Forterra plays big role in how we enjoy our natural beauty

From our rivers to our forests and farmland, and the snow-capped Cascade and Olympic mountains, it’s hard to think of an area that has more natural beauty than the Pacific Northwest. A non-profit organization called Forterra is playing a big role in making sure we can still enjoy all of it, many years down the road.

Its name means “for the earth,” and President Gene Duvernoy says Forterra is the largest conservation and community building organization in the Northwest.

“We recognize this region needs to change how it develops but we need to do it in a way our families live better,” Duvernoy says. “We are busy conserving vast landscapes and at the same time, making our communities and cities second to none.”

For many years, the organization went by the name Cascade Land Conservancy before changing it about two years ago. Duvernoy says they’ve conserved more than 180,000 acres of land in the last two decades. Forterra has done everything from preserving old growth forest in Lynnwood, to turning a proposed gravel mine on Maury Island into a new King County park.

“We find a landowner with a piece of land we believe needs to be available for future generations. We work with that person to buy that land so that it stays preserved, open and available forever,” he says.

The group’s biggest project is called the Cascade Agenda, which is a 100-year plan that includes protecting a million acres of forest land. Duvernoy says more than 18,000 acres of our state’s forests and farms are developed each year.

“If we don’t take these steps today, tomorrow we will have sprawl from Seattle to the Cascade Crest,” he says.

But to protect the woods and farms, Duvernoy says you also have to create better cities. Every year, thousands of Forterra volunteers clean up and plant new trees in parks all across the Puget Sound region.

Forterra has also partnered with 19 cities from Snohomish to Buckley, to create what they call “complete, compact and connected communities.”

“We’re busy making our parks great and available for everyone. We’re busy making sure that we have housing available at all price points so everyone can afford to live where they want to live, and that we have transportation and transit so that we can get to our jobs and get home again,” Duvernoy says.

Forterra also started the Carbon Capturing Companies, or C-3 Project, which encourages businesses to track their carbon output and then minimize it by planting trees that absorb carbon. The Seahawks and the band Pearl Jam are among the growing number of groups supporting the project.

“If you look out over the next 100 years, we’re going to grow by the equivalent of 15 Seattles. That’s a great number of people,” Duvernoy says. “If we’re going to grow that way and if want to grow gracefully, we need to start figuring out how to do that now.”

Bonneville is proud to feature Forterra as its February Charity of the Month. Learn more about Bonneville’s Charity of the Month.