To mark our 60th Anniversary in Washington, we gathered key milestones from the past six decades. Scroll through for a snapshot of our impact across Washington and beyond.
*1959
Charter Granted
The Western WA chapter launches, prompted by a pivotal conversation in a Bellevue living room.
1966-7
Foulweather Bluff Preserve
Our first preserve is this gift of 47 acres. Today, FWB preserve protects (2009) 100 acres with 4000’ of beach front.
First east side preserve: Rose Creek
Our first preserve on the east side is this gift of 12 acres, which we ultimately transferred to the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute. https://pcei.org/rose-creek/
*1972
Natural Areas Preserve Act
We lead a group of visionary advocates who, with the help of WA legislature, establish a statewide system of Natural Area Preserves to protect the highest quality examples of native ecosystems and rare plant and animal species. By 1998, the WA Natural Area Preserve system had 45 units encompassing 25,000 acres.
1974-77
Mima Mounds Preserve
Through the Natural Areas Preserve Act, we protect these rare and mysterious mound formations alongside Puget prairie grasslands.
1975-77
Skagit River and Bald Eagles
With the WA Department of Game (now Fish & Wildlife), we preserved 878 acres along the Skagit River, including the Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area, which expanded to protect 8,000 acres by 2001.
1978
Skagit River and Salmon
Our advocacy with partners achieves Wild & Scenic River protective status for the Skagit River. The Illabot Creek tributary– one of the few to host all five species of salmon—earns this designation in December 2014.
1980
Puget Sound prairie islands
We purchase and preserve Yellow and Sentinel Islands in the San Juans, protecting rare prairie island habitat and biodiversity.
1981
Washington Natural Heritage Program
Our advocacy is key to passage of this seminal program, which catalogs the plants, animals, and ecosystems of Washington to prioritize conservation needs.
1987
Prescribed Fire on Yellow Island
Following the lead of Coast Salish tribes who employed prescribed burning for millennia, the Conservancy conducts its first controlled burn on Yellow Island to maintain robust biodiversity.
1989
Wildlife and Recreation Program and Trust Land Transfer Program
The Wildlife and Recreation Program sets a national model of public funding, which by 2009 had generated nearly $1 billion.
1994
Research at Hanford Reach
Our multi-year study at Hanford produces the only large-scale, detailed inventory of rare species and plant communities (documenting several dozen new plant and insect species).
1999
Beezley Hills & Moses Coulee preserves
The Conservancy purchases about 3,800 acres of sagebrush steppe, protecting geological treasures such as coulees carved by Ice Age floods, pothole lakes, haystack boulders, waterfalls and dunes; as well as endangered habitat for sage grouse, Columbia sharp-tailed grouse, pygmy rabbits, and 14 of the 15 bat species found in Washington. Today, these preserves protect more than 30,000 acres.
1999
Ellsworth Creek Preserve
We establish protection of 338 acres of old-growth forest at Teal Slough in Willapa Bay. This preserve now covers an entire watershed of 8,000 acres. In 2006, we initiated research to inform optimal restoration of second-growth plantation forests and accelerate old-growth characteristics.
2000
Robert Y. Pratt Preserve at Ebey's Landing
This land donation from the estate of Robert Pratt, combined with the Conservancy’s purchase of adjacent coastal bluff forest creates a 554 acre-preserve within a National Historical Reserve.
Hanford Reach National Monument
Our research and advocacy help designate this 195,000-acre monument. Two years later, our science informs massive restoration after wildfire: USFWS plants 700,000 sagebrush seedlings and spreads native bunchgrass seeds over 10,000 acres.
2001
Port Susan Bay Preserve
We protect 4,122 acres of estuary and wetland habitat near Stanwood, which today is an active restoration and research site evaluating “blue carbon” capture.
2003
Central Cascades forest & Tieton River Canyon
We begin purchasing blocks of industrial timberlands in the Tieton River Canyon; by 2007 we secure 10,000 acres and sell most to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, eliminating checkerboard ownership to allow large-scale forest restoration.
2004
Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia
Fundraising begins to support a historic agreement to conserve 21 million acres - 7 million as fully protected areas - in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia.
