage of opportunities to implement high-quality conservation projects in our service area.

The biggest limitation to the number of projects we can pursue is the availability of conservation easement funding. Easement funding comes from four main sources:

1. Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) in Washington2. Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) in Oregon3. Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)4. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

All of these agencies have limited funding available for conservation easements. Because of these constraints, we will likely complete only two to three easement projects per year.

Conservation easements are very effective land protection tools in the right situations. But other conservation tools need to be identified and employed to preserve our region’s climate, soil, food, water, and species. The second part of this conservation plan will discuss those opportunities.

CONCLUSION: IMPLEMENTING THE CONSERVATION PLAN

Photo by Kim Fetrow31

APPENDIX A: SURVEY RESULTS1. Prior to this survey, were you aware of or involved with the Blue Mountain Land Trust?

2. To conserve the character and natural resources of the Blue Mountains, please select 3 areas that are most important for the Land Trust to protect.

46%

44%

8%

3%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Aware of and involved with the organization.

Aware of the organization, but not involved.

Familiar with the name only.

No prior knowledge.

(N=204)

75%

30%

18%

76%

56%

31%

11%

3%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Large natural areas (e.g., contiguous undeveloped landscapes)

Working farms and ranches (e.g., food or feed crops, livestock orpoultry)

Working forests (e.g., trees are harvested and replanted)

Wetland, streams, and rivers

Wildlife habitat

Wildlife corridors

Scenic landscapes

Other (Please specify)

(N=205)

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3. Select the top three actions you believe the Land Trust should take:

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4. Please indicate the level of threat to the Blue Mountains you believe is posed by the following (0 being the least threat and 5 being the highest):

5. Blue Mountain Land Trust should focus its resources on:

64%

47%

69%

47%

38%

33%

1%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Helping private landowners establish conservation easements ontheir land.

Providing technical assistance to landowners to improve andenhance land and water quality.

Educating community members, partners and stakeholders aboutland and natural resource conservation.

Securing and/or improving public access to recreation and trails.

Engaging in conservation actions beyond conservationeasements.

Developing climate resiliency strategies for surroundinglandscapes.

Other (Please specify)

(N=205)

6. Select the top 3 tools you believe to be the most effective conservation strategies the Land Trust should prioritize to meet conservation goals.

21%

60%

42%

64%

66%

25%

6%

14%

2%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Land ownership

Conservation easement

Education

Community outreach & engagement

Restoration (land, water, habitat)

Political advocacy

Tax benefits

Community forests

Other (Please specify)

(N=204)

35

36

7. Are there other issues or areas on which the Land Trust should be working?

88%

12%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No. I believe you are working on the right initiatives.

Yes. Please consider working on:

(N=194)

8. Select the three activities you engage in most frequently during your free time: 19%

31%

38%

77%

8%

7%

16%

16%

29%

7%

16%

4%

15%

18%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Birdwatching

Volunteering

Educational Pursuits (lectures, workshops, plays, museum tours,etc.)

Hiking/walking

Running

Water/boat sports

Hunting & fishing

Winter sports (Skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, etc.)

Other outdoor sports/activities

Horseback riding

Indoor exercise

Shopping

Dining Out

Other (Please specify)

(N=205)

9. In what county do you reside?

70%

3%

0%

0%

10%

6%

1%

2%

0%

0%

0%

7%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Walla Walla

Columbia

Garfield

Asotin

Umatilla

Union

Baker

Grant

Wheeler

Morrow

Sherman

Other (Please specify)

(N=205)

10. Are you a member of the Land Trust (make an annual financial donation and/or volunteer regularly)?

44%

56%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Yes

No

(N=205)

37

38

11. Your age group:

7%

26%

49%

17%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Under 30 years

31-50 years

51-70 years

71 years or older

(N=204)

12. How did you hear about this survey?

72%

11%

3%

11%

3%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

BMLT Email

Facebook

Word of Mouth

Newspaper

Other (Please specify)

(N=205)

bmlt.org | bmlt@bmlt.org

John Day116 NW Bridge Street Suite 6John Day, OR 97845(541) 620-5754

Walla Walla6 1/2 N Second AvenueSuite 304 Walla Walla, WA 99362(509) 525-3136

Blue Mountain Land Trust is a nonprofit or-ganization that collaborates with communi-ties and landowners to conserve the scenic, natural, and working lands that characterize the Blue Mountain region.

The accreditation seal is awarded to land trusts meeting the highest national standards for excellence and conservation permanence.