The Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society was put into place to acquire 5 parcels of forest adjacent to Carrington Bay Park on Cortes Island. The intention is to protect and conserve the forest for the future generations of children that reside on the island. The society recently announced significant progress on this goal, that would protect 2 of the parcels. 

Chris Dragseth, Chair of the Trust, confirmed the apparent milestone on May 13th. After over two years of discussions with the current land owners of the parcels, Mosaic Forest Management, a minor gesture has been made. Mosaic is involved with a for-profit carbon offset program called “BigCoast Climate Initiative”. The timber company is offering to defer logging on all parcels included in the initiative for 25 years. Mosaic is proposing to include 3 of the 5 parcels slated for the Children’s Forest, in this carbon-offset initiative. The Forest Trust is not endorsing the initiative, but they are accepting the results as progress.

 The vision for the society began to take shape in 2009. The society has accomplished consistent outdoor educational programming for youth on Cortes Island, since its inception, even throughout the pandemic. The organization has a committed, creative, and highly qualified team of volunteers. Dragseth adds that the discussions are well underway to purchase the remaining two parcels that are not included in the BigCoast initiative. He hopes to see another significant update in a year. The Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society may be supported by visiting their website.

Listen to the CKTZ News update below: