Agreement paves way for protection of Skyline Forest

A Bend Bulletin article on the legislation for Skyline Forest.

SALEM — New agreement on how to protect a prominent part of Bend’s scenery, as well as some Central Oregon wildlife habitat, was revealed Tuesday in the Capitol.

An amendment to House Bill 2228 would allow the preservation of the bulk of Skyline Forest in exchange for permission to build as many as 282 dwellings in the northern part of the forest. For the first time, the landowner and environmentalists have agreed to terms on the legislation, after both had explored the idea separately.

While pleased, participants in the negotiations stopped short of declaring final victory. That’s because the legislation comes with a pretty big question mark — whether the real estate market improves. Only if Fidelity decides it can make a profit does a deal happen.

Such a deal would entail Fidelity selling forestland to a land trust or a public agency in exchange for development rights.

“We will be evaluating the economic realities of this as time goes on,” said Nancy Craven, a Fidelity executive.

Brad Chalfant of the Deschutes Land Trust, who participated in the negotiations with Fidelity and Central Oregon LandWatch, said the group did the best they can to give Fidelity the flexibility it needs to do a deal. “We have one shot to get this right,” he said.

Also known as the Bull Springs Tree Farm, Skyline extends from a few miles west of Bend northwest to a few miles south of Sisters. To Bend residents, the forest is the expanse of greenery lying beneath the Three Sisters peaks.

Preserving the bulk of the forest as a nonprofit, while managing it for timber, resources and environmental purposes, has been discussed for years.

More recently, Fidelity, as well as Central Oregon LandWatch, independently floated the idea of legislation with lawmakers earlier this year, leading Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, to include Skyline in legislation that is intended to allow development on portions of forestland in return for protecting the rest of the property from development.

At first, Fidelity did not support the legislation, saying Clem’s first stab at it did not make economic sense for them.

Now, under an expanded version of the legislation that both sides have agreed on, Fidelity could build as many as 282 units depending on how much land it sold for preservation purposes.

To max out its development rights, Fidelity would have to not only sell 30,000 acres to a land trust, it also would have to sell another 35,000 acres to a land trust or a public agency such as the Oregon Department of Forestry. That land is located in southern Deschutes County and northern Klamath County.

Not far from the additional lands that are considered under the bill, the forestry department is looking at another parcel owned by Fidelity near Gilchrist for acquisition as a new state forest.

In selling the forestland to a trust, Fidelity would have to price it as if the land cannot be developed, thus limiting its cost.

Chalfant and LandWatch’s Erik Kancler said the land considered under the deal includes important elk and deer migration routes; Kancler also said any development in Skyline will be designed to avoid degrading the aesthetic values of the landscape, such as through use of “downward lighting” to preserve nighttime views.

The agreement came after meeting last week behind closed doors to hash out the terms of the deal.

Standing in a Capitol hallway, Rep. Judy Stiegler, D-Bend, gave credit to the participants, saying, “It’s called ‘Look what happens when people sit down and talk.’ … That doesn’t happen around here very often.”

Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, said he is glad the bill will be rewritten in a way Fidelity supports.

However, he will oppose the bill because of another provision he says would hurt the property rights of the Metolian development group that wants to develop an “eco resort” in the Metolius River Basin.

The new version of Clem’s legislation, containing the Skyline deal, is expected to be voted on by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday. The bill requires a vote of the full Senate and House, as well as Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s signature, to become law.

Nick Budnick can be reached at 503-566-2839 or at nbudnick@bendbulletin.com.