2012 Annual Report

Dear Friends,

2012 was a milestone year for the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy. Five extraordinary events occurred that were unprecedented in our history. To start the year off, we published a Conservation Plan, the first in our 35-year history.

Consequently, we launched our VISION 20/20 initiative with a goal to conserve 20,000 acres of high priority land by 2020. In order to implement that goal, we approached two Oregon Foundations, the Meyer Memorial Trust and The Collins Foundation, to see if they would support this effort. They liked our Plan and collaborated with us in a matching grant campaign.

With the support of our community, we raised the funds needed four months later, so that along with the grant funding, we now have $300,000 to implement our conservation strategy.

Later in the year, we received a grant from the Yarg Foundation. This family foundation was established in 2012 by John Gray, an Oregon philanthropist, who announced his intention to invest 10 million dollars in Oregon land trusts over the next ten years. Sadly he passed away in November, but his legacy continues.

These grants - along with the funds we raised - enabled us to hire Craig Harper as our first Conservation Project Manager in December. Craig has a long and deep connection to the land in our area, and he will be responsible for working with landowners and our conservation partners to reach our 20,000 acre goal.

Lastly, we applied to become an accredited land trust in 2012. The application is a rigorous process that is meant to demonstrate that our operations meet or exceed the national standard and that our conservation efforts are permanent. We are now one of only 201 land trusts in the country (there are 1,700 in the US) that have received this prestigious designation.

Of course our work is about protecting land, and in 2012 we completed a collaborative project that involved many partners. The Wildlands Conservation Project permanently protects 132 acres of unique vernal pool habitat along Crater Lake Highway near Eagle Point. Projects like this one, done cooperatively with other agencies and groups, demonstrate how important the lands in our region are.

And, none of this would be possible without the generous support of our members and partners.

If you are reading this now, it is more than likely that you are helping make this kind of conservation possible. You may be a member, a partner, a business donor, a landowner, a volunteer, or an interested community member. As we celebrate our 35th year, we extend our deepest thanks to each and every one of you who care about this beautiful part of the world and are helping us protect it for the generations to come.

For the Land,