Bear Ridge Community Forest

Trust for Public Land partnered with the City of Ilwaco—a small, rural town near the Washington and Oregon border—to purchase 380 forested acres within its local watershed to establish the Bear Ridge Community Forest. By managing their community forest, Ilwaco will be able to create trails for outdoor recreation and add sustainable timber jobs. But above all, the city has permanently protected its drinking water, ensuring Ilwaco remains a healthy, livable community for generations to come. Community forests are a growing solution to rural community needs, like water quality and access to green space, because they give control directly to the people who most rely on it.

Photo: Bear Ridge Community Forest, Ben Hayes, Springboard Forestry

TPL is continuing to look for innovative ways to adapt this model for other communities—like using Clean Water State Revolving Funds, which were used for this project and typically go towards gray, not green, infrastructure—and open doors for deeper community engagement, better community health, and more community forests.

You can read the news release from the Washington Department of Ecology regarding Bear Ridge at the link here.