2006
Tapash Sustainable Forest Collaborative
TNC, the U.S. Forest Service, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yakama Indian Nation to partner the health, natural structure, and productivity of forests in south central Washington http://www.tapash.org/
2007
Washington Ecoregional Assessments
We complete an exhaustive biodiversity assessment of the plant & animal species, communities and ecological systems of Washington's nine ecoregions. Through this work and a statewide Freshwater Assessment, we identify Washington’s most significant salmon watersheds.
2008
Lily Point Marine Park Restoration
We begin restoration at Lily Point Marine Park on Point Roberts, through a cooperative project with the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines, Whatcom Land Trust and Whatcom County Parks; in collaboration with the Lummi Tribe.
2009
Fisher Slough Restoration
Restoration begins at Fisher Slough, ultimately creating more than 60 acres of tidal marsh habitat for Chinook salmon, improving flood protection for farms on the Skagit River Delta, creating dozens of jobs to help with recovery from the Great Recession.
2010
The Ellsworth Experiment
Restoration thinning at our Ellsworth Creek Preserve initiates a 10-year landscape-scale experiment to restore an industrially logged forest to old-growth conditions.
2011
Emerald Edge Program
With Conservancy partners in Alaska and British Columbia, we launch the Emerald Edge program to conserve the world’s largest temperate coastal rainforest. Our community-led approach invests in youth, supports Indigenous leaders and builds sustainable local economies.
2011
Olympic Peninsula Preserves
We purchase 3,088 acres on the Clearwater River of the Olympic Peninsula, a foundation for our work in the region that has now preserves 15,000 acres on the Hoh and Clearwater rivers, connecting Olympic National Park with the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
Prescribed Fire Council
We help launch the Washington Prescribed Fire Council which brings together public and private land managers and other stakeholders to increase the safe use of “good fire” for forest health and resilience across Washington.
2012
First Stewards Climate Conference
We support Washington coastal treaty tribes as they lead First Stewards, a conference on climate change bringing together coastal Indigenous people from North America and the Pacific Islands.
2013
Floodplains by Design
We launch Floodplains by Design, a public-private partnership for river restoration that brings multiple benefits to communities. One of the first projects on the flood-prone Puyallup River restored floodplain habitat for salmon and protected the town of Orting from record-level floods the following year.
2014
Forestry Science Statewide
A comprehensive analysis of Washington and Oregon forests led by TNC with the U.S. Forest Service identified 2.7 million acres in need of restoration. The WA Department of Natural Resources applies findings of this study to develop its 20-year management plan.
Plum Creek Acquisition
We purchase purchased a patchwork of 48,000 acres of private timber land in the Cascade Mountains, reconnecting wilderness areas and protecting the headwaters of the Yakima River.
2015
Sustainable Small Business Support
On Washington’s Pacific coast, we support restoration and economic development through the WA Coast Restoration Initiative (WCRI) and the Coast Works business competition, which elevates sustainable local businesses throughout the Olympic Peninsula.
Cities Program Launch
We launch our Cities strategic program to Puget Sound’s urban centers more resilient and livable by building support for nature through green infrastructure and natural solutions to pollution. Partnerships with local organizations allow for a community-centric approach that incorporates neighborhood needs and solutions, including a focus on environmental justice.
Climate Program Launch
We also launch our Climate strategic program to advance bold and equitable zero-carbon policy alongside conservation solutions that harness nature to sequester carbon and protect against severe climate change impacts wildfires and floods.
2017
University of Washington Collaboration
We initiate a strategic research partnership with the University of Washington.
TREX Prescribed Fire Exchange
The first Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX) in Washington convenes fire managers from 9 agencies to learn prescribed burning techniques that reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and improve forest health. TNC co-hosted the training, which has become an annual opportunity for firefighters to learn from each other and build local capacity.
2018
Climate Initiative 1631
We help build and lead a groundbreaking diverse coalition committed to passing the nation’s first tax on carbon emissions via a citizens’ initiative. While Initiative 1631 didn’t pass, it energized the statewide conversation on climate change by bringing pivotal, often marginalized, voices to the table and contributed to subsequent legislative wins, including the 100% Clean electricity bill the following year.
2019
LWCF permanent authorization
The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which provides essential federal funding to safeguard our natural areas, water resources and cultural heritage sites, wins permanent authorization from the US Congress. We helped mobilize broad bipartisan support for the reauthorization and continue to fight for robust funding.
